In The Company Of Wolves - James Michael Larrinaga: A Review

 

BOOK TITLE: In the company of wolves

ISBN: 9781478320418

AUTHOR: James Michael Larrinaga

GENRE: Mystery/Thriller

NUMBER OF PAGES: 520

FORMAT: Adobe DRM edition

SERIES / STANDALONE: SERIES

REVIEW BY: Dhivya Balaji

HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: Another net-galley offering.

REVIEW:

A thrilling novel set in the backdrop of corporate companies, a cold climate and even colder criminals and a deranged protagonist, ‘In the Company Of Wolves’ proves to be a page turner for odd reasons. Much like a cloudy evening with a slight mist, the book moves at a slow pace but still manages to interest the reader enough to be a page turner.

          Hallucinations are the main concept dealt with in the book. The protagonist is joining his job as an intern on the prestigious viatical settlement firm. He soon learns more about the job than he bargained for. With thrilling comparisons to the wolf pack, the insurance world and its inhabitants are just as calculating and shrewd as a pack of wolves. There is the alpha boss, his beta right hand security man, and the underdog omega wolf that is looking for a chance to prove his mettle to the leaders.

          On his first day at his new job, Quin Lighthorn witnesses a death—unsure whether it was a murder or a forced-due-to-circumstance shooting. The mirage of safety slowly dissolves as more and more secrets of the company are divulged. The mysterious disappearance of two former employees at the company is still not investigated and the company is busying itself to capture a big settlement worth ten million dollars, looking for investors who would cash in on the life insurance of an already dying person.

          The protagonist finds too many warning calls from mysterious ravens that appear only to him and he decides to play the Good Samaritan to the lady whose policy is being fought upon. Because of one secret he knows, or rather suspects. Convinced though he is that he is doing the right thing in protecting her, the subject proves to be difficult to convince. Sooner than he imagined, Quin is asked to find investors for the big settlement and he chooses to cash in on this opportunity.

          With the ignored underdog, Quin hatches a plan to save both the lady and his investor’s money. But before long, in a quite dramatic twist, his dark past catches up with him and he is forced to go into running. How he manages to achieve his goal of saving the innocent and how he manages to bring justice forms the rest of the story. The book emphasises all through, the concept of “The end justifies the means”

WHAT I LIKED: the thrilling scenes, setting, insights into the Indian culture, delusional but do-gooder protagonist, excellent placement of twists scattered throughout the book.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER: confusing storyline, unsatisfying finish (but quite practical), teetering towards the surreal sometimes.

VERDICT: read this one on a thoroughly rainy afternoon if twists and page turners are your forte. Wait for the sequel for better grasp.

RATING: 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
http://www.goodreads.com/JLarranaga    

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: e-book, Adobe DRM.

PRICE: N/A

BOOK LINKS: N/A