Title: Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Series: Big Bad Wolf: Book Four
Author: Charlie Adhara
Publisher: Carina Press
Length: 268 Pages
Category: Paranormal/Fantasy, Mystery
At a Glance: Here comes another rave, y’all. This. Book. Was. So. GOOD. I know I say it every time, but this one was my fave of the series so far.
Reviewed By: Jules
Blurb: Agent Cooper Dayton and his partner, Oliver Park, are going undercover—at a retreat for couples who need counseling. They do say the best cover story is one that’s close to the truth…
Agent Cooper Dayton is almost relieved to get a phone call from his former boss at the Bureau of Special Investigations. It means a temporary reprieve from tensions created by house hunting with Oliver Park, his partner both in work and in life. Living together in a forever home is exactly what Cooper wants. He’s just not keen on working out the details.
With a former alpha werewolf missing, Cooper and Park are loaned to the BSI to conduct the search at a secluded mountain retreat. The agents will travel to the resort undercover…as a couple in need of counseling.
The resort is picturesque, the grounds are stunning and the staff members are all suspicious as hell.
With a long list of suspects and danger lurking around every cabin, Cooper should be focusing on the case. But he’s always been anxious about the power dynamics in his relationship with Park, and participating in the couples’ activities at the retreat brings it all to the surface. A storm is brewing, though, and Cooper and Park must rush to solve the case before the weather turns. Or before any more guests—or the agents themselves—end up dead.
Review: Here comes another rave, y’all. This. Book. Was. So. GOOD. Cooper Dayton and Oliver Park are my current OTP. I am so invested in their happiness, it’s not even funny. With each book in this series, each one somehow better than the last, author Charlie Adhara pulls me in deeper and deeper, consistently delivering well-crafted mysteries, fabulous character development, and excellent paranormal world building, all the while continuing to strengthen the connection between Cooper and Oliver. In Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing I was once again blown away by the fantastic storytelling—Adhara, as usual, finding the perfect balance between sexy, swoony, and suspenseful—and how hard I continue to fall for these two MCs.
The growth and development of the characters over the course of the series has also changed my allegiance, so to speak. In my review for the first book, I mentioned totally loving Park, and Cooper having to grow on me; and after book two, I would still have said that Park was my favorite. But a definite shift happened (Ha! I just cracked myself up…accidental puns are the best) while reading this book, and I found myself planted pretty firmly on team Cooper. Don’t get me wrong…I still love every single thing about Park. And I love how much he loves Cooper. In fact, they are both stupidly in love with each other, and it’s adorable. But, Cooper’s growth in particular, and how he allows himself to be vulnerable around Oliver, and how, when he’s not having an anxiety attack about house hunting, he takes everything in stride and trusts the relationship, really got me in the feels. I absolutely loved this moment when he realizes that he is well and truly gone for his partner:
Cooper believed you could love lots of people in your time. Really, genuinely be in love with them whether you chose to remember it that way or not. But this feeling he had for Park – this irrevocable, gravity-altering, forever feeling…It was different.
This was quite simply it for him. The end of the line. The relationship that changed the laws of physics. The person he’d always, no matter what, consider a part of him. Consider his family.
Annnnd cue classic Cooper awkwardness for the remainder of the book. 😊
Light bulb moments involving his desired happily ever after with Park aside, Cooper has several other revelations about himself in this book. Being undercover at a couples’ retreat, forced into different therapy settings, he finds himself examining some of his past and current behaviors and reactions to situations. And, a mishap while rafting has him reliving the worst of his attack—the terrifying moment he learned about the existence of wolves—and questioning whether a formal PTSD diagnosis should be in his future. All of that coupled with the increasing pressure he’s feeling over learning his Alpha Quotient, which Park has mentioned several times he suspects is very high, means that Cooper has a lot on his plate this go around.
The mystery in this book is well done and intriguing. Cooper and Oliver are sent to a retreat in the North Carolina mountains to investigate the disappearance of a retreat employee, and former alpha wolf. The supporting cast is replete with colorful and interesting characters, including a mad scientist, a few egomaniacs, a handful of sketchy characters, and some unexpected allies. There is also quite a bit more “wolf stuff” in this book, which, YAY! I’ve been waiting to see more of Park’s wolf, and we finally get to. I also loved, loved the end. At one point my heart was racing and I was terrified, but I trusted Adhara to get them to the next book in one piece. 😉
So, yeah, I know I say it every time, but this one was my fave of the series so far. I was so sad when it ended, and even more devastated when I saw the next book wouldn’t be out until next year, but I loved where they ended up for now. And, I’m excited we’ll be going back to the yet unresolved mystery from book three! If you haven’t started this series yet, it’s time to rectify that, or at least get it on your wish list. You absolutely need these books in your life.
You can buy Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing here:
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