Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsIt's a beta novel.
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2020
I read the four previous Wolf Ranch books and rated them 5 stars each. If I had not read them, I might have been content with this book. But I did read them and this novel pales in comparison. The first four books were alpha, and this book is their beta. It's not bad, it's just not excellent as the others were. It lacked that creative spark of originality, humor, and action. Levi was a grump except with Charlie. Nothing endearing there. Charlie was a veterinarian. Vet school is harder to get into than med school these days. The story said she was intelligent, but her actions were those of a dimwit. Who lets themselves be blackmailed by a high school dropout? Why didn't she tell someone instead of letting the bozo sell ketamine, which she procured for him, to teenagers and bastards who would use it as a date rape drug? She didn't have much of a backbone and God help her, couldn't think fast on her feet. Plus she was a virgin at 30? Please! She might have been Black in the story, but culturally, she acted white. I can't believe they didn't have the black/white talk. In a state that only has a .6% black population, you know that they would face problems outside of Wolf Ranch. I sincerely prefer the nickname "Spreadsheets" to "Doll". YUCK! Although poor Charlie did act more of the blowup version. Here Levi spoke ill of his grandparents at every turn but accepted the money they left him. Put up or shut up, if they were so terrible, he could have used the tainted money to help others. These are the main points that drove me crazy. I can't tell you how often I had to put down this book and do something else. I'm done with this series.
