Books I Love - Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

From the back of the book:

Inti Flynn arrives in the Scottish Highlands with fourteen grey wolves, a traumatised sister and fierce tenacity.

As a biologist, she knows the animals are the best hope for rewilding the ruined landscape and she cares little for local opposition. As a sister, she hopes the remote project will offer her twin, Aggie, a chance to heal after the horrific events that drove them both out of Alaska.

But violence dogs their footsteps and one night Inti stumbles over the body of a farmer. Unable to accept that her wolves could be responsible, she makes a reckless decision to protect them. But if wolves didn’t make the kill, then who did? And can she trust the man she is beginning to love when he becomes the main suspect?

Propulsive and unforgettable, Once There Were Wolves is the spellbinding story of a woman desperate to save her family, the wild animals and the natural world she loves, at any cost.

This book is both brutal and beautiful.

Australian author, Charlotte McConaghy weaves a tale of love and pain, of trauma and wildness, and ultimately healing – for both the individuals and the planet.

I love the way she captured and contrasted the two worlds – human and wolf. Displaying without apology the potential for cruelty and brutality, innate in humanity and the calm, deliberate wisdom and loyalty found in the wildness of the wolves.

The conservation aspect of the story is moving, and I loved seeing and learning about the wolves and their potential to create such positive change in a landscape through Inti’s eyes (and senses). And Inti herself was an interesting and unique protagonist, full of pain and fear and anger and love and passion, more sensitive to what others are experiencing than almost anyone else could possibly be.

This vicious, emotional, touching tale set it the wild and majestic Scottish Highlands is well worth the read.

You can find Once There Were Wolves here.