The Tenderness of Wolves - Softcover

Penney, Stef

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1847240674 ISBN 13: 9781847240675

Publisher: Quercus, 2007

Synopsis

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION - FEATURES READING GROUP QUESTIONS AND NEW MATERIAL FROM STEF'S UPCOMING EPIC NOVEL, UNDER A POLE STAR

COSTA AWARD WINNER and WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER. A breathtaking tale of mystery, buried secrets and romance, set in nineteenth century frontier Canada - for fans of THE SNOW CHILD and A PLACE CALLED WINTER.

'Unquestionably atmospheric, evocative and rewarding' Independent on Sunday

'A tense and delicately written thriller' Observer

Canada, 1867. A young murder suspect flees across the snowy wilderness. Tracking him is what passes for the law in this frontier land: trappers, sheriffs, traders and the suspect's own mother, desperate to clear his name. As the party pushes further from civilisation, hidden purposes and old obsessions are revealed. One is seeking long-lost daughters; another a fortune in stolen furs; yet another is chasing rumours of a lost Native American culture. But where survival depends on cooperation, their fragile truce cannot afford to be broken, nor their overriding purpose - to find justice for a murdered man - forgotten.

The Tenderness of Wolves is a must-read historical epic, weaving adventure, suspense and humour into an exhilarating thriller, a panoramic romance and ultimately, one of the books of the last ten years.

About this title

Review:

a tense and delicately written thriller - The Observer (Observer)

... a quite remarkable debut novel.' Birmingham Post (Birmingham Post)

“This subtle and superb novel brings the freezing landscape of the Canadian woods to such vivid life that the landscape itself becomes a strong character within the story. Once you have dived into the tiny, closeted world of Caulfield and its forbidding surroundings, you will certainly not wish to leave.” Crimesquad.com (Crimesquad.com)

... a highly-assured debut....Stef Penney has written an absorbing and stylish mystery. The Glasgow Herald (Glasgow Herald)

“...Stef Penney's hefty first novel The Tenderness of Wolves, mines her setting and period for all it's got and then some, injecting plenty of invented intrigue and Da Vinci Code like revelations of Huge Cultural Importance whenever she can. The result is an entertaining, well-constructed mystery that jazzes up the “real” history in a way that's more Ron Howard than Pierre Berton. It's...sexy, suspenseful, densely plotted storytelling...The Tenderness of Wolves remains a first-rate gripper with a notably sensual as well as psychological understanding of its main characters. More than this, it is a novel with far greater ambitions than your average thriller, combining as it does the themes of Conrad's Heart of Darkness with Atwood's Survival, and lashing them to a story that morphs Ian Rankin...” Andrew Pyper, The Globe and Mail (Globe and Mail)

unquestionably atmospheric, evocative and eventually rewarding - Independent On Sunday (Independent On Sunday)

From the Publisher:

Review for Tenderness of Wolves:
an intensely atmospheric murder mystery that consolidates its hold with
each serpentine contortion of the narrative and every new character that
drifts into its frame ... it is by dint of sheer imaginative heft that
Penney's immense tale allows one to feel the tundra's perishing chill in
the bones every bit as authentically as the wintry tableaux of Annie Proulx
... robust craftsmanship, cracking storytelling and cinematically evoked
panoramas that recall the finest westerns - Sunday Times, Pick of the Week

About this edition

• Publisher: Quercus
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1847240674
• ISBN 13: 9781847240675
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496