From Publishers Weekly
It's not easy to find a fresh angle for the werewolf theme, but this debut novel from a Canadian writer proves that solid storytelling and confident craftsmanship can rejuvenate one of the hoariest of all horror clich‚s. Elena Michaels is a self-described "mutt," a werewolf who left her secretive pack in upstate New York for a life among humans. In the year since she relocated to Toronto, she's embarked on a career as a journalist and begun a pleasingly mundane relationship with a decent man. All this is jeopardized when she agrees to help her old packmates hunt some troublesome mutts who are converting common criminals to werewolves and leaving a trail of conspicuous carnage. Reunited with her former lycanthrope lover and forced into brutally predatory confrontations, Elena finds the call of the wild subtly reasserting itself. Armstrong prepares readers for her tale's twists with several key revisions of werewolf lore the werewolf taint is mostly hereditary, and werewolves can be killed as easily as any human or wolf. Her true achievement, though, is her depiction of werewolf nature in believably human context. Elena's feral sensibility, like her psychological vulnerabilities, seems a natural outgrowth of her abusive childhood, and her relationship with the pack is that of any prodigal child to a close-knit family. The sensuality of Elena's transformations and the viciousness of her kills mesh perfectly with her tough personality. Filled with romance and supernatural intrigue, this book will surely remind readers of Anne Rice's sophisticated refurbishings of the vampire story. Agent, Helen Heller. (Oct. 1)Forecast: The sensual, non-genre jacket design will help to signal that this novel will also appeal to mainstream tastes.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Armstrong puts a new spin on the old werewolf tales and has created a well-written, thought-provoking novel to boot. The only female werewolf in existence, Elena Michaels was bitten by her werewolf fianc‚ and learned to live within the pack. Still struggling after 10 years to accept her identity and feeling anger toward her former lover and creator, she leaves the pack to live a relatively normal life with a nice normal guy in Toronto. Before long she is called back to help discover and destroy some dangerous non-pack werewolves, called mutts, that are torturing and killing humans. (Pack werewolves do not kill humans and monitor the doings of mutts to safeguard their anonymity.) More than just fast-paced action, this book offers an allegory of the difficulties with which one struggles when life takes an entirely unplanned and unwanted route. Does Elena accept who she has become and learn to live with it peacefully or does she continue to struggle, rant, and fight that which she cannot control? She is a feisty, tough character, easy to like, and with a good lesson to share.Carol DeAngelo, Kings Park Library, Burke, VACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Elena is a werewolf the only female werewolf in the world. Betrayed by Clay, her former lover, who bit her while in his werewolf form, she is now resigned to a life of secret changes while attempting to remain in human society. Meanwhile, the power of the Pack and her deep-seated ties to Clay continually press on her, preventing a true commitment to her human lover. When the Pack Alpha calls her to help rout a band of murderous "mutts" (werewolves not affiliated with the Pack), Elena reluctantly becomes the animal she has fought so long to suppress. First novelist Armstrong presents true werewolves as those who follow Pack law and don't kill for pleasure. Changing into a werewolf becomes an act of nature, as does ripping mutts to shreds for threatening the Pack. Elena's struggle with her wolf nature and her love for two men is caught up in the werewolves' fight for dominance and territory. While the plot is as predictable as gang warfare, readers will cheer for Elena as she beats up the big boys and has the courage to choose her own path. Recommended for larger public libraries. Jen Baker, Seattle P.L. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Elena Michaels's life changed forever when a large dog nipped her hand, barely drawing blood. No common pet, the wolf gazed at her with her fiancŽ's eyes, drawing her into the world of the werewolf. Aasne Vigesaa's narration begins slowly, holding back complete immersion into the story or its characters, as she reads the book rather than performs it. By the second or third cassette, however, she seems to become more comfortable in her role as Elena, and more involved with the plot. While Vigesaa's pace rarely races, even through the wolves' nighttime runs in the forest, her tone picks up as the story progresses. By the end, we're rooting for the werewolves in love. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Review
?. . . it?s as smooth as cream all the way, sure to gain fans.? - Kirkus Reviews

?[An] impressive debut thriller. . . . Kelley Armstrong is very good on the sheer exhilaration of shape-changing, of running on four feet through forests, suburban greenery and urban back alleys.? - Amazon UK

"[I]t's terrific. I'm a sucker for this kind of novel anyway, and the heroine is the most appealing I have come across in ages. It's clever, quirky, hip and funny, skating between genres with style and grace. More please!" -- Joanne Harris

'There is nothing overtly gothic about this fast-paced, sexy thriller and its model contemporary heroine -- it's just that she's a werewolf who is trying to make a go of things among humans. - Bookseller (UK)

"A hair-raising story for the she-wolf in us all." - Shannon Olson, author of Welcome to My Planet: Where English Is Sometimes Spoken.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Elena Michaels seems like the typically strong and sexy modern woman. She lives with her architect boyfriend, writes for a popular newspaper, and works out at the gym. She's also a werewolf. Elena has done all she can to assimilate to the human world, but the man whose bite changed her existence forever, and his legacy, continue to haunt her. Thrown into a desperate war for survival that tests her allegiance to a secret clan of werewolves, Elena must reckon with who, and what, she is in this passionate, page-turning novel.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

It's not easy to find a fresh angle for the werewolf theme, but this debut novel from a Canadian writer proves that solid storytelling and confident craftsmanship can rejuvenate one of the hoariest of all horror clich?s. Elena Michaels is a self-described "mutt," a werewolf who left her secretive pack in upstate New York for a life among humans. In the year since she relocated to Toronto, she's embarked on a career as a journalist and begun a pleasingly mundane relationship with a decent man. All this is jeopardized when she agrees to help her old packmates hunt some troublesome mutts who are converting common criminals to werewolves and leaving a trail of conspicuous carnage. Reunited with her former lycanthrope lover and forced into brutally predatory confrontations, Elena finds the call of the wild subtly reasserting itself. Armstrong prepares readers for her tale's twists with several key revisions of werewolf lore the werewolf taint is mostly hereditary, and werewolves can be killed as easily as any human or wolf. Her true achievement, though, is her depiction of werewolf nature in believably human context. Elena's feral sensibility, like her psychological vulnerabilities, seems a natural outgrowth of her abusive childhood, and her relationship with the pack is that of any prodigal child to a close-knit family. The sensuality of Elena's transformations and the viciousness of her kills mesh perfectly with her tough personality. Filled with romance and supernatural intrigue, this book will surely remind readers of Anne Rice's sophisticated refurbishings of the vampire story. Agent, Helen Heller. (Oct. 1) Forecast: The sensual, non-genre jacket design will help to signal that this novelwill also appeal to mainstream tastes. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

KLIATT

Did you know there were female werewolves? Elena didn't￯﾿ﾽuntil she became one. Just after she gets engaged to hunky Clayton, a large pale dog nips her. That seemingly small love bite causes Elena to change periodically into the only female werewolf on the east coast of America; bitten females usually do not survive. The dog? Clay: a born werewolf. Elena tries to regain her normal life, and escapes to Toronto where she finds a kind lover. All seems manageable, with Elena hiding her occasional needs to change, until she gets an urgent phone call drawing her back into the werewolf Pack. There she hears that the local community fears wild dogs that have started killing humans. Before Elena left, she had kept records of all the werewolves; now she was called to help find out which "mutt" had attacked￯﾿ﾽand had compromised￯﾿ﾽthe Pack. Elena also feels a pull to her old fianc￯﾿ﾽ Clay. Will she be able to escape again? Will she want to? Or will she be killed in the process? A compelling, if somewhat predictable, fantasy. A couple of plot twists keep the reader's interest, and the sympathetic characters are well drawn. This book gives a whole new meaning to the term "bodice ripper": hot heavy breathing by lovers and killers, human and werewolf. This volume is the first in the series Women of the Otherworld, and the first novel for Armstrong. She's a keeper. (Women of the Otherworld, Book 1). KLIATT Codes: A￯﾿ﾽRecommended for advanced students and adults. 2001, Plume, 372p., Farmer

Library Journal

Elena is a werewolf the only female werewolf in the world. Betrayed by Clay, her former lover, who bit her while in his werewolf form, she is now resigned to a life of secret changes while attempting to remain in human society. Meanwhile, the power of the Pack and her deep-seated ties to Clay continually press on her, preventing a true commitment to her human lover. When the Pack Alpha calls her to help rout a band of murderous "mutts" (werewolves not affiliated with the Pack), Elena reluctantly becomes the animal she has fought so long to suppress. First novelist Armstrong presents true werewolves as those who follow Pack law and don't kill for pleasure. Changing into a werewolf becomes an act of nature, as does ripping mutts to shreds for threatening the Pack. Elena's struggle with her wolf nature and her love for two men is caught up in the werewolves' fight for dominance and territory. While the plot is as predictable as gang warfare, readers will cheer for Elena as she beats up the big boys and has the courage to choose her own path. Recommended for larger public libraries. Jen Baker, Seattle P.L. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Armstrong puts a new spin on the old werewolf tales and has created a well-written, thought-provoking novel to boot. The only female werewolf in existence, Elena Michaels was bitten by her werewolf fianc and learned to live within the pack. Still struggling after 10 years to accept her identity and feeling anger toward her former lover and creator, she leaves the pack to live a relatively normal life with a nice normal guy in Toronto. Before long she is called back to help discover and destroy some dangerous non-pack werewolves, called mutts, that are torturing and killing humans. (Pack werewolves do not kill humans and monitor the doings of mutts to safeguard their anonymity.) More than just fast-paced action, this book offers an allegory of the difficulties with which one struggles when life takes an entirely unplanned and unwanted route. Does Elena accept who she has become and learn to live with it peacefully or does she continue to struggle, rant, and fight that which she cannot control? She is a feisty, tough character, easy to like, and with a good lesson to share.-Carol DeAngelo, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile