I really enjoyed this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Thoroughly enjoyable. Turmel’s writing flows very smoothly and keeps the story going. It was refreshing to read a story from the werewolf’s point of view, and his being a good guy as well. I am looking forward to reading more from Wayne Turmel. ( )

Disclosure: An electronic copy of this book was provided in exchange for review by publishers Black Rose Writing, via Library Thing.

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Johnny Lupul is just your average young guy making a living as an enforcer for a prominent Chicago bookie, until he comes to the attention of an ϋber-rich recluse with a morally-questionable obsession – and thank goodness for that because where would paranormal superhero types be without them?

Because, you see, Johnny Lupul is also a werewolf. Turmel makes this perfectly clear in a media res opening that would make Mickey Spillaine proud: “The Russian tasted like borscht and cheap cigarettes.” Thus begins sort of a werewolf noir, in which Lupul is charged with recovering a bronze disk stolen from his employer. Just your average looted treasure -- probably a reproduction, in fact, but “don’t get any blood on it”. And Anubis? He was only the Egyptian god of the dead, in charge of leading souls to the underworld. Nice guy, but you probably wouldn't want to piss him off, what with him having the head of a jackal and all.

Thus is launched the main plot, which moves along nicely and is peopled by several interesting supporting characters as Lupul figures out (a) who has the disk, (b) how to get it and ultimately, (c) how to keep it from working its malignant magic on him. (Maybe it wasn’t a reproduction after all.)

There’s also the disturbing revelation that Lupul isn’t the only werewolf in Chicago, and that one of them is definitely trying to kill him. After the issue of the disk seems to be resolved, the story veers into werewolf-vs-werewolf territory, and Lupul reveals a surprising gentleness and some thinking chops as he tries to locate, isolate, and deal with his foe, as well as with an assortment of quirky humans who populate his world. It seems at this point that the Anubis Disk has faded into the background, but it does make a reappearance as part of the climax, though Turmel sort of glosses over just what it was that brought it back in Lupul’s temporary possession, and what that is going to mean in the future.

Because this is definitely set up as the beginning of a series. In fact, there were references to events in Lupul’s background that made this reviewer go looking for a prequel, just to clarify the issue. No prequels, but the author’s note at the end promises a sequel.

Turmel has given some thought to lycanthropy, noting that “it’s not like you’re perfectly normal, minding your own business and then ‘Oh, crap, it’s the moon. Aaaaooooo’.” According to Lupul, it’s a cycle with mental and behavioral transformations as well as physical ones, and it’s not done casually or without cost. Turmel deals with practicality as well (like what happens to ones clothes when one transforms), whether the wolf-form (Lupul calls him “Shaggy) retains any consciousness of being human (and vice versa) when one physical form is in ascendance. It’s an interesting look at a fantasy trope that too often goes straight for the shock value and doesn’t linger over details.

There are a few bumps in the road. First is Turmel’s inexplicable choice of the title. “Johnny Lycan & The Anubis Disk” makes it sound like a YA adventure, along the lines of “Nancy Drew and the Enchanted Castle”. It’s definitely not YA. One could assume the author intends to use the “Johnny Lycan &” tag to identify future adventures, but it still reeks of amateur night. “Johnny Lupul &” would do just as well. Or, what the hell, just ditch subtlety and call the character Johnny Lycan. In addition, the publisher’s page refers to the hero is “a private eye” – a detail that is not addressed at all in the text, and which is simply indicative of sloppy editing somewhere along the line.

If one can overlook these admittedly picayune details, it’s a high-energy adventure, and fans of the urban fantasy genre will certainly enjoy it. ( )

Werewolf UF is a lot less common than vampires, and even then they're usually the bad guys, so it makes a refreshing change to have a werewolf protagonist.

Jonny was adopted from an east european orphanage into a loving american home, but once his Shaggy (as he calls it) side starting making an appearance, he quickly learnt how to live with himself and master some self-control. Not that there weren't incidents, but for the last while he's been doing ok. He's renting a room from a friend and Gramma whom Shaggy had saved. Bill knows IT and finance, which helps Jonny cope. The story opens with Jonny helping a former employer, whose daughter had been kidnapped by a local gang. Successfully recovering her, his payoff is interrupted by a local kingpin who wants Jonny to recover and object - the Disk - for him.

Jonny's very upfront and blase about Shaggy, but not to the point of revealing him in public. And while Bill knows, nobody else does, except of course eventually Jonny has to explain. It is a nice balance between an established world, and an introduction. General werewolf mythology is adhered too, with a modern take that doesn't hit any continuity errors along the way. Jonny's a bit over-the-top clueless regarding technology for no particular reason, but it allows a couple of other characters to be involved.

I enjoyed this, it doesn't take itself too seriously, is well paced and inventive enough to be entertaining without being too challenging to get to grips with understanding the world ( )

Great book!! 4.8 stars

If your goofy high school buddy that works construction and can’t quite seem to get his act together was also a werewolf-this is his story. This one checks all the boxes: Plot-a new twist on the same old monster story. Characters: interesting takes on the old tropes of wolf boy, blond girl, gay friend, crazy Romani grandmother. Violence/gore/weirdness: yep. Add in a seriously hot nurse and a scary old man with his own agenda-this book has it all.

I enjoyed the whole thing in one long reading session. You will be grabbed from page one then strap in for the ride. Some minor formatting & editing issues but ignore them. The supporting characters are also well done. Wayne Turmel juggles every piece of the story and delivers a super good read. I was given a copy of this book and this is my honest review. ( )