Spare, evocative prose lifts this impressive debut from Pekearo, who was killed in the line of duty as an auxiliary police officer in New York City in 2007. Marlowe Higgins, who's both a werewolf and a detective, lives in the small town of Evelyn, "just outside the Tennessee border," flipping burgers by day and waiting for the full moon that will awaken the blood curse that has afflicted his family for generations. Higgins has hit on a way to alleviate the guilt he feels for having claimed countless innocent lives--he investigates vicious crimes that have gone unsolved by the police and targets the perpetrators in his lupine form. When a sadistic serial killer known as the Rose Killer for the flowers left in the victims' eye sockets appears in Evelyn, Higgins turns his attention to tracking him down. Higgins may remind some of Jeff Lindsay's Dexter, but Pekearo's skill at making Higgins both believable and sympathetic is a considerable achievement that should give this novel crossover appeal beyond crime and horror readers. (May) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

This first novel is conspicuous for its fresh twist on werewolf lore and, unfortunately, the sad denouement of its author. Before it went to press, NYPD volunteer policeman Pekearo was killed in the line of duty. He leaves behind a gripping fusion of detective and horror fiction that includes one of the most riveting werewolf portraits ever penned. After inheriting his father's lycanthropic affliction and torturing himself with guilt for dispatching helpless innocents, Marlowe Higgins tricks his inner wolf into stalking only ne'er-do-wells. Lying low as a small-town short-order cook, Higgins scours the daily news for deserving scofflaws while cadging clues from his only real friend, detective Daniel Pearce. When an infamous serial killer murders a pair of local citizens, Higgins immediately puts the wolf on his scent. Yet something goes horribly awry, and Pearce, not the killer, becomes the wolf's next victim, leaving Higgins reeling with guilt and determined to nab the fiend. Higgins' surly, streetwise demeanor makes him unforgettably appealing both as a werewolf and as an amateur sleuth.--Hays, Carl Copyright 2008 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.