Wolf Among the Sheep

Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable!
Review: I thought that WOLF AMONG THE SHEEP was a very enjoyable read. This one kept my interest all the way through. It has a fast moving plot with an interesting cast of characters. It has plenty of intrigue revolving around two homicides in two days. Are they connected?? Not to worry....Nick Wolf is on the case! Although Nick might have some issues in life, his intuition and hunches push him in the right direction.

I recommend this book for lovers of creative murder/mystery novels with an added touch of humor.

Rating:
Summary: Nick is someone the reader can immediately identify with
Review: Les Blain is a former respiratory therapist, photographer, dog lover, and first-time author. Hailing from Central Illinois, he loves to watch trains and people.

Wolf Among The Sheep is Blain's first Nick Wolf detective mystery. Nick is a Second Grade Detective with the Skuller County Sheriff's Police. With twenty years under his belt, Nick is divorced, hates cats, loves dogs, and hates Fundamentalists...especially the type who dominate women. Nick is called upon to investigate an apparent car accident which resulted in the death of one Julie Looper, whom the townspeople knew as Sharon Mowry. Julie/Sharon had gotten involved with The Flock, a group of Fundamentalists headed up by Sam Harshman. Then a psychologist named Dr. Elizabeth Peterson is brutally murdered the day after, right after Nick interviews her. He is the only one who sees a connection, especially after reading Dr. Peterson's descriptions of the seduction of converts to these groups:

"Dr. Peterson had gathered enough experience with this group that some patterns had begun to emerge. The first stage she called the seduction. That was where the potential member came into their initial contact with the group but hadn't yet joined. They maintained their skepticism and their identity at this point. This is the stage that she called 'love bombing' began. Established members of the group were encouraged to pay a lot of attention to the prospect at this point. Lot of phone calls and expressions of concern, gifts and favors out of the blue, that type of thing."

Nick Wolf differs from your basic pulp detective in that he absolutely adores his children and misses being married. In fact, his paternal instincts are his prime motivating force in uncovering this crime. A likeable character who is completely unaffected, Nick is someone the reader can immediately identify with. His caustic wit is his way of handling the horrors he encounters, and his sidekick Benjamin Lowenstein completes an "Odd Couple" type of relationship that is touching and funny. Blain does an excellent job of depicting what life is like in rural America. Life is simple, but people are still as complicated as they are in larger cities. It is the quest for control and power that creates the criminal mind...no matter where one lives. A great read.

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: The irony...GREAT mystery
Review: The irony in the title of Wolf Among the Sheep is that "wolf" implies the bad guy and "sheep," the innocents. Les Blain has created an excellent mystery where the "wolf" is Detective Wolf, but then again it can mean a possible bad person amongst the sheep, any way...this is a great book. I recommend it.The mystery part blows you away; keeps you turning the pages. Blain describes in great detail the lifestyle of the "sheep" in a fundalegalist society of narrow minded Christians who really believe it is, "their way or no way." Wolf has his work cut out for him when two women come up dead and they both have ties to the congregation of "sheep." The wife of the leader of the group sums up the group's mindset when she says, "I listen to him (her husband, the leader) the way a sheep listens to a shepherd. I wouldn't think of going against what he says." Hence, "sheep" may not be so innocent, more of the irony.The book is well written and the characters are delightful, especially Detective Wolf. There is humor, information about many religions, medical facts, police investigatory practices; in total it is a lot of story packed into one mystery. Outstanding.