Once There Were Wolves Audiobook By Charlotte McConaghy cover art

Once There Were Wolves

A Novel

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Once There Were Wolves

By: Charlotte McConaghy
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
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About this listen

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"Blazing...Visceral" (Los Angeles Times) · "Exceptional" (Newsweek) · "Bold...Heartfelt" (New York Times Book Review) · "Thought-provoking and thrilling" (GMA) · "Suspenseful and poignant" (Scientific American)· "Gripping" (The Sydney Morning Herald)

From the author of the beloved national bestseller Migrations, a pulse-pounding new novel set in the wild Scottish Highlands.

Inti Flynn arrives in Scotland with her twin sister, Aggie, to lead a team of biologists tasked with reintroducing fourteen gray wolves into the remote Highlands. She hopes to heal not only the dying landscape, but Aggie, too, unmade by the terrible secrets that drove the sisters out of Alaska.

Inti is not the woman she once was, either, changed by the harm she’s witnessed—inflicted by humans on both the wild and each other. Yet as the wolves surprise everyone by thriving, Inti begins to let her guard down, even opening herself up to the possibility of love. But when a farmer is found dead, Inti knows where the town will lay blame. Unable to accept her wolves could be responsible, Inti makes a reckless decision to protect them. But if the wolves didn’t make the kill, then who did? And what will Inti do when the man she is falling for seems to be the prime suspect?

Propulsive and spell-binding, Charlotte McConaghy's Once There Were Wolves is the unforgettable story of a woman desperate to save the creatures she loves—if she isn’t consumed by a wild that was once her refuge.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books

©2021 Charlotte McConaghy (P)2021 Macmillan Audio
Animals Fiction Genre Fiction Women's Fiction Wolf Highlander Heartfelt Scary Thought-Provoking

What listeners say about Once There Were Wolves

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One of the best!!

Really really great story & awesome narrator. Everything I love in an audiobook, dark but not depressing, believable characters, Saskia character voice great as always. Hard to explain without spoilers but I think in this story there is something for everyone 👍👍

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

Good. Surprisingly, troublingly good.

What's especially interesting to me is that I read this as a recommendation from my father, and we both loved the book but had completely different experiences. I have thought back on this book many times since finishing it... it has staying power and I'll listen to it again.

I hated the main character, but loved the story. My father found her sympathetic and also loved the story.
I liked all the side-plots and thought they were well done. He found them annoying.
I figured out the who-done-it halfway through the book (but was still eager to keep going), but he didn't know until the very end.
I thought the Scottish-ness was done well enough, he found it weak (we used to live in Aberdeen.)
He found himself more sympathetic to reintroduction of wolves to our area; I'm still set against accelerating the timeline.
Both of us had completely different opinions about the story elements, but both of us thought the book was excellent.
I have recommended this to several people. So has he.

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1 person found this helpful

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Stunning!

Beautifully written... Charlotte took me with her to Scotland and I fell in love with her characters and the wolves. Saskia's narration was extraordinary. Bravo!

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1 person found this helpful

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terrific narration

my 1st book by this author. I can't wait to read more of her books She is a true word Smith. Just delightful!

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    4 out of 5 stars

Great story, but a little dark at times

The plot of this book is entertaining and it's easy to follow along and listen to for hours on end.
There are some pretty dark and traumatic scenes that contain sexual assault, which were a bit unexpected and prospective readers should be aware of.

The book is a mix of thriller, mystery, and a bit of surrealism.
It's engaging and has some exciting plot twists. As long as you can stomach the traumatic scenes, it is an enjoyable read.

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    4 out of 5 stars

A little bit of everything

I love books where nature is one of the characters and between the forest and the wolves that is certainly true in this book. I also love a murder mystery where the perpetrator is not obvious and that happens in this book also. I love a book where the main characters are some how transformed during the course of the story and that happens in this book also. I wanted to know what would happen, to the wolves, the main characters, the town. It kept my interest. To top it all off is Saskia Maarleveld's narration. She is one of my favorites and she definitely helped bring suspense and interest to this listen. Well worth the time and the credit.

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Original story of trauma, violence, human nature

This book really kept me captivated. I listen to about 2 books a week and this is absolutely in the top 5 this year. Performance was also excellent, going from Scottish, Australian and American accents. Very impressive. It's really a story about how we are all capable of good and violence and we are products of our traumas but maybe can rise above our past. The end brought some tears. There is some violence involving animals.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

The toughness of the characters

The main two characters lived awfully hard and violent lives. Wondering why it was necessary to the story.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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I love wolves!

I have always had interest in wolves and this book really focused on them with also throwing in mystery and the love of family and the difficulties we face as well as the prejudices these animals face.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed but ending felt rushed

I enjoyed this book, I like the authors writing style and her focus on the connection between nature and humanity. Some parts are dark so be warned if you cannot read about disturbing themes but it works well against the backdrop of the wolves and escaping to rural areas. My only issue is that the ending felt very rushed, every single storyline comes to the most dramatic climax at the same time which may work for some but wasn’t my favorite. Overall I would still recommend the book!

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2 people found this helpful