You’ve heard the age-old dilemma — vampires or werewolves? In this list, we’re choosing werewolves all the way.
These supernatural beings have been mythologized for centuries and are a staple in modern fiction, found in everything from romance to horror. The compelling creatures balance between human and animal, transforming at the arrival of the full moon, though fiction has developed and transformed werewolf lore to fit the needs of the individual story.
In these five novels, werewolves are central to the mystery, whether they’re the hidden killer, the undercover hero, the brave vigilante, or something straight out of myth. Save this list to enjoy under the next full moon — if you dare.
The Wolfman by Nicholas Pekearo
Two killers go head to head in this supernatural story of vigilante justice. Marlowe Higgins hasn’t stayed in one place since he was dishonorably discharged from Vietnam — though he keeps landing himself in prison. Every full moon, Higgins kills someone. This affliction has become a purposeful habit, ridding the world of bad people as an act of vigilante justice.
Finally settled in Evelyn Tennessee, and having befriended one of the town’s detectives, he has settled down for good. That is, until he learns of The Rose Killer, a serial killer who targets young women. Of course, Higgins sets his sights on the murderer as the target of his next full moon outing. When the moon rises, nothing goes as planned as the two monsters face off.
Volk by D Werkmeister
FBI agents confront a menace beyond human comprehension when a shape-shifter teams up with the FBI to dismantle a criminal empire. Terri Watson, a dedicated FBI agent immersed in Philadelphia’s murky depths of organized crime, finds herself and her partner entangled in a web of deceit spun by Russian mobsters.
Amidst the chaos of their investigation, a series of brutal murders shatters the city, hinting at a force more primal and sinister than any they’ve encountered before. Elements of Sumerian mythology, genetic experimentation, ancient curses, and lycanthropy mix to create a genre-defying take on the police procedural.
(Read the review on BookTrib.)
Throw Me to the Wolves by Lindy Ryan and Christopher Brooks
Would you forsake one family to save another? That dilemma is faced by Britta Orchid, a werewolf who has a thing for human men — specifically a certain police detective. This attraction isolates her from her wolf pack, who are loyal to their own. But nothing will deter her from her mission to find out why her murdered brother’s soul has been locked in a powerful witch’s circle.
And although every instinct in her wolf body tells her to let it go, there is nothing she won’t do to release her brother’s soul from the horror of his entrapment, doomed to languish forever. Enter Aaron Labaye, the police detective, who is determined to solve the mystery of who slaughtered Britta’s family, even as he is pulled into a dark world filled with black magic, werewolves, murder and, of course, love.
(Read the review on BookTrib.)
Black Oak by Titus Murphy
Something dark is lurking in the woods of Wichita, Kansas. For generations, the people around the Black Oak forest have told stories of creatures prowling the forest. Mark, an unassuming truck driver chasing romance, is about to learn the truth of the danger brewing on the horizon.
A supernatural conflict between witches and Jackals — werewolf-like creatures able to transform at will, without a full moon — takes readers back to 1782 and the legendary spell book that started it all. With the witches’ book in the hands of the Jackals, the destruction would stretch far past Kansas. The guardians of the spell book try to outrun their pursuers from 1782 to 1815 to modern day, when both sides are desperate to end this bloody conflict once and for all.
(Read the review on BookTrib.)
Beneath the Skin by Jonathan Maberry
This collection of short stories centers a benandanti named Sam — a man who is part of an ancient race of werewolves determined to fight evil. The case files of PI Sam Hunter focus on the clients he takes on, who he is determined to protect no matter the cost. From saving the world from genetically engineered super soldiers to rescuing a young boy from the very real monster in his closet. All at once dangerous, disturbing, comedic and heartbreaking, this werewolf investigator is an unconventional detective who is ready to solve any mystery that comes his way — no matter how odd the job.
