Fiction read in 1980s. Title: The Predator. Abandoned wild boy is raised by wolves, found by missionary & taken to village, kept in a cage, he hunts humans & becomes a "mankiller." Cover: howling boy squatting in front of building.

[Madeline]

I am looking for a specific book for a dear friend of mine. He was telling me today that it was his favorite book but it got lost when he was a boy. He is turning 50 this year and I want to do something special for him for his birthday.

I do not know much about the book but here is what he told me today:

The title of the book is called "The Predator"( not the one made into a movie with the alien)
Unfortunately he can't remember the author.

The plot of the story is as follows:
I boy was abandoned and raised by wolves. When he was found by a missionary he was brought to the village. He was wild and was kept in a cage where they tried to control him. He hunts the humans and becomes a "Mankiller"

They eventually take him to the bigger city but he escapes and becomes a predator.

The cover of the book had the the boy on his haunches, howling, with a building/factory behind him.

[Capn]

Hi Madeline,

(You need to update your title so the moderators don't lock you out! Add genre, years, a short description, "Predator", boy raised by wolves, mankiller to your header! Fiction, 1970s-1990s, is fine).

Which country did your friend live in when he read this? I see you're in RSA, which can help narrow the search... ;)

(We have a "Raised by Wolves" list: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4..., but I didn't see any with the title "Predator" on it).

[Capn]

The Predator might be the one. It involves a "feral child" in "Africa"... having trouble finding the right cover, however.

Does the boy grow up to be a serial killer in NYC? Is he albino? Does he kill a female baboon in the zoo? :S (If you follow the link above, another reader has given a full review of this book). ;)

Edit: the missing covers (HarperCollins 1986, Grafton 1986) seem to both be this one (same ISBN-10 that I can find, and can't find another image anywhere)

[Capn]

Okay, it's on OpenLibrary (https://openlibrary.org/works/OL87510...).

I can confirm:
- there is a priest who was working as a missionary in Central Africa
- the beast was a feral child (literally speculated to have been) raised by wolves; the missionary was kind to the lonely child (an albino) and took pity upon it
- the beast is later running rampant in a city (lots from the perspective of NY cops...), and the guilty-conscienced priest is interviewed by the police (at which point the backstory is given)
- is definitely of the 'horror' genre

Definitely your call, but personally, I'm fairly satisfied we've found it. ;)

https://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac... for copies of this. The Ballantine edition is the cover that GR has: , so you'd want the HarperCollins or Grafton editions for the big image I linked (that was from eBay). ;) Depending on where you are shipping to, I'd also check Wob.com and thriftbooks as well, since Bookfinder gets most sites (Abebooks, Amazon, eBay, Alibris, etc.), but not all of them. Worth shopping around by isbn 9780586066461 (ISBN10: 0586066462), and can confirm with the bookseller to get the correct cover and edition. ;)

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

It is mandatory to include genre and plot details in your topic header, as per the Group Rules.

Because this group is so huge, we will close threads that don't adhere to this requirement.

Please add more plot details to your topic header from what you've already written.

[Kris]

The back cover of The Predator by Anthony John - Capn's suggestion - based on a copy found on eBay:

- "Some jungles are deadlier than others.
In the wild he lieved by savagery and cunning.
In the city he must survive by a code even more terrifying than before.
He is The Predator.
He is loose. He is hungry. And he is feeding the ambitions of a cop, a newscaster, a priest, and a professor who knows that no living thing - no animal or human - is safe from his murderous appetite."