Bea Reviews Cry Wolf by Charlie Adhara

Series: Big Bad Wolf #5
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes but not recommended
Publisher: Carina Press
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: Jan. 18th, 2021
Buying Links: Amazon* | Apple Books* | Barnes & Noble | Google Books | Kobo | 
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Don’t miss this thrilling installment in Charlie Adhara’s suspenseful paranormal mystery series, Big Bad Wolf.

Agent Cooper Dayton never thought anything could be harder than solving murders. Until he had to plan a wedding.

After taking down an old adversary, Agent Cooper Dayton of the Bureau of Special Investigations has earned a break. Not that planning a wedding to his sexy shifter partner, Oliver Park, is necessarily stress free, but it’s better than worrying about the ominous warning, delivered months ago, that Cooper’s life is in danger.

When he’s dragged to an event by his family, Cooper braces for an awkward evening, but instead finds himself in the middle of an ugly feud between Park’s ex and a rebel pack leader. What was supposed to be a quick outing turns into a full-blown murder investigation after the pack leader ends up dead, Park’s ex goes missing, and Cooper and Park are sent a series of disturbing wedding gifts that are somehow connected to it all.

The list of potential suspects is long, and with the bodies piling up, Cooper must turn to the one person he trusts the least: the villain he’s already put behind bars once and who has nothing to lose by lying and everything to gain if Cooper is out of the picture—for good.

My Thoughts:

"Cry Wolf" first caught my attention as it has the same title as one of my favorite PNR books, Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs. Both are about a romantic couple and both have a mystery and wolf politics but that's it. Adhara's "Cry Wolf" is a / couple who work an agency that polices werewolf behavior. The world, except for a few select humans, does not know about werewolves and the agency would like to keep it that way. 

I read the first book and enjoyed it then skipped several books. Although that worked, it was confusing at times. Quite a lot happened in the intervening books and while Adhara did provide info on the previous books, I was lost at times. That feeling of being lost didn't keep me from enjoying the story; Adhara did provide context and it helped that I had read the first book.

Adhara's werewolf world is different from other books though it shares similarities. Their world is firmly grounded in a pre-pandemic world and feels real and recognizable. Cooper has gotten better an navigating the werewolf world, thanks in large part to his fiance, Oliver, a werewolf. But he comes to realize that there's a lot he still needs to learn and understand. There are times of course when the human world and the werewolf world come into conflict. One such conflict is his and Oliver's engagement. That's not how werewolves conduct romantic matters and Cooper is intensely aware that his and Oliver's wedding will be a spectacle voraciously observed by the wolves; he wants to get it just right and he also wants it just right for he and Oliver. He's so focused on getting it absolutely perfect that he's paralyzed when it comes to making decisions.

Then a visit from one of Oliver's exes, some blackmail, and some murder occupy his attention. Throw in werewolf politics, family dynamics, and evil humans and werewolves, and Adhara gave us an engaging, fast-paced story. I was partly right about who was responsible for all of the trouble but there were lots of twists and surprises. This is also where I wished I'd read books two, three, and four as they apparently laid the foundation for much of what happened in this book. I may have figured out parts of the mystery sooner; or maybe not. Adhara definitely raised the stakes for Cooper and Oliver as well as the werewolves in general. I'm a little worried about Cooper's role in the werewolf world but also intrigued. He can't just sit back and observe anymore.

With all of this going on, Adhara did not forget the romance. Oliver and Cooper were so sweet and thoughtful, always looking out for each other and trying so hard to do right by each other. Their romantic gestures were tailored and specific to the recipient. I loved that they knew each other so well and worked so hard at communicating and sharing. And Cooper has become more open emotionally since the first book, though he still had trouble at times expressing himself to his family members. But even there, there have been many changes since the first book. 

"Cry Wolf" was sweet, suspenseful, and engaging. It's an interesting world with a lot of potential and I enjoyed both the mysteries and Cooper and Oliver's relationship. But do read the earlier books before starting this one; it'll be less confusing.

Some favorite quotes:

What stage of love was it when another person became a habit? How quickly had the mere background hum of another person's life become such an essential fixture of the house that its absence felt like a robbery?

In some ways, their entire relationship had felt like tripping down a cliff side. 

You'll have this forever, he thought suddenly. This moment. This memory. No matter what happened in the future, no one could take away the fact that imperfect Cooper Dayton had found his own perfect love.

Fear is just your body protecting itself, Dr. Ripodi had said once. Just like pain exists to let you knkow something is wrong, fear is another message.

"Dreams change. People change. Please just don't stop giving me the chance to change with you."