Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy is another win for me. I became obsessed with Charlotte McConaghy’s previous book called Migrations. This book takes readers to the Scottish Highlands where Inti Flynn arrives with a team to reintroduce wolves to the wild. They are hoping that introducing the wolves to the wild will save the species along with repairing the ecosystem. There is a problem. The locals don’t want the wolves around and tensions rise. However, the wolves thrive and Inti begins to fall for one of the locals. Then a farmer with who Inti had a confrontation ends up dead. Suspicions arise and the locals suspect Inti but what if it is the man she is falling for?

Charlotte McConaghy’s books never lack depth. First, there is the environmental storyline. Wolves have always gotten a bad rap and have been hunted to near extinction. We have seen the evidence of their contribution to an ecosystem with Yellowstone National Park. This book discusses how the local farmers would kill the wolves for attacking their livestock, but the surrounding area is dying. The scientists who are working so hard to revive the species and the environment can’t help but be frustrated. But especially Inti. She knows from experience that humans are the real monsters–which leads into the suspenseful aspect of the story. The point-of-view shifts from the present to the past to show the shadow that falls on Inti and why there is fear in her soul.

I could not stop listening to this book. The narrator, Saskia Maarleveld did a phenomenal job capturing the emotions of all the characters. There are some trigger warnings: abuse, domestic abuse, sexual assault, murder, violence, and animal death. This book isn’t for the faint-hearted. It dives deep into the horrors that man inflicts on others and themselves. I rate this audiobook 5 out of 5 stars.