SKIN OF THE WOLF was a fascinating thriller that reunites Father Thomas Kelly, Livia Pietro and Spencer George in New York where they get involved in a case that includes deeply hidden secrets, ancient Native artifacts, and a people who have been as hidden as the Noantri.

Livia is excited to be allowed to view a very rare and ancient Iroquois mask of a wolf at Sotheby's as it is getting ready to go to auction. However, her Noantri skills lead her to believe that the mask is a fake. When a young woman who is getting the artifacts ready is brutally murdered by what looks like and animal attack and Spencer and his new boyfriend Dr. Michael Bonnard are attacked by a wolf in Central Park, things get more and more complicated.

Michael and his brother Edward are twins and Mohawk Indians. They have gone their separate ways, though, with Michael taking the path of science and becoming a researcher and Edward following his Indian roots and beliefs. Both are also shapeshifters. Michael has been using science to try to understand why shapeshifting occurs and trying to identify others who might possess the gene. Edward is more interested in recreating the ceremony that made them shifters and making new shifters wholesale so that they can throw the white men off the continent.

All parties are in a mad dash to try to find the real Iroquois wolf mask, though each has a different agenda. Michael fears that Edward's plan will set up Indian people for persecution whether or not they have the shifting gene. The Noantri know what it is like for those who are different to be exposed and are eager to help keep that exposure from happening. Edward needs the mask to fulfill his vision for an Indian controlled future.

The pace in this thriller was fast. The information about Indian Art and those who collect it added richness and depth to the story. And, who doesn't want to believe that the Catholic Church is filled with secrets? I haven't read the first book in this series but, now, I really want to. I need to find out how these three characters became friends and what it was that brought them together. ( )

Book Review & Giveaway: What do you get when you mix an award-winning crime fiction author with a literature professor? Sam Cabot – a kick-butt writing duo! Just when I thought no one could possibly think of another winning angle for vampire novels, along came Blood of the Lamb, the first novel we reviewed by Sam Cabot, a pseudonym for the writing team of S.J. Rosen and Carlos Dews. That novel was amazing so it was a no brainer to opt in for Skin of the Wolf, the second novel in this genre-bending series. Think Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code meets the world of the paranormal and you’ve got the elevator spiel for this series.
Skin of the Wolf features non-stop action with our favorite characters from Book #1 mixed with more conspiracies, excellent historical research, and Native American shape-shifting myths. If you liked Blood of the Lamb, hang onto your hat! And I’m excited to be able to offer a copy that someone will win in our giveaway at http://popcornreads.com/?p=7556! ( )