A HUNT You Don't Want to Miss

WOLF HUNT by Jeff Strand (2010 Dark Regions Press / hc)
Despite me not being a big werewolf fan, there's been plenty of good werewolf novels around lately. Jeff Strand's latest is no exception.
George and Lou, two low-level gangsters, are hired to deliver some guy named Ivan from Miami to Tampa to a crime lord. Ivan also happens to be caged. The thugs have been told to be careful because their captive is a werewolf. Naturally, Ivan manages to escape, and what follows is one of Strand's goriest (and, surprisingly, funniest) stories to date (especially if you have a sick sense of humor like me).
What makes WOLF HUNT different from other werewolf novels (at least the several I've read) is Ivan: even before he turns into a wolf (which he can do at will), he's one tough, sarcastic cookie who makes even George and Lou look like two wussies. Getting to know him a bit before his transformation prepares the reader's mind: if this guy is THIS hardcore as a human, just wait till he turns into a monster. And MAN does this SOB get busy in the splatter department...
WOLF HUNT's dialogue is quite funny (just check out chapter three's discussion between New York and Florida animals as well as a few of Ivan's rants) and the use of explosives toward the finale added some classic slapstick to the (nearly) non-stop action (the mention of a "classic Centipede machine" being destroyed almost made me wet my drawers).
Even with all this humor, the scenes of Ivan (in werewolf form) attacking get quite intense and there's several instances where the thrills work quite well.
Cemetery Dance Magazine said (several years ago) that "No author working today comes close to Jeff Strand's perfect mix of comedy and terror." With a large stack of books now under his belt, his latest, WOLF HUNT, continues to make that statement ring true. It's surely one of his all-around best, and the stage is even set for a sequel...
(If you still can't get enough Strand/wolfness after reading this, seek out his hysterical 2006 White Noise Press chapbook titled 'Werewolf Porno/Sex Potion #147.')