LONE WOLF by Jodi Picoult

Lone Wolf   by Jodi Picoult

I loved the parts of this book that dealt with the wolves!  I learned a lot about the pack: its members, their roles, their calls (howls), how they eat, etc.

The “humans” were just not as interesting, perhaps because Picoult has written this book before. (In MERCY, she tells of a mercy killing with many of the same themes found in Lone Wolf.) The slowly revealed lies and omissions of Luke and Georgie, and, most importantly, Edward and Cara make this book resonate with family drama over the bed of the badly injured Luke.    

Joe, Dannie Boyle, Helen Bedd and Zirconia are interesting characters that I hope make further appearances in Picoult’s books. 

Picoult writes fiction drawn from headlines with sympathetic characters that tug at emotions AND she does it well.  You will find yourself trying to decide “what would I do” in a similar situation.  She is careful to make all options appealing and defensible.

The final chapter of this book offers an additional dollop of “what is really happening here” that animal lovers will find intriguing.