Big Bad Wolf

Snyder’s pulpy, suspenseful debut shocks, surprises, and titillates, but the love story lags behind the worldbuilding. In an only slightly more dystopian near future, New York City is home to vampires, shifters, and sorcerers—as well as rampant organized crime. Criminal defense attorney Neha Ahulwalia knows that her new client, wolf shifter Joe Peluso, is a killer, but she’s inexorably drawn to him anyway. Instinct tells her that “Joe Peluso was the monster in the closet, the creature you were warned about in fairy tales... and still, somehow, not the scariest white man Neha had encountered while doing her job.” She’s certain there’s more to his story, and she’s right: Joe is a vigilante and the six mobsters he dispatched were very bad men. Joe and Neha fall in lust at first sight, then fall in love on the run after fleeing a shoot-out at the courthouse. The remainder unfolds somewhat unevenly, delivering an ungainly mix of visceral thrills; explicit, fevered coupling that leans heavily on the idea of fated mates; and repetitive, sometimes awkward exposition that sets the stage for future volumes at the expense of the present. Snyder easily charms the reader into wanting more from this world, but the romantic relationship pales in comparison. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary. (Jan.)