Author: Sarah Myles
ISBN: 978-1-76063-251-9
RRP: $29.99
Publication Date: 29 August 2018
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
The Wolf Hour is a gripping contemporary thriller about a young Australian aid worker abducted in war-torn Africa.
Tessa Lowell has a PhD in psychology and is researching the effects of war and PTSD on child soldiers. She joins a delegation traveling deep into the African bush for peace talks with the notorious leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army.
The camp is attacked by other rebels who, believing she is a medical doctor, kidnap Tessa to have her treat a dying major’s gunshot wound.
Tessa’s parents enlist the help of her brother Stephen who is a businessman based in Cape Town. He agrees to search for her, while also pursuing his own agenda.
Stephen’s search for Tessa ends up shining a spotlight on his dealings and his family discover he isn’t who they thought he was.
I have read a couple of African tales now and I can’t wait to get into this one. It really seems so far from the lives we lead that I always find the tales fascinating. I can’t wait to hear what our readers think.
Available now from Allen & Unwin, Angus & Robertson, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Sarah Myles can be found at SarahMyles.com and Facebook.
Thanks to Allen & Unwin 20 of our Beauty and Lace Club members will be reading The Wolf Hour so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
The Wolf Hour by Sarah Myles is a story about Tessa Lowell, an Australian in Uganda researching the effects of war on child soldiers. She meets Francis, a 13 yr old soldier at a camp, then the camp is attacked by rebels who take Tessa.
The story covers negotiations between her parents, her brother Stephen whose activities in Africa may not be on the side of the law, and Francis,
There are many undercurrents throughout the story which keeps the reader on the edge.
I enjoyed the book and thank Beauty and Lace, and Allen and Unwin for the opportunity to read and review.
The Wolf Hour by Sarah Myles and published by Allen & Unwin is a graphic and thought provoking read set in war-torn Africa.
It portrays a struggling, harsh land where life is a matter of survival each and every day. Not just from the raw and unsanitary conditions of a third world country but also from the corruption and power struggles amongst the people. Pitted against the Government is The Lord’s Resistance Army led by the notorious Joseph Kony. The LRA burns down villages, murders and rapes, and children as young as 10 are torn from their homes to be indoctrinated as child soldiers.
Into this strife prone setting psychologist and aid worker Dr Tessa Lowell has come to ‘make a difference’, and to study the effects of PTSD on child soldiers.
However when Tessa joins a delegation travelling deep into the African bush, for peace talks with Joseph Kony, and things go very wrong, it is Tessa’s own survival and her family’s actions and reactions that become the centerpiece of this story.
The Wolf Hour provides a vividly explicit portrayal of a brutal world where genocide, child soldiers, illegal arms trading and corruption are commonplace. It certainly makes you appreciate the relative safety and security of Australia!
I am so happy I got to review this book as I absolutely love books set anywhere in Africa.
Tessa Lowell from Melbourne is in Uganda researching the effects of PTSD on young children kidnapped and turned into soldiers. She joined a delegation to have peace talks with Joseph Kony the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army. Tessa is captured one night and taken back to a rebel’s camp to try and save a man’s life.
Tessa’s parents, Neil and Leigh are devastated and terrified to learn of their daughter’s kidnapping. So far no demands are made so they call on their son Stephen, living in South Africa and running a questionable business asking him to do what it takes to get Tessa back.
This book was such an engrossing read and I couldn’t put it down. It not only captures what happens with young rebel soldiers but also an insight into what comes to light during a family’s difficult time as truths unfold.
There was no real conclusion to the ending of this book and it did leave you wanting more but I have heard the story is to continue with a sequel which I’m excited about!
What a compelling and engrossing story that I highly recommend! Thank you so much for letting me review this book.
Tessa, I believe has grownup with shutters on her eyes to the real world and lives in some kind of bubble. Stephen has a streak that has hardened him and allows his character to take advantage of any situation to his own end. He thinks it is a strength but in the end it was his downfall.
Both characters are then brought back to reality by their parents who taught them the way of the world in the first place.
Imagine my surprise when reading, that I thought I had come to the conclusion of the story only to find I was 3/4 of the way thru.
There are elements of much stronger things going in this story, that would make a good follow up but a very hard book to put down.
Wolf Hour is about an a aid worker named Tessa Lowell she wants to have more understanding, of the effects of PTSD on children soldiers in Uganda.
Tessa gets taken by rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army. So all her family do all they can to get her out of there, that is when her brother and all his secrets about what he does for a living comes out.
I recommend this book a good read.
I found this book a little hard to read due to not feeling 100% and there are some grose, graphic descriptions happening and I found myself having to keep my own health in check.
The book itself is great reading and I found myself liking the character of Melbournite Tessa an aid worker who goes to live in Uganda, much to her parent’s dislike, with the view of wanting to help the children who have been kidnapped from their villages and then turned into soldiers. The children have no idea if their own parents are alive or not. Tessa wants to study the effects of PTSD of the children who are soldiers.
A character called Dominic runs a delegation to help the kids but they decide that they need to travel on a long journey into the African bush to have peace talks with a man called Joseph Kony who is a notorious leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army. Tessa demands to go on this mission trip. It is then that the storyline starts to grip your attention and begins the pages being turned over to know more.
Tessa is abducted and we follow her story of being in the situation and how she strives to survive. She befriends a soldier called Francis who is only in his teens. Is he good or is he bad?
Tessa’s parents have heard of her abduction and make the trip over. Her brother is contacted as he lives over in Cape Town and maybe he can get answers of where she is being held.
This really is a captivating read and you definitely cannot put the book down. I got a bit confused at the ending waiting for what, I do not know so I am wondering if there is going to be a sequel to this book. I sure hope so.
Thanks Beauty and Lace and of course Allen & Unwin for a great book to read.
The scenery depicted in this story really sets the scene & you can almost imagine yourself standing there. The African societies, culture & religion feature heavily as they essentially dictate the storyline. Some parts are graphic however for the region & situation the story was written, it was really quite tame.
There story itself really had no conclusion which personally I found quite frustrating.
Thank you for the opportunity to read & review!
Thanks to Beauty & Lace Allen & Unwin & especially the Author Sarah Myles allowing me to read & review this compelling novel The Wolf Hour
Set in Uganda this deep engrossing book has you on edge the characters feel real especially Tess & as the secrets & tragedies unfold I was on the edge of my seat.Family secrets are revealed as the storyline continues & as it concluded up in the air I presume there is a sequel
Once again thanks & do recommend this great read
What an interesting novel this is. It sits somewhere between being a thriller and being a literary novel, and is a complex depiction of four people under stress, and of what that stress does to their family unit.
Tessa is engaged in research work in Uganda, hoping to improve the lives of child soldiers, but uncertain how much she is influenced by the desire to advance her career. She joins a delegation planning to attend peace talks deep in the African bush. When things go wrong, Tessa is abducted by rebels and left in a precarious and isolated situation.
In Melbourne her increasingly frantic parents find that the stress might be too much for their marriage to bear. They contact their son Stephen, who is based in Cape Town, and pressure him to take action to rescue his sister. But this has its’ own cost; their image of Stephen may not survive the action he takes.
This is a really strong character study, and although it focuses most strongly on Tessa and Stephen, considerable time is also given to their parents, Neil and Leigh. This isn’t a light read, but I found it very involving, and I genuinely wanted to know what would happen to each of the four. The ending isn’t neat, but it’s very believable, and very consistent with the rest of the novel.
The novel is well written; it flows well and although the subject matter doesn’t make for an easy read, the prose does. The setting was vivid and believable, and gives a strong sense that Tessa is an outsider even where she is supposedly welcome.
I’m not sure I’d say I enjoyed this, exactly, but I did appreciate it and I’m glad I read it. I wouldn’t recommend it to readers looking for a bit of fun, but it should appeal to readers interested in strong characters and strong plotting.
Thank you Beauty and Lace, Allen and Unwin along with the Author of The Wolf Hour Sarah Myles for being able to review this book.
Tessa Lovell, a young psychologist,wants to save the young soldiers who have been kidnaped to serve in the rebel army (Lords Resistance Army). Despite her family’s disapproval she bases herself in Uganda to research the after affects of the young soldiers when they return to their village.
This book is fraught with danger, emotionally charged with corruption and misinterpretation of The Bible along with Tessa’s family almost being destroyed due to circumstances that arise and Tessa being somewhat inexperienced.
This is definitely a good read and I’m very much looking forward to a sequel.