Once There Were Wolves

[Perks Moderator, Know-it-all]

Book #1 of the March 2025 BOTM is Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

From the author of the beloved national bestseller Migrations, a pulse-pounding new novel set in the wild Scottish Highlands.

Inti Flynn arrives in Scotland with her twin sister, Aggie, to lead a team of biologists tasked with reintroducing fourteen gray wolves into the remote Highlands. She hopes to heal not only the dying landscape, but Aggie, too, unmade by the terrible secrets that drove the sisters out of Alaska.

Inti is not the woman she once was, either, changed by the harm she’s witnessed—inflicted by humans on both the wild and each other. Yet as the wolves surprise everyone by thriving, Inti begins to let her guard down, even opening herself up to the possibility of love. But when a farmer is found dead, Inti knows where the town will lay blame. Unable to accept her wolves could be responsible, Inti makes a reckless decision to protect them. But if the wolves didn’t make the kill, then who did? And what will Inti do when the man she is falling for seems to be the prime suspect?

Propulsive and spell-binding, Charlotte McConaghy's Once There Were Wolves is the unforgettable story of a woman desperate to save the creatures she loves—if she isn’t consumed by a wild that was once her refuge.

[Carol]

I listened to this via audiobook a year or two ago. I remember wishing I had read it instead of listened to it as I had to keep stopping and starting. The ending was impactful. You will root for the wolves.

[Kristie, Moderator (Retired)]

I'm reading this now. I'm at 24% (up to ch 7) and finding it interesting. I don't love the characters, but I expect that they will grow on me as the story progresses.

(view spoiler)[ The mom really rubs me the wrong way. She is unintentionally (I think) cruel to her daughters. The father seemed more caring at first, but he seems to be losing touch with reality. I'm very curious to find out what happened to the sister, Aggie. Inti seems to be wound a bit too tight and just interferes in an abrasive manner. The sheriff (or whatever he is called) seems like he tries to 'stay out of it' too much so far. I'm really hoping there is some growth with at least the main characters.

That is such a strange condition that Inti has. For a minute there I thought the story was going to go in a magical realism direction and I was disappointed, but now it seems that it is staying with realism which is good.

(hide spoiler)]

[Kristie, Moderator (Retired)]

I'm about halfway through and I still don't like the characters and there's some weird things that have happened. So far, I think this will be one that I don't love as much as everyone else seems to.

[Carol]

I agree, Kristie - I didn’t love it as much as everyone else. Maybe partially impacted by going the audiobook route but I think maybe the author doesn’t resonate as strongly with me as she does for others.

[Hannah]

So far I’m enjoying it! I like when a book has a eerie feeling to it.

[Tucker]

Loved this one

[Newt]

I listened to this as an audiobook and enjoyed the story, it totally caught me off guard by the last hour or so of the book. Wasn't expecting that ending!