James Michael LarranagaCritiques

*Book source ~ NetGalley

Quin Lighthorn is working undercover for the FBI at Safe Haven in an attempt to find out what happened to two agents. While finding the agents is his top priority it’s not long before he starts unraveling a much bigger problem and since he’s not the most mentally stable guy he’s not positive he’s finding what he thinks he’s finding. What’s real and what’s part of his imagination?

I had high hopes for this story, but the more I read the more confused I became. Is Quin mentally unstable? Or does he possess some kind of psychic gift? It’s hard to say. The plot is not very sophisticated. In fact, it’s very simplistic. And Quin experiences some serious TSTL moments. So dumb that I want to shake some sense into him. I mean, really?! Anyway, I enjoy the wolf trivia, but the comparison to the characters in the book to wolves got tiresome after awhile. I do like the plot revolving around viatical settlements. It seems like there should have been other murder mysteries with that plotline, but I can’t recall any. In spite of the flaws though I wouldn’t mind reading more about Quin and his companions.

Felt this was too dark. I did not enjoy it.

An intriguing novel featuring Quin Lighthorn, a bounty hunter with second sight.
This is the second book in this very entertaining series involving Native Americans, the F B I and featuring the battle at Wounded Knee and the infamous Crazy Horse.
I haven't read the first book so will do so, as apparently some of the characters were introduced then.
Looking forward to the third also.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Kirkus via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.

In the Company of Wolves: Thinning the Herd is the first book in a new series by James Michael Larranaga. Quin Lighthorn begins his job as an intern at Safe Haven, a firm that specializes in viatical settlements - buying life insurance policies from terminal policy holders for a reduced amount. What the firm doesn't know is that Quin is an undercover bounty hunter for the FBI - or is he? Quin has left a mental health facility to take on this undercover assignment.

Since Quin claimed to previously work for the forestry department tracking wolves, each chapter is organized as a time and day, and opens with a fact or reference to wolves and their behavior. In the novel Quin's co-workers at Safe Haven are all compared to wolves and wolf packs in the hierarchy and behaviors they exhibit too.

Let me just say right up front that Quin is an unreliable narrator but you aren't going to know that immediately. Now, I can roll with that, but the number of twists and turns and additional information that suddenly popped up frustrated me. I was intrigued with the additional information the first few times it happened. I can accept an unreliable narrator and changing perspectives of the plot as more information is revealed, however, at a certain point the number of new revelations became slightly ridiculous.

And let me go on record to say that Quin's therapist violated all sorts of HIPPA regulations. The college and professor violated FERPA laws. Any professional can't just spout off and tell anyone everything they want to know about their patients or students just because they ask or because they made up a good story.

Setting those misgivings aside, Larranaga's novel held my attention right to the end and I followed along as it twisted and convulsed right up to the "to be continued" ending. Take heed of this fact if it's going to bother you that all the questions aren't answered.

This is a hard one to rate. It started out strong, dwindled perilously low, and slowly redeemed itself to rise again. I'm going to Recommend In the Company of Wolves: Thinning the Herd, maybe even highly because I am still interested in reading what happens next.

Disclosure: My Kindle advanced reading copy was courtesy of the author via Netgalley for review purposes.

An intriguing novel featuring Quin Lighthorn, a bounty hunter with second sight.
This is the second book in this very entertaining series involving Native Americans, the FBI and featuring the battle at Wounded Knee and the infamous Crazy Horse.
I haven't read the first book so will do so, as apparently some of the characters in this were introduced then.
Looking forward to third also.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Kirkus via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.

I recieved an ARC free from publisher in exchange for honest review via Netgallery.I really enjoyed the ebook from start to finish.I liked the way the author made it it not your typical vampire novel.The reference to Twilight for me was not really needed.The ending was sad and unexpected but overall would highly recommend this Novel.For those not into vampires this is not your typical novel so give it a try.

Received this book from NetGalley, apparently the author wrote it sometime ago and has recently released it on to e-readership. I greatly enjoyed this read as it related the actions of the characters to the life and society of wolves. The hero is cast in the roll of an "omega" wolf, the lowest pack member, who along with another omega succeed in overturning a corrupt business enterprise which preys on its clients, the weak and dying. Naturally, the "alpha" wolf or pack leader is the head of the corrupt organization. It was interesting to have the humans' actions depicted in terms of the wolf pack and its survival techniques. Interesting as well as the author leaves it up to the reader to decide whether survival or human morality are in some manner inherently evil, or simply a matter of perspective. In short an interesting book, leaves open the option for a sequel which I will read if it is published. Enjoyed it and will recommend.

In the Company of Wolves is a crime thriller with an interesting premise. "Death Brokers" buy up life insurance policies of terminally ill patients for profit. They pay the insured a certain percentage of the face value of their policy and in exchange, the policy holder makes the death broker the beneficiary. It's a win/win situation; the sick person gets to have money while still alive, and the broker receives the full face value of the policy the minute the person dies. The problem is, patients often live longer than the prognosis, so the broker sometimes kills them to speed up the profits. Enter Quin Lighthorn, an undercover agent with a history of mental illness, who is investigating the company. Despite the exciting plot, the writing itself is undeveloped and unsophisticated. The characters also need some work before they become credible. Quin's psychiatrist is easily duped into blabbing everything about his medical history to anyone who asks. What ever happened to patient confidentiality? And why would Quin continue to trust her after he finds out? Quin himself is easily manipulated, as well. He pays millions of dollars to a blackmailer who says that he will accuse him of murders he didn't commit. What ever happened to needing some hard evidence? Aside from these flaws, at one point in the novel, I started to really like it. Quin's history of paranoia and distortion of reality comes out and the reader begins to doubt Quin's version of what has happened. I wish the author had pushed that subtle tension a little further and made it a major part of the plot. The conclusion of the story left me feeling cheated, with nothing being resolved and a to-be-continued type of ending setting us up for book two.