Review: Big Bad Wolf

Big Bad Wolf by Suleikha Snyder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Joe Peluso was the monster in the closet, the creature you were warned about in fairy tales… and still, somehow, not the scariest white man Neha had encountered while doing her job. 

Big Bad Wolf kicks off the Third Shift series set in an urban fantasy world full of paranormal and supernatural beings while incorporating a sense of current political times. This is much more of an ensemble piece, and I would say read this as a clear first-in-series world set-up, than a straight focus on one couple. The impetus that starts the story rolling is Neha Ahluwalia, a junior associate with a doctorate in behavioral psych, is brought in on a case her firm took involving Joe Peluso. She's there to analyze him and get him to talk, so that they can come up with a defense for why Joe killed six Russian Bratva members. Through Joe, the reader learns about the Apex Initiative, a secret military project where in Phase 3 Joe was brought in and injected with some kind of serum that gave him the ability to be a wolf shifter. Neha and Joe have instant heat between them and when an attempt to kill Joe happens, Neha goes on the run with him. 

They were a ragtag crew who moonlighted fixing other people’s problems. Except the ragtag crew included some werewolves and vampires and sorcerers. 

The first half has the reader mostly in the characters' heads, as through them we get a picture of the world they live in. We're told about The Darkest Day where a NSA internal memo was “accidentally” leaked and U.S. citizens learn about the existence of supernatural and paranormal beings. This leads to an increased military state where the creation of the Supernatural Regulation Bureau, Emergency Service Unit Watch, and use of drones overhead to monitor citizens to help them feel “safe”. This is countered a bit by the Sanctuary Alliance, a group of Sanctuary cities that claim to be safer for supernaturals; New York City is one of them and where this story is set. Third Shift Security is also a counter and a group of supernaturals, paranormals, and humans who go on missions and work to protect their brethren. Neha and Joe end up with them as they try to stay safe from officials trying to get Joe back under custody and what becomes a big part of the second half of the story, the Russian Bratva, who are also a clan of bear shifters, that wants to kill Joe in retaliation for the six he murdered. 

So he had to watch himself. Wanting her was fine. But liking her? Caring about her? Actually being obsessed with her like he’d pretended to be the last time she was here…? Fuck, no. He had to draw a line. There was way too much to lose if he didn’t. 

The second half picks up the pace with less internal monologues and more action. A second romance is highlighted between Danny Yeo, a NYPD detective working for Third Shift and Yulia Vasiliev, sister to the head of the bratva branch hunting Joe. While I thought the romance between Neha and Joe was more erotic in pacing and tone, instant and lusting, Yulia and Danny's relationship definitely captured my interest. We miss their initial meeting and come in months later where Yulia is trying to push Danny away for his own safety but still trying to give information to him about her brother and his activities. I thought these two had more of an emotional connection that I could believe in and therefore, more substance for me to engage with. Due to the worldbuilding taking over, Neha and Joe simply don't get much time together and when they are together, it was mostly about the sex. Neha was the better flushed out character with ties we get to see with her family, friends, and even job, helping to color in her personality. Joe's military career is discussed and how he suffers guilt from it, along with how close he was with a younger neighborhood boy named Kenny, who was murdered by the Russians and why Joe goes after them. Joe just never materialized into a fully solid character for me, I know he's not conventionally attractive and loves to give head (this was brought up over and over), which awesome, but I still needed him to feel fleshed out more. 

This was not Neha’s world. She’d stepped through the Looking Glass when she crossed the threshold of Kamchatka. But she couldn’t go back. She’d signed on for this. She’d demanded participation . She was all in now. Because she’d made that call. Used the number Joe had given her… not to save herself, but to find her way back to him. 

Ultimately, Neha and Joe's relationship failed for me; there wasn't enough emotional substance between them for me to buy Neha risking so much in the short amount of time she knew Joe. On the other hand, you will want to pick this up for the worldbuilding, I saw another reviewer compare this to Suzanne Brockmann, in terms of storylines, amount of characters and povs, I wholly agree. I think a comparison to Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series would also help readers grasp and anticipate the sheer amount of storylines and characters they're about to step into. While Neha and Joe's relationship, and maybe even Yulia and Danny's, looks to be wrapped up, there was a third romance between Neha's friend Nate, and two employees of Third Shift, Grace and Finn, that was left in the air. I would also mention that the author doesn't sprinkle in or is subtle with her views and political thoughts, if you're not ready for that kind of smoke to solidly be in your story, then this probably isn't the book for you. However, if you like some dry wit, a plethora of characters, weaving storylines, and worldbuilding that looks to be able to support a long running series, then you will want to pick up this first installment. 

This was their adventure. Because the Third Shift was a shift that never really ended.

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