Lone Wolf

Victor Loshak, Book 5

By: L.T. Vargus, E. M. Smith, Tim McBain

Narrated by: Curt Bonnem

The package arrives first class. A manila envelope bulging with bubble wrap. With the top slit open, what lies within can just faintly be seen: A swath of human flesh sealed in plastic.

When a popular podcaster receives a disturbing package in the mail, FBI profiler Victor Loshak heads to Denver to investigate. The grisly contents of the bubble mailer are unlike anything he's seen.

Somewhere out there is a victim without a face.

Feds swarm the scene. The US Postal Inspection Service tracks down the point of the packages origin. Special Agent Loshak works up a psychological profile to assist the task forces investigation.
Just when they're making initial progress, they get word: A second package has arrived.

A letter opener shaped like a cutlass slits the top of the envelope. The flaps open wide like a mouth.

The scope of the case quickly balloons. Multiple packages at multiple locations. Each carries another gruesome payload, wrapped in plastic. Forensic details quickly confirm more than one victim.

Loshak can only ride along as the task force scrambles from scene to scene. Working. Documenting. Trying to catch up.
At last, some progress arrives. Multiple points of shipping origin emerge, all of them fairly local. The search for suspect and victims alike begins to tighten.

But the key to solving the case remains shrouded: Why would a person commit such atrocities?

Loshak will once again have to enter the mind of a killer, let the darkness in, understand the motives from the inside. As always, the cost will be high, and the danger will be higher.

This pulse-pounding thriller will grip you until the final tick. Fans of Michael Connelly, John Sandford, and Harlan Coben should check out the Victor Loshak series. Scroll up and grab Lone Wolf now.

©2024 L.T. Vargus, Tim McBain, and E.M. Smith (P)2024 L.T. Vargus, Tim McBain, and E.M. Smith

I love a good bad guy. You really get one with this story.

Andi Wayland has gotten home with her mail for her podcast, All Murder. That rotten smell from cleaning out her refrigerator that morning just won't seem to leave her apartment. She checks the trash thinking she might have forgotten to take the trash out. But it's gone. She sniffs her shirt thinking maybe she dropped something on herself, no just fabric softener. So she opens the window thinking it's just trapped in the apartment. Andi starts opening her mail. Sanford the cat is his pesky self begging for food. Finally she gets to the last piece a large padded package. Whatever is in this package has Andi stumped. She thinks it must be really delicate because it's wrapped in layers of bubble wrap. Finally Andi gets to the point where she can see that one side is kind of grey color. It was dripping a strange goo. She finished unwrapping the strange package to open a skinned human face.

Spinks and Loshak partner up again again to chase down a demented killer terrorizing Denver, CO in the new book Lone Wolf.

I would like to thank L.T. Vargus, E.M. Smith, and Tim McBain for allowing me to listen this amazing book for an honest review.

Loshak is back in an action-packed new story!

When Lone Wolf came out in February of 2024, I read an Advance Reader Copy and believed it was one of the best stories if not the best of the Victor Loshak series. For the last three days I have listened to Curt Bonnem’s narration of this story and am now firmly convinced Lone Wolf is the best of the series. My original review is below.

As I started reading Lone Wolf, the fifth book in the Victor Loshak series, I had to look back to when I read the fourth book. Hard to believe it has been two years. From opening that first page and reuniting with Loshak and Spinks it felt like I was back spending time together with old friends – the kind of friends where distance and time between visits makes no difference. I’ll be the first to admit I was expecting the story to be focused on a different subject, but in this case being wrong wasn’t an obstacle, Loshak and Spinks took me to the Denver area for their latest case. Along with following their progress or nonprogress I was able to clearly visualize the geography where each scene played out having spent quite a bit of time in the Denver area. The action in this story is intense, and in some instances unrelenting, but it sets the overall tenor of the story and what a story this one is. Right off the bat when the podcaster opened the envelope with the face, I knew this was going to be one of those books that takes over your life until that final page. It seems like each of these Loshak stories pull back the curtain on previously undisclosed areas of Loshak and Spink’s private lives. Getting to know them better with each story provides a depth to the stories that makes me set everything aside once these books come into my life. If you enjoy detective stories that are normally focused on serial killers you owe it to yourself to give the Loshak series a go, but if you do you really need to start with the beginning. Sure, while this book would make for an entertaining stand alone, getting to know Loshak and Spinks better by reading the earlier books would make it much better. I received an Advance Reader Copy of Lone Wolf from the authors and chose to provide my honest review.

Loshak and Spinks Together Again!

I honestly believe that this is the best story in the series so far! With each Loshak and Spinks novel, I have learned more about them as individuals and as partners. Their characters and even their friendship has developed gradually throughout the 5 book series, so I would recommend reading this series from the beginning to get the fullest understanding of their partnership. In this book, we get to see each character alone for a bit, and I appreciated that very much. I especially enjoyed seeing Spinks at work in his role as investigative reporter. I was so anxious for him - wow! I was on the edge of my seat! Loshak's inner dialogue is always enjoyable, but when they come together and bounce off each other, they really shine!

Okay, the voices. I might be picky, but I listen to audiobooks a lot and this matters to me. I could always tell who was speaking, yet it was subtle enough to not be distracting. The voices were distinct from each other, but not a bit overpowering or distracting to the reader, as can sometimes happen with audiobooks. This is why I gave the full 5 stars for performance. And as always, the descriptions of the settings, such as alleys, homeless camps, and sewers were crisp and rich in detail. Seemed like I could hear the water dripping! Nicely done!

I received an Advance Reader Copy of Lone Wolf from the authors and have provided my honest review. I hope you will enjoy this novel as much as I did!

What a struggle. Crime followers.

Different in a way that I really enjoyed. New elements that changed my thinking about true crime.