Bleak and engrossing. Such a sad tale and scarily realistic. This is definitely not a feel good read but it is a good read.

My only complaint is that some of the important characters in the background could have been fleshed out more instead of leaving the reader to guess.

Wow! What a trip! THE WOLF WANTS IN is a superbly written thriller with characters that stayed with me long after I finished the book. Its about the opioid crisis and much more including family ties, grief, poverty and hopelessness. I enjoyed the way the author wove together several mysteries throughout this book! The description of the town is so well done that I feel like I’ve actually been there. There was a lot of excitement, mysterious characters, clever plot turns, and a few frightful moments. This was a stunning book. I enjoyed it tremendously!

Literate, literary, surprising and timely--Laura McHugh delivers a novel and a thriller guaranteed to surprise and enthrall her readership--The best novel to date from this award-winning author.

In the small rural town of Blackwater, Kan., a young man is found dead in his home, supposedly of natural causes -- but Shane Keller's sister Sadie is convinced that investigators need to dig deeper. She believes drugs may have been involved, and doesn't trust Shane's widow, Crystle. But the community's ill-equipped police force has bigger fish to fry when the remains of a child are found in the woods.

Crystle's cousin Henley, who seemed to love Shane more than anyone else in the Pettit family, is fighting her own battles. As soon as she can scrape together the money, Henley is determined to get out of Blackwater. But will her wealthy new boyfriend Jason and her dysfunctional, dangerous family ever allow her to leave?

"The Wolf Wants In" captures all the drama of two sides of a family grieving the death of a loved one. One side has questions, the other has secrets.

I'm trying to resist quoting any parts of the book because I know that's a no-no when dealing with an uncorrected proof (it's a rule I've been known to break now and then ... whoops). I'll paraphrase a passage that gives the novel its title. You can spend your whole life and risk it all in an effort to protect your family and legacy, but what do you do when the wolf -- be it addiction, greed, etc. -- is already among you?

This is the third novel written by one of my favorite authors, Laura McHugh, and it did not disappoint. The amount of detail that she put into creating the characters, setting and plot was impressive and at times overwhelming. There were moments when certain relationships or information about individual characters were revealed that were interesting "aha!" moments for me. As a native of a small town, I understand the feeling of being connected to everyone else in some way.

The story is told in alternating chapters narrated in first person by Sadie and from a third-person view of Henley. The chapters don't run in sequential order -- Sadie is telling her story after Shane's death, and we are hearing from Henley beginning in the summer before he dies. But as Henley's point of view starts to catch up with Sadie's, that's when a lot of pieces fall into place.

The pace of the story had me reeling at times. Like McHugh's first two novels, "The Weight of Blood" and "Arrowood," I had to resist picking up my tablet to continue reading "The Wolf Wants In" unless I knew I had an hour or two to set aside. This was not something I could read during my 30-minute breaks at work because I'd inevitably have to set it down during a really gripping scene. But the action still unwound slowly enough that I could savor the suspense.

If you think you're ready to read "The Wolf Wants In," please do it right. Put your phone on silent and tell the family you need some quiet time. That's the best way to enjoy a rollercoaster ride like this one.

I received an advance copy of "The Wolf Wants In" from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Wolf Wants In is a powerful read. The opioid crisis is only one part of the story. It's also about grief, hopelessness, poverty and family ties. Honesty, it's sad and a bit depressing, but it's still a worthwhile investment of your time. Just know that the material in this story is heavy and relevant. Told in two perspectives, these eventually tie together for a dramatic ending that will stay with you for days. It's thought provoking and chilling in the best way to engage readers with the narrative. You will feel for these characters and their struggles. Excellent read! Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was captivating. It was no easy read because of some of the subjects like addiction and grief but I couldn’t put this book down. This book was touching on so many levels because of the realistic setting. The characters were so well written and mysterious that you were able to contact with them in this story. The book offered so much with the secrets, suspicions and family loyalty that is was hard to put down because I had to know what happens next. The story and characters stuck with me for days after finishing it. This is my first book I’ve read by Laura McHugh but definitely won’t be the last.

Laura McHugh's The Wolf Wants In is one of the most well written books I have read. Each word is specifically chosen and artistically woven together into a magnificent read!!! Told from two perspectives with opposing time lines, Sadie's search for her brother's killer, and Henley's knowledge of what happened to him are so wonderfully intertwined. The author allows the reader to really care for these characters and the journey they are on together. This is a must read book that has a most satisfying ending.

I will be honest. I was confused at first with the different characters and time periods in the book, but eventually it becomes clear how they are all related. This story was extremely well told; I found it difficult to put down. If you've lived in a small town, the characters may seem familiar to you. I highly recommend this book to those who like mysteries. Thank you net galley and Spiegel & Grau for providing me an advance proof in return for an unbiased review.

What a richly woven, compelling story this one was. It starts off with a death, an unexpected one for sure, but still a suspicious death to Shane's family. From there it spirals into a complex tale of family loyalty, secrets, suspicions, and bonds too strong to be broken. Bouncing back and forth between two time periods, the author gives us a glimpse into the events right before Shane’s death. Because Sadie just can’t let it go, she’s drawn deeper and deeper into a part of her brother's life that she wasn’t a part of. It’s a mystery, yes, and a bit of a detective story as well. But the story is so well-written, the characters so fully developed, that it reads nothing like the procedural pieces we’ve come to expect from the genre. Definitely five stars!

McHugh draws a lifelike portrait of small town life in this suspenseful character driven book. Sadie can’t believe her brother died of a heart attack. He was young and fit and married to a woman who had managed to cut him off from his family. As she investigates, Sadie learns things about Shane she never imagined and Shane, although already dead, emerges as a well developed character in his own right.

The picture McHugh paints of small time life and its positives and negatives is realistic and believable.

By using a varied view point and time jumps, the suspense Makes the book “unputdownable.”

The Wolf Wants In is another grit lit classic by Laura McHugh. Sadie is a single mom in Blackwater, Kansas. Her brother Shane has died and she is suspicious of the circumstances. The police don’t seem interested in her suspicions. Sadie is sure that Shane’s wife Crystle has something to do with his death. Across town, Henley is a young woman from a notoriously bad family, the Pettits. Her mom, Missy, is a meth head and disappears frequently on her binges. Henley dreams of leaving Kansas and moving to Colorado. Against the backdrop of this small town crippled by the opioid crisis, Henley and Sadie’s worlds are about to collide. This is a wonderfully written story with two strong lead women characters. McHugh does a great job in all of her books having strong but flawed women as the main characters. This one is no exception. I found myself lost in Sadie and Henley’s world. McHugh describes the town so well that I feel like I’ve actually been there. Make sure to put The Wolf Wants In on your TBR list! Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

McHugh's first two novels resonated with me because I felt as if I could step into the setting, that it could actually be my own town, or one I have lived in before. I greatly appreciate this type of writing and I think it will speak to a lot of readers.
For this book, the scenes are so clearly set individually that each chapter is visible separately, but it came together as a whole. However, at first I felt as if all of the characters were thrown out in the first couple of chapters and I struggled to remember details about them. The more I read, the more it came together, just like the details of the storyline itself. Each character's flaws and insecurities were laid out and brought into the development of the plot. Each played off the other and brought it all together piece by piece.
I truly recommend this book. It is rich in detail and carries the mystery it claims to in the synopsis. The writing is well crafted and it's a great read - I flew through it and loved every second.

I am so happy I got my wish granted and got an ARC of this title! I have not read any other books by Laura McHugh, though I do own "The Weight of Blood" and just haven't gotten to it yet in my neverending TBR stack.

I really loved Laura's writing style, and the tone of this book was so haunting and perfectly paced that I couldn't put it down. The way the timelines hopped around so much between characters was a little confusing at times, but I loved the way she threaded all the characters together so completely. I was entranced by the mystery and couldn't figure it out until the end! Super fun read!

Riveting, compelling, timely, and a total page turner. I simply could not put this book down.

Set in the midwest in a dead end small town that many wish they could escape but are drawn back to due to family ties or deferred dreams. The opioid crisis is running rampant and leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Told in alternating points of view from two women, Sadie and Henley. Sadie is searching for answers to her brother's untimely death. The police seemingly have closed the book on his case and chalked it up to a heart attack. Sadie can't shake the feeling that there's something more. Eighteen year old Henley knows too much about her family's shady past and is determined to escape and get out. When bones are discovered in the woods the mystery deepens, family secrets begin to come out - secrets that will get you killed, and escaping could be more dangerous than one ever imagined.

This is my favorite McHugh book so far! Beautiful, lyrical story telling with bone chilling suspense. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced digital copy.

Just fantastic! THE WOLF WANTS IN is exquisitely written with characters that will stay with you long after the story has ended. The novel revolves around Shane's death. His sister, Sadie wants to know more about his death and how he died but Crystle, Shane's shady wife, isn't giving out any information. Henley is a recent high school graduate, and Crystle's cousin and although Henley was very fond of Shane, she can't tell what she knows. THE WOLF WANTS IN starts with Sadie's voice in the present and Henley's voice in the past, with the two eventually coming together, which was a creative way of telling this story. I will be sure to read McHugh's future works and get a couple of copies of this one as gifts!

This was powerful and sad. The writing, characters and dialogue is very good.

It’s touted as a story about the opioid crisis but it’s more than that. It’s also about dead end small towns and people that have very little as far as possessions, opportunities and hope. The lines that are crossed in order to eek out a meager existence are both horrifying and tragic.

The narrators, Sadie and Henley, were interesting characters. Their stories complimented each other and slowly built up the story and revealed its mystery. There were some twists along the way that I didn’t see coming.

The conclusion is quite the doozy. It’s appropriate, somewhat hopeful and somber at the same time. I would recommend this and read more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for a copy in exchange for a review.

Another great book from Laura McHugh! A great look at family dynamics, really makes you think about how well you know those you love. Smart, atmospheric, slow burn with a hell of a finish!

Ohhhhh, wowzer! I am a big fan of Laura McHugh, but she has really outdone herself with, The Wolf Wants In!

This addictive novel starts out with single mom, Sadie Keller, trying to make heads or tales of the untimely death of her beloved brother, Shane. Between a sister-in-law who seems very unaffected by her husband’s death to Shane’s official cause of death not sitting well with Sadie, she decides to do a little digging herself. It was at that point in this novel when it became officially unputdownable!

I thoroughly enjoyed the way Laura McHugh spun several mysteries throughout this book! I was literally on the edge of my seat with all of the well-timed twists and turns I never saw coming! I was truly shocked many times over—love that! The storyline was extremely well crafted, I think The Wolf Wants In is my new favorite from Laura McHugh! Everyone should read this 5 star read, it’s most definitely on the top of my 2019 favorites list!!

McHugh did a wonderful job yet again! She seamlessly goes back and forth in time and perspective to weave a realistic mystery.

This is another great read from Laura McHugh! I flew through this one and couldn't put it down. Her books are just so 'readable'! Her characters are always so well written and interesting. I love the entire atmosphere that she created. You want to keep reading to find out the 'conclusion' - but you also want to keep reading because you care about the characters. Loved this book!