The Stench of Fear is a standalone Wolflady Paranormal mystery novella by Sue Denver. This book is a part of an ongoing series, and while it is not necessary to have read the previous books to enjoy this novella it is something to consider doing. I say this because after I finished reading this story I was left with quite a few questions concerning Sara, the main character.
The Stench of Fear is the first book that I have read by Sue Denver, but the novella, overall, is an intriguing story. Sara Flores is a werewolf, and due to her particular involvements concerning being found around or near dead bodies she’s decided it’s time for her to get a P.I. license. Seems like a pretty straight forward thing to do, but it ends up setting her on a path with a twisted mystery simply based on one thing – the stench of fear.
As I started reading The Stench of Fear, the author does a good job piquing my interest in the main character, Sara. It doesn’t take much to encourage me to delve deeper into this story as Sara pursues obtaining her P.I. license. I appreciate the author researching the rules/regulations for getting a P.I. license in Oklahoma. It shows that the author put a lot of thought and research into this book and didn’t just throw some details together to create this novel. These facts/details really help develop the story. I appreciate the attention to detail in the descriptions of some of the characters and the locations that they are in as well. The author detailing particular sights and smells does a good job at aiding me in connecting to the characters and where they are at certain times.
The author’s detailing of certain characters evoked a variety of emotional responses from me as well. One character is described as having “puppy dog eyes” and another couple are described as “scrubbed clean like brand new pennies.” I couldn’t help but smirk at these descriptions. Though when one particular character is described as “smarmy” I’m immediately put on alert, narrowing my eyes.
The overall storyline is pretty good, but there are a couple of scenes/situations that could have used some fleshing out to really develop the story. If two characters don’t interact on paper then, for me, it’s a bit startling when suddenly they approach the main character. I feel like I missed an interaction in the story when one never happened. The main character noticing them just isn’t enough. If an indicator had been included to say “(specific character) noticed a change in Sara” it would help create the lead-up. Especially since that same thing plays out with a particular character. I think that adding in the secondary character would have amped up the intrigue and the drama of the situation. The intrigue would have then carried over into the scene that follows and better enable the character to approach Sara as well.
The mystery angle of the story though is...to put it plainly – mysterious. The original approach angle creates a lot of intrigue, but it doesn’t fully make sense. It honestly comes off as a random act that then transcends into something more sinister. For me, the dots just don’t fully connect as it all begins to play out and bloom into something bigger. I will admit that, regardless, the mystery intrigues me and demands that I continue to delve deeper into the story to fully discover what is going on and why. However, what ends up disappointing me is that the dots never connect the way that I would hope that they should.
I like a mystery that really satisfies and this one just doesn’t come together for me. I kept waiting on a revelation that would make the story cohesive, but it never happens. There are hints dropped here and there, but nothing concrete which frustrates me more than a little. I can’t help thinking – where’s the connection? Where is the evidence to condemn? What caused a target to placed on this particular character’s back? Unfortunately, these questions remain unanswered which is disappointing.
This book really leaves me with more questions than answers at the end of the day. My main question would be – how long has Sara been a werewolf? I ask because she never fully utilizes her werewolf/shifter capabilities. Why? If I had to guess I’d say that she’s still pretty “fresh/new” at what she is and hasn’t fully acclimated to embracing her new abilities. I say this because she gets into several situations that might have been avoided if she had opened herself up more to them.
I was a bit disappointed with the amount of paranormal element in this story. Once again, I’m left with questions. What is the status of the paranormal world in this book? Do people know about werewolves and other supernaturals? Are they still “hidden away”? I think that I was just really hoping for more “paranormal” elements than I get from this novel, and it just doesn’t happen. If I could get a bit more then I think that this book would have had an added level of enjoyment to it.
This novella has good points and negative points. The good points would be – the level of intrigue in this book is well done. I quickly wanted to dig deeper and discover the secrets of the characters. This book does a good job invoking a variety of reactions encouraging my enjoyment of this story. The negative points – the mystery angle, while intriguing, doesn’t come together to create a full picture. The paranormal element never fully shines like it could have with a bit more attention to detail there. There are also some scenes that could have used more attention to detail as well to really flesh them out. Fleshing out certain scenes would make them easier to follow, elevating the story. As it is they feel a bit rushed and confusing to understand what is going on with the characters.
As it stands this book doesn’t fully reach it’s potential. I’m choosing to rate this novella 7.8 (3.5 out of 5 stars) out of 10. This novella can be read as a standalone, but I feel that reading the series from the beginning would help answer a few questions concerning Sara. As it stands, I’m left with questions concerning certain elements of this story and the main character. Now, while this novella may not have the most “appealing” cover, don’t forget that old adage “don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” This book might not be perfect, but it has enough to make it an intriguing novella to check out.
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