Book Review: Wolfhunter River

WOLFHUNTER RIVER | Rachel Caine
(Stillhouse Lake #3)
04.23.2019 | Thomas & Mercer
Rating: 5/5 stars

Gwen Proctor and her family have been through more than any average family has ever experienced. Despite the turmoil they have gone through and still battle with every day, Gwen can’t ignore those who need her help. Gwen has managed to escape her serial killer husband and save her family repeatedly. Now she must help another innocent victim. Marlene Crockett has reached out to Gwen. Something has gone horribly wrong in her small hometown of Wolfhunter and now Marlene believes her own life and that of her daughter’s may be in jeopardy.

Gwen finally decides that she and her family are strong enough to work to help others in need, but before they can arrive in Wolfhunter, Marlene is dead and her daughter has been blamed for the murder. Gwen doesn’t believe this accusation and isn’t willing to leave town until the real killer has been found. Stopping her at every corner are the residents of this tiny, isolated town. They seem to be hiding the truth about what happened to Marlene, as well as potentially a much larger secret. Gwen’s life and those of her family are in danger, but none of them are willing to walk away.

Sometimes it feels safer to endure the devil you know.

WOLFHUNTER RIVER is the third installment in Rachel Caine’s Stillhouse Lake series. Each of the previous installments focused on Gwen and her children working though the discovery and impact that their husband/father was a serial killer. This time around the family is working to help others faced with their own terrible situations. I was so curious what direction Caine would take this series after the ending she gave book two, KILLMAN CREEK. This book did not disappoint at all!

Caine once again follows the format from the previous two books in this series of alternative POVs. She sticks most strongly with Gwen and Sam narrating the story, but also sporadically includes sections told by Lanny and Connor, Gwen’s children. I love how these additions to the two main narrators give the story a more well-rounded level of detail. Without them there are certain situations which would have Gwen or Sam guessing what had happened to other characters, whereas Lanny and Connor were intimately connected to those situations.

Monsters shouldn’t look normal.

One of my favorite aspects of all of Caine’s books in the Stillhouse Lake series is her use of setting. The town of Wolfhunter is one of those backwoods, rural villages that make you fascinated by the scheming that takes place in them. Everyone knows everyone and you are either in on the secrets or a target. So much is swept under the carpet in Wolfhunter that every time you think you know the truth about this town, you don’t! I loved how Caine kept me guessing about who to trust and who to mentally scream at Gwen, Sam, Lanny, and Connor to get away from.

When I went to drop my rating on Goodreads after finishing up reading this book I saw that there are plans for a fourth book to hit shelves next year and I could not be more excited! I love this series and the direction Caine has chosen to take the story of Gwen and her family. If you’re looking to get started I highly recommend beginning with book one, STILLHOUSE LAKE, and making your way through. There are important links between each story that make this series being read in order essential.

This book is available to buy from: Amazon | Book Depository

Disclosure: What Jess Reads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way influences my opinion of the above book.