Lone Wolf, a review by Joanna

When Evan’s Roamphone rings, it’s usually a stranger in danger who is seeking his help, so this time, he’s rather annoyed to find his newly discovered 11-year old niece is calling him to track down her missing dog. He’s still unable to say no, however, and with his usual efficiency – and young friend Joey’s super-hacking skills, tracks the missing mutt to the home of a wealthy software developer. The mission rapidly goes wrong when he finds the man has just been murdered and the assassin – code-named The Wolf, is still on-site – and during the ensuing fight, the victim’s 17 year old daughter sees his attacker’s face – meaning she must be silenced. Thus begins a game of cat & cat, between two deadly killers each determined to stop the other – so Evan must find out who hired the Wolf – and why.

The risk with a series like this is that no matter how great the character, they can become formulaic or repetitive after a while. I had not enjoyed the last couple as much, so had taken a break rather than reading them on publication like I used to, and suddenly found myself two behind, with the next one publishing in February. I was able to borrow this from a friend (to get around my self-imposed ban on buying new books!) and found it a welcome return to form with a chilling new set of enemies for Evan to contend with.

As ever, what sets this apart from other vigilante thrillers is the humour – mostly from his interactions with the ever-enlarging number of people forcing themselves into his formerly solitary life. Joey the rebellious but surprisingly vulnerable teenager he’s informally adopted, plays a big role here. We learn more about Melinda, his scarily efficient Vietnamese forger, and Andre, his loser half-brother. There are also more trying encounters with his annoying neighbours. Conversely, Mia and Peter are nowhere to be found – I don’t remember what happened to sour their relationship, and I also missed hilarious Candy. Maybe one scary female assassin per book is enough. All the lighter subplots speed the story along without detracting from the sinister background conspiracy. I found the resolution a bit anti-climactic and easily resolved, but liked the twist at the end, which will have me bumping the next book, Nemesis, further up my TBR. 4 solid stars and a must for fans of the series.