YOU HAD ME AT WOLF is the first book in Terry Spear’s “Wolff Brothers” series set in her wolf shifter-run Silver Town. For me, YOU HAD ME AT WOLF is evocative of some of my favorite books, films, and TV shows of the 1950s and 1960s like Agatha Christies book THE PALE HORSE, the film CAST A DARK SHADOW, and the classic British spy series The Avengers. With private investigator and wolf shifter Nicole Grayson, Terry Spear has created a heroine like The Avengers’ Emma Peel who is cool, competent, and kickass. For some readers, hero Blake Wolff might seem like what is commonly referred to as a “beta hero”. To me, Blake is a sweet guy who respects Nicole for the strong woman she is, but who is also strong enough to work alongside her and help with her case on her terms.

This story follows the highs and lows associated with surveillance of a suspect. Some humans suspected of fraud are who Nicole has her sights set on. She first crossed paths with one of the suspects years ago in another case, and now she’s been hired to hunt him down for an insurance company. Over the course of the book, it’s never quite clear to readers or the investigators whether the bad guy is a murdering sociopath or just your run-of-the-mill career criminal. Things aren’t totally revealed until almost the very end, so it keeps a sense of mystery throughout the story. I liked all these characters immensely. Nicole is an intelligent and tough heroine, but one who doesn’t feel as though she has anything to prove. Blake is charming and not threatened by Nicole’s strength and capabilities. Since Blake owns and runs the ski lodge with his family, they are uniquely qualified to help Nicole with her sting operation. It may be unconventional to have a hero and heroine meet and pursue a courtship while working surveillance on some bad guys, but Terry Spear makes it work and balances the action with the romance.

YOU HAD ME AT WOLF is a winter wonderland of adventure and plenty of wolf-on-wolf wooing. I loved the supporting characters in YOU HAD ME AT WOLF and I’m eager to read more about them in future books especially Nate and Kayla. I look forward to Terry Spear’s next paranormal romance.