Author: Charlie Adhara
Publication Date: January 18, 2021
Format Read: e-ARC
Page Length: 269 pages
My Rating: 4 / 5 stars
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Previous books in the series: The Wolf at the Door | The Wolf at Bay | Thrown to the Wolves | Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
SYNOPSIS
Agent Cooper Dayton never thought anything could be harder than solving murders. Until he had to plan a wedding.
After taking down an old adversary, Agent Cooper Dayton of the Bureau of Special Investigations has earned a break. Not that planning a wedding to his sexy shifter partner, Oliver Park, is necessarily stress free, but it’s better than worrying about the ominous warning, delivered months ago, that Cooper’s life is in danger.
When he’s dragged to an event by his family, Cooper braces for an awkward evening, but instead finds himself in the middle of an ugly feud between Park’s ex and a rebel pack leader. What was supposed to be a quick outing turns into a full-blown murder investigation after the pack leader ends up dead, Park’s ex goes missing, and Cooper and Park are sent a series of disturbing wedding gifts that are somehow connected to it all.
The list of potential suspects is long, and with the bodies piling up, Cooper must turn to the one person he trusts the least: the villain he’s already put behind bars once and who has nothing to lose by lying and everything to gain if Cooper is out of the picture—for good.
Did I finish this book, or did it finish ME??? If there isn’t a spin-off series, I will be horribly shocked and upset because this book definitely set us up for one.
There’s a lot happening in this book, so let’s get right to it.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect coming into this book and I did wonder how this book was going to tie the series up. So for me, starting this book was just vibes, no thoughts, you know? I don’t want to spoil anything, so I will keep everything to a minimum with no major spoilers in this review.
Trigger warnings for emotional manipulation (both past and present), mentions of abuse of power, mentions of broken bones, blackmail, torture, abuse, scientific experiments, kidnapping, and murder.
A majority of this book, interestingly, takes place in the D.C. zoo. Although in my head I kept picturing a museum instead of a zoo while reading this? I think it’s because it’s been so long since I’ve been to an actual zoo rather than a museum, I’m just having a hard time picturing it. There’s apparently a lot of live animals, yes, but quite a few taxidermy animals. In any case, this is a bit of a zoo!mystery.
Eli, Oliver’s hot werewolf ex-boyfriend and part of the Park pack, is back in this book and pleads with Cooper for help. I suppose this is where it gets slightly confusing because we meet a lot of new characters in this book we’ve never met before, as is typical when there’s a mystery to solve. But. This mystery starts with a person from Eli’s rebel pack past that is now back in the picture and possibly up to no good.
I wouldn’t say the mystery piece was too hard to figure out, but it does take a very, very windy path with many twists and turns to get there. The book does have a satisfying conclusion to that piece of the puzzle, I think?
The most complicated part of the whole thing comes down to the wolf legends and I feel like I need to read it a few more times to understand it. I don’t know, I’m distracted easily, so I am finding it hard to wrap my head around it. The legends/folklore part is absolutely CRITICAL and should not be skipped. Read it, and then re-read it. If we get a spin-off series, we’re definitely going to see all of it come back tenfold.
I really liked that we get to see Cooper building a relationship with his father, Ed. Their relationship was just so tenuous when we left them in the second book and it’s not in their personalities to be entirely open emotionally, but it’s getting there. I really love that Ed is trying and Cooper is getting to know his dad and is more open up with his brother Dean.
Cooper and Oliver are getting on just swimmingly. Their relationship is still as strong as ever and we see more of that commitment and love for one another play out in this book. It’s almost sickening to witness. ❤ And if you’re wondering if there’s a lot of sex in this book, the answer is oh yes. I wasn’t expecting so much of it, but it works for the story and for Cooper and Oliver.
Cooper still has the most dry wit of anyone, and despite all the horrors being discovered and horrors we’re witnessing in this book, this is still somehow the funniest book out of all five books? I don’t know how Charlie Adhara pulls it off, but she does.
I think we’re blessed with a good audiobook narration for this series and I can’t wait to listen to this book on audio because I think Erik Bloomquist does a fabulous job as Cooper. My only wish is that Carina Press would release this series in paperback, because I would buy this series up SO FAST!! Please. I’m begging and I NEED physical copies of this series. It is not simply a want, but a NEED.
I wouldn’t say this book closes the door on this series and wraps everything neatly in a big red bow. It does answer a lot of questions in a satisfying manner while it also leaves a possibility of a spin-off series. I almost don’t want the spin-off to be a second arc with Cooper and Oliver, or at least if it had to be with them, then maybe adding in Oliver’s POV would be a nice change rather than having it be all Cooper? But no, what I really want is a certain someone else to find his HEA and us getting a series with his POV. It will be evident who I mean once you all read this book. I love Cooper and his dry humor and relatable anxieties. But he found his HEA with Oliver and I need this other character to find his too!! Is that too much to ask? I THINK NOT.
The epilogue in this book is a good one and I think fans of the series will be pleased with reading Cooper and Oliver’s story and their HEA (or maybe more a HFN if I’m being honest) with the likelihood that we will be returning to this world one day. Because the story isn’t over and I can’t wait to come back.
***Thanks so much to the publisher for giving me this arc for review on NetGalley!***
writing bookish notes 