The Satan Sleuth #2 - The Werewolf Walks Tonight

In the forest ... the moonlit forest ... the werewolf walks tonight ...

Okay, yeah, so when I read the title to this book, I couldn't help but fit the words into the song made famous by The Token.  But there is definitely nothing lighthearted about this book.  As with the first book in this series by Michael Avallone, the story is very dark, very violent, and very steeped in the depravity of mankind.  One has to wonder where Avallone gets his inspiration for stories such as this - did he just have a very vivid imagination, or did he see the depravity of man in the real world and simply tweak it a bit for his novels to fit the story he was writing?  Whatever the case, these Satan Sleuth books are definitely not for the faint-hearted!

The Werewolf Walks Tonight deals with exactly that - a werewolf.  Or, at least, a creature that the people of the small town of Fletcherville can't help but think is a werewolf.  With four extremely gruesome deaths, the victims' throats savage torn out, the entire town is frightened.  And the disappearance of one young woman, Helen Trick, only makes matters worse.  The sheriff thinks Helen simply took off with a man, but Philip St. George - the man otherwise known as The Satan Sleuth - believes the woman's disappearance is connected with the vicious murders.  He also does not believe the attacks are that of some supernatural lycanthrope; whatever it is, St. George firmly believes the thing committing these atrocious crimes is human, in some form, and must be stopped at all costs.

So, St. George leaves his life of luxury in New York and makes his way to the rural town of Fletcherville on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee - a town that time, and the two states, has basically forgotten, leaving its citizens to their own devices.  Donning the disguise of a mild-mannered medical supply salesman, St. George shows up in town to begin his investigation and his hunt for this disciple of Satan.  Deacon Williams, the first victim and the town's only pastor, was found down by a small river, hanging upside down from a juniper tree.  And it's with that first victim, and at that first murder site, that St. George begins his search.  He discovers a water-soaked Bible at the bottom of the river, and on the inside front cover, he finds a terrifying message that warns of the danger and deceit let loose upon the town.  The banker, the drifter, and college drop-out were all victim of circumstance, and the store owner and his son, later victims, were in the wrong place at the wrong time, hunting something they were not prepared to face.  But after hunting down the killers of his wife in the last book, St. George is prepared for anything.  Or so he believes.

Avallone takes readers on a rather slow journey through Fletcherville - through the hearts and fears of its citizens, as well as through the methodical and cunning plans of his Satan Sleuth.  Avallone does become repetitive somewhat with his constant questioning and philosophizing about the potential supernatural existence of the werewolf, something he also did in the first book with the rationalization of the cult members and their desire for power through the evils of Satan.  There are moments where I wish the action would move faster, but Avalloen takes his time with building up the suspense and the ultimate revelation regarding the creature of the night terrorizing Fletcherville.  It does all lead up to a deadly battle for survival at the end, and the one who ultimately brings down the evil atrocity is not who you would expect!  Avallone manages to keep some of the secrets in the story close to his chest, so when they are revealed at the end, they come as much more of a surprise.

 

One aspect of the story that I enjoyed was the setting.  Being from Kentucky, it's always nice to read a book set in my home state, even if somewhat tangentially.  Avallone even makes a short reference to a case of mail fraud in Louisville (my home city!) that the FBI believes more important than reports of a werewolf running around Fletcherville (p. 62).  There's also the scene where St. George is talking with his landlady, trying to explain his reasons for believing the attacks were not the work of a werewolf, but of a very human man, and she responds with, "What's that got to do with the price of eggs..?" (p. 102).  This is a phrase I have often used, and still use today, when someone talks about something that has absolutely no relation to the discussion we are having - perhaps it is a Kentucky/Tennessee saying?

 

With two books read, only one left to go in this great little series...

 

RATING:  9 silver-painted bullets out of 10 for terror, horror, and supernatural all mixed into one story that will really make you think hard about just how humane humanity really is!