Wolfman

by Stanley Trollip

Crystal Nguyen, a young investigative reporter, wants to make her mark in the world of television. Sidelined at first from reporting on her passion for environmental issues, Crystal finds an unusual way to get her news director's attention—and the attention of hunters and poachers in northern Minnesota, some of whom are not happy with what she has to say. Her reporting goes viral when she suggests there may be someone out there—possibly part of the hunt-the-hunter movement—who is intent on going after poachers of the endangered gray wolf. She gives him the name, Wolfman, and the TV station’s rating soar. Then a hunter is shot, and Crystal is worried that her Wolfman idea has spawned a copycat—a real person intent on punishing poachers. Perhaps killing them. Now she has to downplay the Wolfman idea and appeal to the copycat to stop his attacks. Will he listen? Will she be in time to prevent someone from dying?A cold environment turns hot with conflict. Nicely packaged and carefully structured, this fine crime novel captures the conflict and atmosphere of the region and it’s people very well.”—Carl Brookins, reviewer and author of Traces“WOLFMAN is a howling good read. Stanley Trollip delivers a suspenseful nature vs. news thriller that will have readers fearing and cheering the big bad wolf.”—Julie Kramer, author of the Riley Spartz series“Crystal Nguyen is a perfect protagonist for our time. Rebellious, strong of body, and of will. A conservationist with a conscience.”—Annamaria Alfieri, author of the Vera McIntosh and Justin Tolliver series

194 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 6, 2021

About the author

After writing a number of non-fiction books, a friend, Michael Sears, and I embarked on the Detective Kubu series under the pen name Michael Stanley. Seven have been published, and the eighth is undergoing final editing.

We also wrote a standalone titled Shoot the Bastards with protagonist Crystal Nguyen. As part of writing it, I wrote a book about Crystal's background. Eventually I rewrote it and recently published it as Wolfman.

I currently split my time between Minneapolis, Cape Town and Hillerød, Denmark, where my lady friend lives.

Reviews

[Michael Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Employed to report on environmental issues for a TV station in Duluth, Minnesota, Crystal Nguyen finds herself doing the typical cub-reporter job. Her break comes with the trial of two wolf poachers and a fiery report that she presents on air. After that someone seems intent on going after poachers of the endangered gray wolves - possibly the Hunt-The-Hunter movement. Crys names this person "Wolfman" and ratings soar as she reports on the latest developments. Wolfman disables hunters' vehicles, tips off law enforcement to poaching, and even destroys a hunting cabin with wolf pelts. But when a hunter is shot, Crys realizes that she's lost control of what she started and that her own life is in danger. How can she stop an escalating spiral of violence?
Crys is an American of Vietnamese origin, a biathlon champion, and passionate about wolves. Stanley Trollip has created an intriguing protagonist, and the novel has a twisty and surprising plot. The snow and cold of the north woods in winter gives a strong sense of place to the story.
(Note that Stanley and I write the Detective Kubu series together, but I had no involvement with Wolfman at all. I enjoyed it a lot! Michael.)

[Carl Brookins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel has several unusual elements, elements which only enhance the atmosphere of this interesting novel. The elements worth noting include the locale--northern Minnesota, the weather--winter, and the protagonist—a Vietnamese immigrant.
Crystal Nguyen is a bright and clever TV reporter working for a small television channel in northern Minnesota. Without complete agreement from her boss, she tackles illegal poaching she discovers in the frozen north woods. Nguyen immediately finds herself working against local residents who flout the law to satisfy their need to kill, and who never completely accede to laws regarding game management. And then, a mysterious adversary arises through the modern medium of the Internet.
A sub-plot concerns her training for a local biathlon competition. As a native of southeast Asia, Crystal had zero experience with snow and target shooting with a rifle wasn’t exactly part of her personal arsenal. So, her choice of the skiing in particular serves as a neat counterpoint to her dangerous efforts to identify local poachers. Her snow-filled off days of training to shoot straighter and ski faster add an effective different rhythm to the tale.
The author’s style is brisk and straight forward. The locale is well defined and described. The author drives the tension and the events surrounding Crystal’s personal and her public quests in such a careful way that by the final chapter, readers will be cheering Crystal to victory on both snowy trails.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first met Crystal Nguyen in Dead of Night written by the writing team known as Michael Stanley. In Wolfman, one half of that writing team, Stanley Trollip, has written a prequel, telling Crystal's story prior to Dead of Night.

In Dead of Night, I had some problems with Crystal Nguyen, and after reading this book, I don't think I'll ever be her BFF; she's just too self-centered and impulsive even if her heart is in the right place. Crystal wants to be an environmental investigative reporter for National Geographic, but she goes out of her way in Wolfman to jeopardize her chances. Career in television not moving fast enough to suit you? Well then, just create your own news and report it. What could possibly go wrong?

In the first half of this book, Crystal spends too much time jumping in without thinking, and then she doesn't like the consequences. Like most young people, she also thinks she's ten feet tall and bulletproof. Time and again, her actions put her in danger. A friend finally has to get in her face and say, "I don't think you get it. Just because you are in the right, doesn't make you safe!"

Did my opinion of Crystal ruin the book for me? Not at all. I was thrilled to see that she actually did some growing up in the second half, and I really liked her attitude toward what she'd done. Sharing Crystal's relationship with a gray wolf she named Alfie also went a long way in helping me understand her.

Besides trying to solve the mystery, I quickly learned to look forward to Crystal's biathlon scenes, which both illuminated her character and added depth and excitement to the story.

Will we be seeing Crystal Nguyen again? I don't know. One thing I do know is that, if she does make another appearance, I'll undoubtedly read it. I may not particularly like her, but I do like reading about the trouble she gets herself into in her quest to save the natural world.

[Aimée Bissonette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Michael Stanley's Detective Kubu books and the duo's recent release of "Shoot the Bastards" (STB), a series launch featuring protagonist Crystal Nyugen. "Wolfman" is a prequel designed to give us more background on Crys. It was written by Stan Trollip (one of the two authors comprising Michael Stanley) while STB was in process and was intended as a writing exercise to help the duo build out Crys' character. What was supposed to be a few chapters turned into a suspenseful, action packed, full-blown novel with great twists, terrific description of northern Minnesota, and important environmental themes. What a great read!

[Fay Wallin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting prequel to Dead of Night by Michael Stanley (Authors Stanley Trollip and Michael Sears); this was fast paced and absolutly led me to the Dead of Night. Wolfman deals with wolf poachers in Minnesota, around the Duluth area and we meet the protagonisy Crys Nguyen as she inadvertently unravels the poaching issues and the repercussions that brings. Absolutely glad I read this book!

[Rebecca Clemente · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really did not like the main character or the situations she found herself in. The book is a prequel to provide the personal context for Crystal so the author could write his first fuller novel with her as the main character.

[Rob Solomon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stanley misses Michael. Story was mediocre but so poorly written. Sorry Stanley…I have been a fan of the duo since the first Kubu book. This was such a disappointment.