This is a wonderful shapeshifter, urban fantasy. My rating 4.5.

Gwyn Glaidd is a Heroka – a human/wolf shapeshifter. The Heroka are humans with “extra” – sort of superhuman. They try to live alone and in peace, often dwelling with native tribes like the Ojibwe and Cree. But there are those who fear the Heroka and others who want to study them. The Tainchel is a shadow government agency that has captured and tortured the Heroka, trying to learn their secrets. Years ago the Tainchel came in force against Gwyn and his community. Gwyn decimated the hunters, including the leader’s son, and Gwyn has lived in seclusion since.

When a young woman in the Ojibwe tribe is killed in a brutal and unexplainable fashion, Gwyn is asked to return to the tribal grounds to investigate. Also, to prove that his ex-girlfriend, another Heroka -- of the cat totem-- is innocent of the murder. Initially, Gwyn wants to refuse until Tainchel hunters arrive at his secluded location and kill his friend. Gwyn is visited by the great wolf spirit of his ancestors and told that he must save the world with ‘the boy’. Gwyn is left in charge of a seventeen-year-old troubled teen, Cas – a Heroka of the rodent clan (specifically the otter family).

Running from the Tainchel at his lodge, Gwyn knows he is taking his companion dog and his new ‘ward’ to danger filled with unknown evil. But he doesn’t realize he is also delivering them into a confrontation with the head of the Tainchel. It’s hard to tell which is the greater danger – the spiritual threat or the relentless revenge of a father who lost his son. And there is a big surprise for Gwyn when he meets the young blind boy who will play an important part in the upcoming battles.

I enjoy shapeshifter stories and I always like the Native American (Canadian) connections. The characters are well developed with strengths and weaknesses. The leader of the Tainchel is presented as a zealous and delusional Christian, which didn’t thrill me, but he is clearly over the edge. The world-building is wonderful and the mysteries kept me glued with effective surprises. There is plenty of action and good pacing. When I read the author’s notes I learned that there are earlier short stories introducing the Heroka and Gwyn in particular. I hope to read those. I recommend this to fans of shapeshifter suspense.

Source: Title from the publisher and NetGalley 2019.

This book is excellent -the writing is tight and flows easily. Not too dissimilar to Charles de Lint - Smith is a wunderkind.

Written by Douglas Smith, this novel follows the death of a young native girl, killed by a beast of legend. Or is it a person of legend? Written from multiple view points, with a number of different cultures intertwined, native american being the foremost, this novel built a world.

Overall, I like this book, though I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read a physical copy. This has another variation on shifters, these are the Heroka, who also have bonds with animals and... its all a little confusing.

And that was the problem. This book was enjoyable, just so very confusing. And I wish it was a more straight-forward story than how winding it ended up being. There was a large cast in this novel, and I think that the novelette that came before should have been included to help explain some things that they were all referencing. 

The characters had depth and were good characters. An enjoyable novel overall just... a lot of information to digest.

I will toss this in with the other werewolf books, but this isn't a werewolf book. It's a shifter book.

If you like urban fantasy and want something that has a complex world and story, this is a good choice. A solid murder mystery conspiracy novel.



I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

A new twist to the old story of shape-shifting humans. A great stand alone book, this is by far one of the greatest stories i have read