Customer Reviews

The Wolfman

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book after reading articles about it and the author's death. Said articles made the book sound cheesy - "a detective werewolf who solves crime by night" - the sort of thing I'd expect to see on Mystery Science Theater 3000. I'd read about the tragedy of who the author was killed shortly after this book's publishing deal was signed and how there was already interest in a possible movie deal. I had to get the book to see if it was good, or it if all was hype.

The book is great. From the minute I started reading the prologue, I couldn't stop reading. The "detective werewolf" descriptor isn't quite accurate but I've no interest in going further than that for fear of spoiling any of the story. The characterization was amazing and the dialogue real. It's a wonderful glimpse into corruption within small town, and every once in a while small parts jump out at you that say, "That was gonna show up in a future sequel." My only complaint was that I figured out who the villain was with 100 pages to spare - but I didn't figure everything out, there were still many surprises I didn't expect, and the climax was impressive and satisfying.

I'm very thankful I got this book. And, selfishly, I'm heartbroken the hands and mind that brought this book won't be responsible for followups to it. There's so much more could be done with this character and his world, but I don't know if anyone else would do it justice.

If you love detective fiction, or a good bit of noir mixed with horror, pick this up.

The main character, Marlowe Higgins, is a werewolf. Once a month, he changes into a monster and kills. This dark character reminds my very much of Joe Hill's Jude Coyne. Unlike Jude, Marlowe would have turned out to be a nice guy if not for this curse.

It took me about sixty plus pages to get into this story. In fact, I was beginning to wonder what all the fuss was about. And then, it happened. That warm feeling surrounded me, sort of like the buzz you get from your first drink of alcohol. And before I knew it, I was hooked.

Much of the book was choppy and awkward in spots. The biggest being close to the end, when Higgins and Van Buren had their last conversation before departing. I didn't find the conversation believable and wished it had been worked on more.

There were so many good parts to the book, but the best and I mean, very best, came at the end in the epilogue. What a heck of an ending! Loved it!

In spite of the minor flaws, I highly recommend this book.

Discharged by the Army after serving as a grunt in Nam, Marlowe Higgins lives in Evelyn near the Ivy River just a spider's web outside of Tennessee. He earns a poor man's living making hamburgers at Frank's greasy spoon make that restaurant as he needs the below poverty level position. Once a month Marloew feels schizoid because he relishes yet fears the full moon when he, like his antecedents before him, turns into a werewolf. He also investigates malicious crimes as a form of sublimation to abate his guilt over killing innocent people during his blood disorder frenzy although Marlowe tries to target killers when he turns wolf albeit not always successfully.

A particularly vicious serial killer has begin horrifically murdering people; the media calls this psychopath the Rose Killer for potting flowers in eye sockets of victims. Higgins begins investigating this predator with plans to rip his throat out when he finally hunts him down.

This engaging paranormal serial killer thriller is an entertaining tale that werewolf fans and investigative vigilante readers will appreciate as the hero seems genuine especially when he agonizes over killing an innocent. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action, but it is Higgins who makes the horror crime thriller work as fans will empathize with his plight while wondering whether we sympathize with the devil. Sadly, Mr. Nicholas Pekearo was killed in 2007 while on duty as a NYPD auxiliary police officer.

Harriet Klausner

I just finished Pekearo's The Wolfman. The editor's note at the front says that there was a series planned with this main character but that didn't happen because the author was killed in the line of duty by a madman robbing a restaurant, who also killed Pekearo's partner. The book published is a standalone though, no cliffhangers at all, so you need to worry about that.

I'm not the biggest fan of Urban Fantasy, but if done really well I can get into it. I like the idea that there is more to people in the modern, urban world, whether there is some kind of magical or mythological link, or something else. I'm not interested in vampires usually, but then I must say Charlie Huston's books proved me wrong. I'm not much into werewolves either, but this book, along with Barlow's Sharp Teeth, proved me wrong. It's a short but powerful tale of a now 40 year old man who once every full moon has to unleash the powerful demon inside of him, but who over time has learned to harnass the beast to at least the degree that he himself can choose the target. This is always a succes, until he meets the serial killer nicked The Rose Killer.

I'm detracting one star because even who never reads detectives like myself could see the identity of the Rose Killer pretty much from the start of the book. You could see that in this sense, the author was still learning his craft. I think the strongest aspect of his writing was the voice he gave to his main character.

I won't bother to summarize the plot of this book as others have already done that in their reviews. I did not expect to enjoy reading this book so much and almost past it over in the library. I am very glad that I didn't.

I was hooked from the very beginning and was very pleased that the author chose to end the book so well. It was a joy to read from the moment I picked up and it saddens me that Nicholas Pekearos' life was taken at such a young age.

Marlow Higgins is a Werewolf, and every full moon he kills someone, since being dishonorably discharged after a tour in Vietnam, he has moved from town to town, and been in and out of prison. Marlow decides at last to only kill evil people during the full moon. He settles in the small town of Evelyn, and makes friends friends with Daniel Peace, a Police Detective. A serial killer known as the Rose Killer, comes to town, and is brutally murdering young girls.

Marlow decides to track the Rose Killer, and make him his next victim, but on the night of the next full moon, everything goes wrong. Marlow is full of guilt, and he isn't quite sure what happened on the night of the full moon, because the Rose Killer is still alive and the Wolf can't seem to scent him or track him. But the Rose Killer is closer to Marlow than he realizes.

This book is part horror, part crime fiction. The author of this book, Nicholas Pekearo was killed in the line of duty, and this is his first published novel. I am truly honored that I was able to read it.

The Wolfman is well written & has a fascinating central character, but I was disappointed by its central mystery story. Using Roger Ebert's Law of Economy of Characters (i.e., "all characters in a movie are necessary to the story--even those who do not seem to be" -- which shouldn't normally be helpful with a novel), the identity of the serial killer becomes obvious a short way into the story. It was so obvious, I assumed I was being intentionally mis-directed. I wasn't. The intro hints that this was supposed to be the first of a series of books about the same character, but the tragic death of the author prevented its continuation. That's a real shame because there's a lot of promise here.

This was a very readable urban fantasy that I thought had great potential as a series. The hero is a rather seedy fellow, not someone you would probably want to meet. But he is good at heart, and once a month (that time of the month, as he calls it) he turns into a werewolf. This plot point is where the book has a unique feature -- he is able to direct the werewolf at criminals.

I guess this sounds silly, but it actually works. I am very sad for the author and any family and friends he has -- he was a volunteer policeman in NY City and was killed on duty before the book was published. Obviously, that adds to the poignancy of the book, and one has a lot of good will toward the editor who got it published. But the truth is, the book was a little awkward in places, in both plot and writing. I do think that if there had been the series, as planned, that the author would have grown into his voice.

All that aside, and with the warning that the book got a bit graphic in a few places, I can recommend it to any lover of urban fantasy.

The introduction to "The Wolfman" commemorates the author's too short life and remarkable talent and ambition. Nicholas Pekearo envisioned The Wolfman as the first of a series that would pit his hero, Marlowe Higgins, against neo-nazi vampires, aliens, evil wizards and sadistic serial killers. Sadly, The Wolfman will have to stand alone, as a single mystery of the reluctant werewolf versus a diabolical and unique serial killer.

As a stand-alone mystery/horror story, Wolfman is highly enjoyable. The prose is fresh, evocative and poetic without being flowery or cliched. Marlowe is a memorable, well drawn character. Salty, disillusioned, and tough but with a sense of humor, somewhere across between Travis Bickle and Dirty Harry. For a first time author Pekearo is remarkable deft at juxtaposing Marlowe's past and present. Although the mysteries of Marlowe's past become clear pretty quickly, they are revealed at a the perfect moments and with satisfying detail.

The mystery facing Marlowe at the moment is a doozie. He has singled out a local serial killer, the Rose Killer, as the next victim for his wolf persona. If he can't idenitfy the killer before the next full moon, the wolf will overrule Marlowe's judgment and slaughter the first human it encounters. He has one month to literally catch the killer's scent before the wolf strikes.

The mystery becomes clear to the casual reader early on, but the amazing prose and strong characterization keep the story compelling to the very end. The Wolfman has its highs and lows, but it ends on an extremely satifying high note that emphasizes all the more the tragedy it is that Pekearo won't be able to hone his craft and offer the world more of his unique vision.

I had read news reports about Nicholas Pekearo's dying in the line of duty. So, when the book was released posthumously I prejudged. I figured that rather than relying on the art of the author's fiction, interest in his tragic true story would propel book sales. This definitely is not the case: 'The Wolfman' is cross-genre good writing with an imaginative take on the werewolf myth. Marlowe Higgins is an unusual hero-monster. He (actually, the beast within him) has done some bad things. But, he struggles to control the animalistic impulses and direct them towards deserving criminals that would not be punished otherwise. This vigilante mission works out well for the erstwhile drifter until a serial killer comes to town. The mystery is not who the killer is (that's obvious early on); it's how the killer is able to evade Marlowe's acute tracking sense. The writer throws out loud hints; but, the reader won't put it all together until Marlowe does in the finale. In Marlowe Higgins, Pekearo presents a refreshing protagonist. Unlike most lead characters, Marlowe isn't handsome or rich. He chain-smokes, drinks, curses and starts fights in bars. Few people like him. The writer has made the character a very real, demon-ridden man with a conscience. At the end, the reader anticipates more Wolfman stories told in even a stronger voice. Sadly, this young writer's voice was silenced much too soon.