Julien Doran is a B-list Hollywood star, from a Hollywood family, with two divorces, when he arrives at Maudit Falls, North Carolina. Maybe he is just the right person to prowl around a monster-infested (by rumour anyway) mountain with a spooky, closed ski resort. PACK OF LIES soon shows that Julien can’t believe anything he is told.

Charlie Adhara previously wrote werewolf tales in the Big Bad Wolf series, and her new spinoff series Monster Hunt starts here, with some characters from the original stories. The reader soon realises, if they didn’t already know, that this will be a gay paranormal suspense story. Julien happens to be gay, which is why it’s strange that he was married to women. He straight away has staring matches with Eli Smith, who is a werewolf and a resort manager. Eli has been preparing the closed ski resort to be a safe place for rebel werewolves. Any glimpses by tourists can be waved off as exaggerated rumours about Bigfoot and the local monster legend called Sweet Pea. But Julien knows something massive and alarming is out there, because it crashed into his car on a snowy road. He doesn’t know what it was, but it didn’t look like normal wildlife. 

Julien is the most sympathetic character, because he is researching his late brother's early death, which still affects him badly. He wants the truth, but is about to be embroiled in a murder investigation in a snowed-in, spooky resort with only a few stranded travellers.

I would have liked more time in the woods and less in the dismal atmosphere of the building. The outdoor escapades are good when they arrive. This contains adult romance and some gruesome scenes. PACK OF LIES has more emphasis on monster legends and less on living among weres, with some forgettable side characters. Anyone who has followed the earlier stories may be interested to see how this new series continues.