Corporate Wolf

by Stuart R. West

If you can't run with the big dogs…
It was supposed to be a corporate retreat and a series of morale-boosting exercises. It was a weekend Shawn Biltmore nearly didn't survive.
There was something else playing in the woods that night, something other than a bunch of corporate drones with paintball guns.
And it had chosen Shawn as its new chew toy.
…rip 'em to shreds.
The local authorities chalked it up to a bear attack.
So did the doctors.
Shawn knew the truth, however, as much as he wanted to deny it.
But when one of his coworkers is viciously killed, Shawn must face the truth…
He's a killer who needs to be put down.
Or is he?

Genres: Horror

356 pages, Paperback

Published August 2, 2019

Reviews

[Irene Well Worth A Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shawn Biltmore, junior executive at the Lerner Corporation spends his days working his boring job and most nights getting drunk at the bar with his only friend Redmond, a rather repulsive character who is also a junior executive at the same company. It is in this usual state of drunkenness that Shawn becomes separated from Redmond on a team building exercise in the woods. The next thing he knows, he is waking up in a hospital, being told that he has been in a coma after a bear attack. Shawn knows it was nothing so ordinary that attacked him in those woods and not long after he begins to feel the changes in himself one of his annoying coworkers is found dead.
I didn't really feel connected to or invested in any of these characters. I'm not sure if Shawn's clumsy attempts to date his nurse and a coworker were meant to be endearing or humorous. The only enjoyment I got from this story came from the werewolf attacks which were suspenseful, vivid, and frightening. Also, it taught me that goat yoga is an actual thing.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

[Russell James · Rating 5 out of 5]

The werewolf myth is two millennia old. That’s a lot of furry fireside stories, a lot of novels, a lot of movies. The familiarity of the genre means anyone wanting to play in that sandbox needs to bring his A-game.
In CORPORATE WOLF, Stuart West does.
Our hero is Shaun, a worker bee in the huge Lerner Solutions Corporation living a cubicle slave life. He’s a bit adrift in his job, wondering if he’s promotable, wondering if he wants to be. After a corporate retreat goes south, he doesn’t feel like the man he used to be, and that’s where lycanthropy takes the stage.
Shaun is a well-defined everyman, struggling with the ennui and the politics of work life. His “best work buddy” Redmond is the gregarious slacker everyone has worked with at some point in their life. Damon Brogan leads the pack (pun intended) of Lerner managers and is the rah-rah boss people hate to work for. West does a good job painting all his main characters through dialogue and action.
What sets this apart from other werewolf tales is the clear parallels highlighted between the canine Alpha lead/pack mentality and common attributes of the corporate world. By the end you are wondering if there are any leaders in corporate America who AREN’T werewolves.
There are many twists and turns in the plot, so I won’t kill the story by listing any here. There’s a lot of murderous action, but none of the descriptions rise to the splatterpunk level. West also leavens in a bit of humor to break the tension, but not enough to push it into Abbott and Costello Meet the Wolfman territory.
If you are a fan of fur and fangs, this will be howling good horror for you.

[Catherine Cavendish · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can always rely on Stuart R. West to deliver a great story, with horror and (frequently dark) humour in pretty much equal measure. His latest is no exception. In this corporate world, the wolves really bite and central character -hardworking Shawn - is doing his best to be the best team player he can be. He goes on a week long teambuilding programme little knowing that there is something else in the woods other than paintballing suits. A big bear that shouldn't be there attacks him and he ends up on a coma. (Well everyone maintains it must have been a bear). After Shawn recovers, he finds things becoming stranger and more sinister at the company. Murderous even. But what is going on and how can he stop it? The heat is well and truly on.

Will Shawn make it out alive? Will he ever master the art of goat yoga? Corporate Wolf is horror with hilarity. It's also an allegory for our times.

[Marva · Rating 4 out of 5]

You've heard of the Wolf of Wallstreet. Those greedy guys have nothing on the staff of Lerner Corporation.

Shawn has worked diligently for years, being a team player. On a company retreat, he's attacked by ... a bear? In a coma for weeks, he finally recovers enough to return to work. That's when the wolf hits the fan.

Humor mixed with horror is Stuart West's forte. This is another great addition to his wild bunch of books about everything from a haunted mine to a spooky bed-and-breakfast inn.

I received a pre-release copy of this book with a request for an honest review. Since I did like the book, I'm more than happy to leave a positive review.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Turns out running can be bad for your health...

This was so dark and funny. The werewolf action was amazing and if I ever had any plans of trying goat yoga, I don't now!

This one kept me guessing too. I thought I knew what was going on but I did not. Really enjoyable read!

[Kevin Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read a good werewolf story in a while so I was pleased to get a review copy from the publisher for Corporate Wolf, the latest from Stuart R. West. This was my introduction to West’s work and I have to say, I was surprised to find an author who can mix comedy and action-horror as well as Jeff Strand. Horror comedy is often attempted, but rarely successful. West has a great feel for dialogue, especially for his male characters, and Corporate Wolf had me chuckling and laughing out loud.

As the title suggests the story takes the Lycan mythology into the dog eat dog world of corporate America. The main character Shawn is a typical cubical bound corporate drone who felt very familiar. Not in a trite way, but more because he made me recall my own corporate drone days. When Shawn has a run-in with something in the woods during a corporate retreat he wakes up in the hospital. Not going to give it aways but there are some nice twists and turns that take the story in a few unexpected directions. Corporate Wolf is a really good suspense mystery meets An American Werewolf in London. Lots of fun.

[Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Low salary, mean boss, overgrown expectations, stultifying cubicle farms, sexual harassment, poorly concealed bigotry and sexism: the corporate environment has much to answer for and very little to recommend it (unless you're a CEO with a Golden Parachute). However, most corporations don't actively endanger employees (except for private corporations with contracts in the Middle East). CORPORATE WOLF is a different story, as junior executive assistant Shawn discovers after an ill-fated paintball-game retreat in the forest. His corporation is playing for keeps--literally, and his boss is determined to reshape Shawn into something new and different.

[Boundless Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not big into werewolf stories, but this one surprised me. One crazy day it all changes for Shawn when out of nowhere, the realization that he maybe werewolf has him running scared. Now the business he works for may be more involved than anyone knows.

This was a crazy, wild ride from start to finish. It was written well. It was action-packed and had a fun set of characters. This story kept me on the edge of my seat. I literally read this in one sitting. It was fun and easy to follow. The storyline was one that kept me enthralled.

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[Heath Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. Fresh from his creative mind, Mr. West has developed another plot combining comedy with some yikes moments. Corporate greed and enough plot twists to keep a reader flipping pages.
Company retreats can do more than build character, especially when paint bullets are flying. Full moons will never be the same again.