Werewolves don’t get proper respect in the horror pantheon, falling somewhere behind vampires, manufactured monsters, and tentacled aliens. It’s unjust; aren’t werewolves the most human of monsters? They’re people suffering from a terrible affliction, like eczema, dry eye, or IBS. Werewolf flare-ups are usually lethal, showing mankind at its most brutal and savage. Robert Louis Stevenson explored the dual nature of humanity–the rational gentleman and the raging beast–in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Author J.L. Askew looks deeper at the spiritual roots of lycanthropy in ALASKA DEADLY where a near-extinct tribe of Inuits practicing ancient shapeshifting rituals on the edge of the Arctic Circle appear linked to a recent murder.
Tennessee private investigator Race Warren is just getting started in the PI business when he gets an assignment in remote Alaska searching for a missing husband, only to find the missing man is searching for his missing daughter. Race crosses paths with a team of researchers studying native folklore before being tripped up, and nearly killed, by Russian mobsters trying to keep their human trafficking operation under wraps. ALASKA DEADLY’s groovy werewolf story gets derailed by a Jack Reacher-type action-thriller. The father of the missing girl is a well-trained, heavily armed military veteran who teams up with Race to foil the Russian kidnappers. Askew throws everything but the kitchen sink at this story: a travelog of Alaska, a history of Inuit folklore, a couple of budding romances, a gumshoe detective mystery, and a series of shoot-outs and narrow escapes. There’s a shapeshifting wolf-man here too, but he is nearly lost in the sauce.
Askew successfully captures the awe-inspiring natural beauty of Alaska in his prose. He crafts an easy read, though some sections are overly descriptive. The cast of characters could be pared down and fleshed out. Hero PI Race Warren looks like he’s bound for more crime-fighting adventures at the close of ALASKA DEADLY. Hopefully, his next case will be more tightly focused.
J.L. Askew’s ALASKA DEADLY is a compelling action thriller, but the author occasionally lets plot and exposition get in the way of a good story.
~Rob Errera for IndieReader