Linger

The second novel in the projected Mercy Falls trilogy reintroduces us to Sam and Grace, and concentrates on the relationship developing between them as humans, each apparently 'cured' of shifting between wolf and human.

Cole, infected with werewolfism to save him from his successful, pressurised life which has resulted in addiction and suicidal tendencies, makes an uneasy third, and Isabel, who tried and failed to cure her brother, completes the cast.

As compelling as the earlier novel, Linger is more concerned with the human side of the shifting process, but no less gripping, as it focuses on teenage relationships and loyalty under extreme, if unusual, stress. The denouement shocks us, but promises an equally thought-provoking conclusion to this excellent series.