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 was a book I normally wouldn’t pick up, but because it was by an Aussie author and Aussie characters it made me interested. I really enjoyed this read, it’s about a lady called Tessa with a PhD in psychology who goes to Africa to write a paper on the young children who are made to be soldiers and about their rehabilitation. What’s happened to these young kids has shocked Tessa and she wants to help them, but some can’t be.
Something goes wrong and Tessa is abducted, will she survive?
This incident shows Tessa what she is really capable of and to what lengths she must go to, to survive.
A tale of families, betrayal and what it’s really like to be in the dangerous lands of Africa.
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Thanks for the opportunity to review this book,
I throughly enjoyed it and love reading books with an African setting.
Tessa is certainly capable and is very helpful in these children’s lives.
I would recommend this book to a friend.
This is an extraordinary tale of brother and sister Stephen and Tessa Lowell. Born in Australia, they have grown up with a father who filmed documentaries on the wildlife and natural wonders of Africa. As adults, Stephen has helped a long time friend build their family business and enjoys the ease of skirting the law and bending the rules in Africa. Tessa is studying for a PhD in Psychology and is based in Uganda, learning of the affects of warfare on Africa’s child soldiers.
When Tessa accompanies colleagues to a meeting with Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony, the camp is ambushed and Tessa kidnapped. What unfolds is a terrifying and very unsettling chain of events that sees Tessa pushed to the limits of her ability to survive and makes Stephen accountable of his own involvement in the saga.
A compelling read, well researched and written.
Thank you Sarah Myles, Allen and Unwin, and Beauty and Lace Book Club for the opportunity to read this book.
“The Wolf Hour” by Sarah Myles is quite the deep novel. Based on the troubles within Uganda and the Congo and the fights between the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army), and the government and the implication of that on the Acholi people of northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Tessa, an Australian psychology graduate (with PhD), is over in Uganda to research the psychology of the child soldiers rescued from the resistance and the PTSD these children suffer. She works hard to find ways to help these children, to integrate them back into their society and families, while acknowledging the tribal requirements and processes that need be undertaken.
To enhance her understanding of the war at hand, Tessa requests, begs and bullies her way onto a delegation travelling into the African bush to try to reach a peace treaty. The rebel leader turns them away, siting he will not give in to the western world and his army and their war is the only way to give Africa back to its people. Returning to Uganda, the delegation is attacked, still within the LRA territory in the Congo, and Tessa is abducted. She sees first hand the treatment of these children as a part of the war efforts, makes a connection with a 13-ish year old soldier Francis, hoping he can help her escape this tragic situation.
With despair and anguish, Tessa’s parents want their daughter back, fracturing their once perfect relationship. They beg assistance from their son Stephen, who lives and works in South Africa. But Stephen see this as an opportunity. He works in the weapons industry and a connection within the LRA may be just the way to expand his connections and trade. He takes on the task for her rescue with that in mind.
While the rescue successful, getting both Tessa and Francis out, with the help of Francis’s bush skills to get Stephen, Tessa and himself out without being caught by the LRA.
The ending to the story was a little lacking, I felt it left more questions than answers and perhaps an open door for what I hope will be a second novel. Otherwise I felt for the story, the participants and gained an understanding of what has happened to these people. Touching and deep story. Not a bad read all up.
Thanks for the opportunity.
The Wolf Hour by Sarah Myles is a captivating read.
War torn Uganda is not a place for the lighthearted and this book delves into the brutal lifestyle and what lengths Ugandans go to to survive.
It has been widely reported in the Media about the child soldiers that fight in African Rebel Forces and we follow Tessa, an Australian who is in Uganda working with these children and studying PTSD on them.
Tessa gets caught up in the Peace Talks and ends up being abducted when she is mistaken for a medical doctor. She is exposed to unimaginable horrors.
Her parents are in Australia and are dealing with their own problems and when they are notified of Tessa’s kidnapping, they contact their son Stephen who is in Cape Town and ask him to find his sister.
We follow the rescue attempt and the far reaching ripple effect of this.
Myles has written beautifully with a sound knowledge of war torn Africa.
I did feel the ending was a bit flat and left open, hopefully for a sequel, but quite a fascinating read overall.
The Wolf Hour is the second book by Australian author, Sarah Myles. When I began this book, I wasn’t too sure of what to expect as it’s not my usual genre and I had not come across Sarah Myles before. The Wolf Hour turned out to be a well researched, intriguing look at life in Africa. Africa itself became a character of the story. Sarah doesn’t hold back as she describes the beauty of the land and contrasts it with the harsh reality of daily life with political strife. The authenticity is brought to life through the eyes of thirty year old Tessa Lowell. Tessa, armed with a phd in psychology, is researching the effects of PTSD and war on the child soldiers in Garamba, Africa. Though Tessa was ultimately a person with a good heart, her naivety and stubbornness, was at many times frustrating. She didn’t want to face the dark truth about the place she was currently calling home. Ultimately, Tessa’s refusal to listen to those who know the country places her life in jeopardy. While this was distressing to witness, I felt that Sarah barely touched on exploring child soldiers as the blurb stated. This was more about Sarah’s experiences as a white woman in a foreign country. Tessa’s brother, Stephen, on the other hand, knows the heart of Africa as he lives in Cape Town. While it was clear from the very start that Stephen was living a dangerous life, I was just as shocked as his family when Sarah reveals his true colours. Both Tessa and Stephen were real, flawed, multifaceted characters just like their parents, Neil and Leigh. Neil and Leigh see both their children for who they truly are, warts and all. They have never really been comfortable with Tessa’s decisions but love their child for the woman she has become. A woman who wants to make a change, who wants to stand up for the rights of others. Tessa’s parents are the perfect example of parental love when they embark on a journey to bring her home. When it came to their son, Stephen, and his ethics, Neil and Leigh have always known that something was not quite right but haven’t needed to investigate the truth. Through Stephen’s path in life, Sarah skilfully draw out the darkness and danger that hides in all of us.
This is a must read for those who are interested in Africa or who need something a little different to their usual genres.
The Wolf Hour by Sarah Myles follows Tessa, who is studying child soldiers in Africa and the effects of war on their psyche.
She begs to be taken along to negotiations and talks with Kony, infamous leader of the African rebels.
Things turn sour when Tessa is kidnapped and held against her will.
Her parents must recruit her brother who is living & working in Capetown, but he has a few secrets of his own up his sleeve.
I found this book a little confronting in places, the opening scene for example where a boy’s injuries are treated with some kind of black magic ritual. And the background of child soldiers and their physical and psychological injuries is very real in today’s political climate.
While The Wolf Hour was very cleverly written and well researched, this wasn’t entirely my cup of tea. A good read nonetheless.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Wolf Hour by Sarah Myles.
Granted it is a book with a deeper storyline than I would normally read, I felt once I sat down and got engaged with the story that I was immersed in the novel.
The novel follows Tessa and her brother Stephen and their life in Africa where Tessa is studying the effects of PTSD on child soldiers.
After being kidnapped while doing her research , her brother is asked to find her by their parents. Stephen has a dark past and secrets that they are all unaware of.
It is a genre that I wouldnt normally read but am very glad I did. Confronting in places and beautifully written I would recommend The Wolf Hour to anyone who likes a gripping read.
Thankyou to Beauty and Lace and Allen and Unwin for allowing me to read and review this great novel.
thank you for the opportunity to review the Wolf Hour by Sarah Myles. Published by Allen & Unwin.
Set in Africa amidst its civil war with child soldiers and with the backdrop of assistance or interference from the western world. The characters travel to Africa. Tessa to save the children, …..Stephen for adventure and thrills and money ….and their parents to save their children. But are the characters finding out who they really are in this harsh place with few second chances. Are their motives really what they say they are. When Stephen is sent to save his sister at all costs why is the cost then too high for their parents to face. Do we really understand those closest to us. I considered that Stephen was the only character that understood who he was or was he just damaged liked everyone else.
A good read with hidden motives and you are guessing what each characters true motives are.
I thought the ending left the reader a little high and dry ….
I give a rating of 4.2 out of 5.
The Wolf Hour, by Sarah Myles, was a brilliant and thought provoking read.
Tessa travels to Uganda to research the effects of PSTF on child soldiers, but gets into difficulty.
Her brother is sent to help, and this opens many other deep family issues.
A fascinating story on survival in war torn Africa, and definitely worth a read!