Thanks again Netgalley for an early copy of this thought-provoking book. I had previously read Charlotte McConaghy's "Migrations" and loved it so I was very excited to read this one too. The setting was so interesting and it touched on environmental issues that I'd never thought about before in a complex way, which is something I love about the author's books.

But for some reason I just wasn't as engaged in the storyline involving the central mystery. I did still enjoy the book overall, but the main character got on my nerves a bit. It's always frustrating when the protagonist is openly dishonest or deliberately withholds information from the other characters, especially when it seems like it isn't a big deal to the reader. I just had a hard time walking in Inti's shoes I guess.

Charlotte McConaghy has done it again. Migrations was a magical intertwining of interpersonal experiences and global environmental concerns, and if anything, McConaghy has only succeeded in taking it to the next level in Once There Were Wolves.

Inti Flynn is the perfect brooding lead, the kind of brooding that innately comes with a backstory and a purpose, and McConaghy masterfully unravels the threads of her story in perfect tandem with the story of the wolves. At once hopeful and heartbreaking, Once There Were Wolves asks deep questions, particularly when it comes to the ways in which humans treat both themselves and their environment.

McConaghy's prose is stunning, often poetic, but she also knows when to throw a punch, which is immediately evident by the opening line: "When we were eight, Dad cut me open from throat to stomach." Another stunning example is the opening of Chapter 5: "There are languages without words and violence is one of them." The sharp edges of her writing reflect the urgent and frankly violent nature of climate fiction, but to ease the knife cuts of reality, McConaghy has added dangerously alluring prose that softens the reader at the same time.

Without a doubt, McConaghy will continue to be an author I follow, instantly picking up anything new she deigns to share with the world.

This is my second book by this author and what a great experience this was. This is a book about Inti and her love for wolves. She is in Scotland with her sister Aggie and she's part of a team trying to release wolves into the wild to curb the deer population and help the regrowth of the forests. Well, as the book progresses, there's a lot of back story about Inti and Aggie and their upbringing. Inti has a condition where she feels everything she sees, like it is happening to her and that limits her. The story progresses with the progression of the past and the current story with the wolves and the Scottish farmers who are opposed to the re-introduction of the wolves for fear of their farming animals. But this book is so much more than that. There's no good way to talk about this book. It's just one you need to experience. Excellent read.

This was a novel about nature and sisters and I really loved it. At it's core that's what it boiled down to: nature and sisters. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy. 4 stars

A novel about wolf reintroduction to Scotland from the author of Migrations. McConaghy looks at the complex relationships we have with predators and the awful things some people do rather than relearn how to coexist with nature — perfect components for drama.

This was an excellent book. Just like Migrations, McConaghy has crafted characters that I care about and put them in interesting situations. This was gripping and moving. Highly recommended.

Those that know me understand I dive into some books without revisiting what the book is truly about. I choose to ignore the plot summaries and go straight in. Sometimes this means I'm going straight into a book with some personal triggers. But I always come out better for it. This book was nothing what I anticipated based on solely the cover (enter the old adage here). This was a fantastic look at environmental changes, rehabilitation of wildlife, a community's resistance to change, and changing our own adaptations to new information as it's presented to us.

I love the focus on the sisters and the parallel aspect of how their relationship compared to wildlife. I felt I connected a bit more to the older sister but still enjoyed both characters. There is some gore in this one, skinning the rabbit, etc. I wish I’d had a bit of a warning about the gore but it didn’t stop me from continuing.

Listen, at this point, if Charlotte McConaghy writes a book, I'm reading it. That's just the way it is. This was my first book by McConaghy, and I was in awe. It was absolutely fantastic, and I loved reading about the wolves and conservation in the midst of a mystery and small town secrets. Right after this, I read Migrations and it was also fantastic, with the conservation efforts lending a backdrop to the rest of the story and painting a picture of what will happen if we continue on the path we're on. Just absolutely fantastic.

Following the widely acclaimed release of her debut, MIGRATIONS, Charlotte McConaghy returns with ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES, a propulsive story set in the Scottish Highlands.

Inti Flynn was brought up in the wild, taught to respect the many balances of nature and the cycles that keep it in check. Raised by a detective mother and a former logger-turned-naturalist father, Inti and her sister, Aggie, were never protected from the violence of the world, natural or human. From their mother they learned of men who beat, torture and murder their girlfriends and wives; from their father they learned of the way that a predator can help its prey survive and give life to new forms of flora and fauna.

Now an adult, Inti has been tasked with leading a team of biologists attempting to rehabilitate 14 wolves by introducing them to a forest in Scotland where they were forcefully pushed out by centuries of kings, hunters and livestockers. Their hope is to reinvigorate the ecosystem by introducing a necessary predator to cull the deer population, thereby helping the vegetation grow, and keep the foxes at bay, helping smaller mammals, like badgers, thrive. The project is not without its deniers. Local farmers, forced into poverty by climate change (as much as they refuse to believe it) and advances in technology, cannot bear the thought of yet another strike against their livelihoods.

Beyond her obvious reverence for nature, Inti is blessed --- perhaps cursed --- with mirror-touch synesthesia, a unique ability to recreate the sensory experiences of the living creatures she sees. Witnessing her sister punching a teenage bully in the face, or an alpha male wolf snuggling against a desired mate, can put her right in their shoes (or paws, as it were) feeling every fist hit, every bristle of fur and the coldness of a snout. Now that she has been charged with rehabilitating wolves back into the Highlands, Inti’s synesthesia feels almost amplified, tied to her personal desire to make this work, to make the forest a safe, habitable home for the wolves after a hundred years astray.

Inti and her team have a stellar track record of introducing wolves in America’s Yellowstone Park, so although they have their fears and doubts, they are pleasantly surprised when their wolves begin to thrive. Female number Six is impregnated by Male number Nine, and the pack from one unit is hunting deer as they are meant to do. Despite not-so-subtle threats from the locals, Inti and her team start to feel comfortable in their work. When a wolf is killed by a farmer who believed it to be a wild dog --- despite all evidence to the contrary --- Inti and her team are helped through the loss by the discovery of a litter of wolf pups. Slowly but surely, their work is starting to mean something.

Inti’s team and the careful balance they have found with the community is thrown into disarray when a local is found dead. Fearing for the safety of her wolves, Inti makes a rash decision that puts the whole initiative at risk, raising tensions and forcing her to confront some of the trauma of her past and the searing repercussions of violence. Combining a murder mystery with a hearty dose of family dysfunction and haunting, poignant descriptions of the checks and balances of nature, ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES is a thoroughly satisfying, remarkable follow-up to MIGRATIONS.

As she did in her previous novel, Charlotte McConaghy once again introduces us to a flawed main character with plenty of backstory. Inti is a complicated woman, as passionate about her career and the animals it protects as she is reckless and quick to act without much rational thought. Aggie also plays a role in her life, bound to her sister by a tragic accident that is revealed in brief vignettes that heavily feature their wildly different parents and the ways they raised their girls. McConaghy writes in alternating timelines, using the wolves to propel the narrative forward, their highs amplified by moments of shocking violence and their lows equally matched by trauma in Inti’s own life. This is a multilayered, cleverly constructed book full of brutalities and beauty, and McConaghy handles all of it with a clear-eyed gaze and an even hand.

As in MIGRATIONS, McConaghy once again focuses on the interconnectedness of nature and the human world. Whether reflecting on the effects of climate change or the violence we have wrought on the world, she never shies away from revealing the cause and effect of our actions, and the ways we are ruining the world forever. And yet, unbelievably, her overarching love for the natural world gives every book she writes an air of resiliency and hope. Never before have I rooted for our world so thoroughly; never before have I felt so called to action.

Whether you’re in for an exquisite study of wolves, a murder-mystery straddled across viewpoints and experiences, or even a hard-fought love story, ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES has it all. McConaghy will enrapture any reader with her gorgeous, vivid descriptions of nature, life and death and the universal truths hidden between them both. Like MIGRATIONS, this book will change the way you think about the world and your place in it.

QUICK TAKE: liked it, didn't love it. Migrations is one of my favorite books of 2020, and I was eagerly anticipating the latest from the author. Her writing is still incredible, and she's so good at evoking mood in her characters and setting. That being said, there is an extremely graphic act of violence in the last 1/3 of the book that was so over-the-top that it almost took me out of the book completely. It's important to the story, but it was a bit too much for me.

This fascinating book takes on the complex dynamics at play when communities holding on to their histories and traditional livelihoods conflict with the motivations of outsiders (even when well-intentioned). While the political and social components of reintroducing wolves to a geographical area are compelling, people's relationship to the environment and wild animals add another layer of depth to the story. Lines are drawn, sides chosen, and much of the time it seems that the differences are irreconcilable. As the characters grow and the plot evolves, you grow to learn and understand all sides, even the non-human perspectives. An interesting and compelling read.

McConaghy follows up her novel Migrations with another book focusing on animals and the environment. Inti Flynn is in Scotland with a group of biologists who are attempting to reintroduce wolves into the Highlands. There is pushback from the locals but the scientists try to educate the people on the positive impact the wolves will have on the area.

Inti meets a local sheriff who wants to be supportive but who has an allegiance to the Highlanders. When it looks like the wolves have viciously attacked, Inti tries to hide the evidence. She is desperate for the wolves to live peaceably with the people. But Inti and her sister are struggling with other personal issues. There’s something that the two are running from; something devastating. But her sister doesn’t talk, so readers are left to wonder.

There’s an eeriness to the atmosphere. What are the real dangers to the wolves, to the community, and even to Inti and her sister? As the plot progresses, the background of the Flynn sisters unfolds and the psyche of the girls becomes more evident. The wolves have names and are like secondary characters in the plot. They too might be victims in the attempt to make a home for them.

This tale will haunt readers. The setting is austere and the backstory is frightening. McConaghy has a way of revealing damaged souls in a world that has shown disregard for humanity as well as scorn for the environment.

Genuinely adore this book. Inti, the main character, is a wholly unique creation of author Charlotte McConaughy and is one of the most compelling protagonists I've ever followed. She's so deeply fleshed out and real and unique. A great mystery, some incredible twists, but at the heart of it all is a brilliant exploration into a woman's life and the trauma and struggles that built that life. One of the best of 2021.

I've been reading this book for a while, it just has a density to it because there isn't a lot of dialogue and the narrator spends a lot of time describing how other creatures' touch feels because of her mirror-touch synesthesia. All the while, she is leading a team to rewild a group of wolves in Scotland.

Where this author's previous book Migrations was depressing from an environmental perspective, it was more about isolation. This book has a more violent streak and also a bit of a murder mystery.

I am such a fan of Charlotte McConaghy’s lush, haunting, evocative prose.

Her debut novel Migrations was one of my favorite novels of 2020, so I was thrilled to get my hands on Once They Were Wolves. It was released in early August, so you can grab a copy now.
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McConaghy uniquely interweaves two kinds of threats in her novels: person versus person & person versus nature. The central tension of this novel rests at the intersection of these threats.

Inti Flynn and her twin Aggie arrive in the Scottish Highlands with a team of biologists as part of an effort to rehabituate wolves into what was once their natural habitat.

As we think about the existential threat that is climate change, this was a fascinating component based on actual work done in Yellowstone Park and ongoing debates currently happening in Scotland. The theory being that wolves were eliminated by humans, but they act as natural predators. If reintroduced, they can help manage animal populations that have gone unchecked in their absence and restore balance to the ecosystem.

The challenge is that ranch farmers, faced with years of challenging economic struggles, fear the wolves will feed on their livestock.

In addition to this ecological theme, the book grapples with the role of humans as perhaps the most dangerous predator of all as secrets, toxic masculinity, self preservation and fear pit individuals against one another and test the strength of even the strongest relationships.
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Many thanks to partners @netgalley @flatiron_books @macmillanusa for sharing this book with me.

Charlotte McConaghy is offically an auto-buy author for me. I was blown away by her debut novel, Migrations, and this sophomore effort did not disappoint. I love how she can weave a complex mystery into what is essentially really good literary fiction, and then on top of that, put it all in a setting meant to bring awareness to environmental issues the world is currently facing. The writing is beautiful, and I loved shifting past/present scenes where we learn about the evolving dynamic between the twin sisters, Inti and Aggie, and how the past is affecting what is happening in the present. I will say I was a little less interested in the interactions with Inti and her co-workers, as well as some of the scenes specifically about the wolves. Overall, this was a wonderful story that serves as a reminder that although we are each only one person facing our own internal challenges and life events, we are still part of a larger world, and we need to make time to care for both. 4.25 stars

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for my e-copy of this book.

The author of Migrations has done it again. I love the tone to her story telling as it draws you in to the most inner mind, the senses, the land and the animal. The connection to her twin, to the wolves she is trying to reintroduce to the land and to her new found love. She is saving the wolves while they are saving her and the man she has slowly let into her heart. This was a book I was trying to read on Net Galley but life got in the way so it was requested and granted from my library which now can be shared by many. Looking so forward to the next book by Charlotte McConaghy.

There is no question. This is the best book I've read this year and I would be shocked if it isn't my favorite of 2021. If you know me, there is a good chance I will be recommending or gifting this book to you.

I was a huge fan of Migrations, so I knew the bar was extremely high. I think I liked Wolves even better. Wolves has the same style of writing (lyrical, crisp, deep but accessible) but it is a completely different type of book that is like nothing I've ever read. It's literary fiction, a love story and a slow burn mystery that I never saw coming.

The story focuses on Inti and her twin Aggie, the result of an unlikely union between a conservationist in Canada and a policewoman in Australia. Init has come to Scotland as part of a project to repopulate the area with wolves, which were killed off by hunters. The farmers and townspeople are against her efforts. The book follows Init and Aggie, who is suffering from a trauma, in Scotland in the present, while they were young women in Alaska and growing up in Canada and Australia. It is not a linear story, but it is easy to follow. That is all I'm saying. Go in as blind as you can but know if you need trigger warnings, which I don't give, you should probably read up on this book.

Just like Migrations, I'm left in wonder of Charlotte McConaghy's talent - how did she create this book? And in so few pages (256 to be exact) Please keep on writing!

A dazzling, immersive novel with all the signature hallmarks of Garlotte McConaghy's previous work--a richly drawn world, wonderfully crafted characters, an urgent message for readers, all spun together in the shape of a mystery.
A novel to keep you awake late into the night--and one which haunts with the questions it raises.