Advertisement

In a graveyard in Konowa, Oklahoma, there is a headstone inscribed to one Katherine Cross. It bears her name, the date 1917, and the legend "Murdered by Human Wolves." This much is true. The rest is a mixture of fact and fiction, historical research and the bones of the werewolf world for which Steven E. Wedel has already become known.

Katherine Cross, a good girl from a good home, cannot imagine why her best friend Elise Stone would give herself out of wedlock to one of the local bad boys. No one likes Luther McGrath, he and his family are looked down upon by the local people because of rumors attached to him of missing girls, murder, and deviltry. When she later encounters Tom McGrath, Luther's cousin, he convinces her to come to a meeting of the family, to shame Elise into stopping her affair. She discovers that the McGraths are actually werewolves, who have special plans for girls foolish enough to venture out with them. The town Doctor is also there, watching, looking for an opportunity to kill any woman who runs with wolves.

Even though the ending is pretty inevitable, the journey is fascinating. Katherine is a decent young woman, caught up in a situation that she can not control. You can see how easy it is for her to slip into this problem. You also know more than she does about the dangers she's facing, and when certain events happen you wince, hoping she'll be saved. The whole of the story is made more chilling by an interview that Wedel includes in the back, with paranormal researcher Mary Franklin.

It's a short book (its publisher, Scrybe Press, print chapbooks of particularly strong short fiction) so it's hard to say much more without giving a way a great deal. I will say that it very well plotted. The historical base is used perfectly, giving us a story that feels altogether possible, and is very chilling for it. The details of the mundane life of these people are also well captured, bringing the reader into the times.

Whoever did kill poor Katherine Cross, I hope that she is able to rest in peace.

Cindy Lynn Speer loves books so much that she's designed most of her life around them, both as a librarian and a writer. Her books aren't due out anywhere soon, but she's trying. You can find her site at www.apenandfire.com.