Heart-pounding thrills fill this werewolf tale

CAROLYN LESSARD

Associated Press

“Frostbite” by David Wellington (Three Rivers Press, 277 pages, $14)

In David Wellington’s supernatural novel “Frostbite,” hiker Cheyenne Clark is lost in the Northwest Territories of the Canadian Arctic. She narrowly escapes an attack by a ferocious wolf, though her ankle is severely clawed.

Hungry and alone in the wilderness, she comes across an eccentric man named Dzo, who takes her to his friend’s cabin.

Montgomery Powell isn’t very friendly. When he checks Chey’s wound, she discovers it has almost healed. She also notices similarities between Powell and her feral attacker.

When Chey overhears Powell telling Dzo that she must be killed before the moon rises, she takes off into the woods.

Her survival instincts kick in, but she’s no match for the expert tracker with superhuman strength. Powell tells her: “You don’t understand ... it has to be this way.”

However, before he can carry out his plan, the moon rises and they both transform.

Now Chey must come to terms with what she has become: a werewolf. She had a reason for venturing into this remote area, and now that she’s cursed, she must choose a side.

Acts of betrayal force Chey to face enemies she once considered friends, providing a thrilling tale of survival.

In “Frostbite,” Wellington’s lycanthropes turn not just at the full moon, but also whenever the moon shines — and in the Arctic, that could be for days.

His werewolves are victims of a 10,000-year-old curse. They despise humans and will relentlessly attack with pure hatred.

They also have regenerative powers. If injured, whether in wolf or human form, they will be completely healed when they shift. Their only weakness is silver.

Wellington is the author of the Monster Island trilogy and several vampire novels, including “23 Hours: A Vengeful Vampire Tale.”

He’s a vivid storyteller, whether describing gruesome attacks, expressing the subtle attraction between man and woman or chronicling the life of a troubled teen. Wellington provides an overall entertaining — and thrilling — work of fiction.