Nat Cassidy has quickly become one of my favorite horror writers! He is so good at exploring fear and maintaining the perfect level of anxiety throughout. It is a werewolf novel in the most unexpected ways and to me highly surpasses other werewolf stories I've read in the past.

Anyone who’s watched 1983’s Twilight Zone: The Movie will remember Joe Dante and Richard Matheson’s segment about a teacher who meets a boy who has the power to will anything he can imagine into existence, often with horrifying results. In his latest book, author Nat Cassidy took inspiration from that story and crafted it into something more emotional, more suspenseful, and more thought-provoking.

As When the Wolf Comes Home begins, we are introduced to struggling actress / waitress Jess, whose night is off to a rough start when she accidentally pricks her finger on a used hypodermic needle while cleaning the bathroom at work. Already panicking about what she may have just infected herself with, she is further distraught when she discovers a scared five-year-old boy hiding in the bushes in her apartment complex. A naked man arrives claiming to be his father and further upsetting the child, so Jess hurries him into her home only for a large wolf to appear and go on a violent rampage. The police arrive and provide Jess enough of a distraction to flee with the boy. She struggles to formulate a plan while growing suspicious that the boy’s father and the wolf might be the same entity and learning that the boy can make manifest anything he imagines.

Cassidy writes in a compellingly simple style that keeps the pages flying and he clearly cares deeply for his characters, making it easy for readers to become wrapped up in their fates. The action moves at a relentless pace and features several horrifically grisly scenes. That said, despite some nightmarish moments it never had me feeling genuine fear, which is ironic given the very nature of fear seems to be the novel’s raison d’être. Sure, it’s suspenseful, but I didn’t feel afraid.

That aside, this is a compelling read. Jess is a flawed individual but relatable and easy to root for. Her reactions to the situations she finds herself in feel believable as does her impulse to protect the boy. He also makes for an interesting character, as he is too young to properly control his power and so winds up creating the very things that frighten him. It’s heartbreaking to witness a child realizing that they are the cause of the bad that surrounds them and that they are powerless to do anything about it.

When the Wolf Comes Home is fun and exciting but at the same time will put the reader through the emotional wringer. By examining what makes us afraid and the strength required to face our fears, as well as the often-complicated nature of family, Cassidy has left us with a lot to think about. That he has also written an ending that will permanently etch itself into your memory ensures that we do.

When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy. I have a confession - I am leaving feedback before I actually read this because I want to save it for October! Nat Cassidy is one of my favorite contemporary spooky writers, I'm sure it will be great.

This gritty, heartwarming, inflated, snow globe if a story bounced along like a square with rounded edges. It hovered just above the ground and teased reality, and I loved it. Every minute. I always wanted to know what was coming next. The characters were real and heavy, and they melted into one another beautifully. A perfect five stars for Nat Cassidy.

TW/CW: Language, child abuse, gory scenes, blood, child abandonment, alcoholism, toxic parent relationships, violence, death of child, mourning, grieving, drinking, death of parent, anxiety, depression

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
One night, Jess, a struggling actress, finds a five-year-old runaway hiding in the bushes outside her apartment. After a violent, bloody encounter with the boy's father, she and the boy find themselves running for their lives.

As they attempt to evade the boy's increasingly desperate father, horrifying incidents of butchery follow them. At first, Jess thinks she understands what they're up against, but she's about to learn there's more to these surreal and grisly events than she could've ever imagined. And that when the wolf finally comes home, none will be spared.
Release Date: April 22nd, 2025
Genre: Horror
Pages: 304
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Writing style was okay
2. Ending of boy being evil
3. The ending of Jess

What I Didn't Like:
1. Sometimes the book rambled
2. Reminded me too much of Twilight Zone

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}

The authors words on content warnings made me laugh.
"And, hey, if you are the sort of person who’s offended by the existence of content warnings, I’m truly sorry. Maybe next time, I’ll give you a little heads-up that they’re coming, so you’ll be able to prepare yourself."


“Just plastic,”he says, staring down at the broken Frankensteins."

Frankenstein is the doctor not the monster.

Calvert looses his teeth everytime he changes and I keep wondering if he gets new teeth that have fallen before his transformation. Also does he get his fillings back?

How does the boy not know what once upon a time is when he was reading Hans Christian Anderson books that have once upon a time in them.

Is it weird that I didn't understand why she didn't give him CBD oil to calm him down from over thinking things.

How did Marge have so much time to tell Pepsi about Jess coming? They had enough time for all of this but it seemed like a few minutes between her phone call to Jess and being killed. Pepsi even was told to stock the house and switch cars.

So he kills his son and then Jess kills him.

Final Thoughts:
Remember that episode of Twilight Zone (It's a Good Life) with the boy that could make anything he imagined come true and he held everyone hostage. I kept thinking of this book like the origin story of the boy. That's all I could think of this.

The reveal of the boy being the bad one wasn't surprising but I still enjoyed it. But then Jess being "infected" by the boys manifestion.

Love the authors notes on the book. This one dealt with his dad and how he never really got to know him.
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Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

✨ Review ✨ When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy; Narrated by Helen Laser & Nat Cassidy

Thanks to Tor, Macmillan Audio and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

What happens when your nightmares come to life? This whole book feels like a fever dream where the most absurd nightmares take over the world. I absolutely loved this - couldn’t put it down! It's a great book to read with friends because you just want to shout and exclaim at every corner of the book.

However, this is near impossible to review without spoilers, and even if I told you what happened here, you’d never believe me! The hotel was perhaps one of my favorite scenes. The ending felt a little frustrating to me, but overall, I adored this and would read more of his work in a heartbeat! I wish I could say more but this one really thrives when you know as little as possible, so good luck! :)

Content warning: fairly violent, gruesome horror

🎧 This book is absolutely WILD to listen to, and Helen Laser does an incredible job. You will not be able to put this one down!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: horror
Setting: Starts in California and then the MCs take off on a road trip of sorts
Length: 11 hours 4 minutes
Pub Date: April 2025

Read this if you like:
⭕️ wildly absurd horror
⭕️ nightmares come to life
⭕️ road trips -- on the run
⭕️ struggling actress / Hollywood-adjacent stories

I loved this so much! This is not my usual read and I was pleasantly surprised. I can’t wait to read this authors other books.

From the moment that this book popped up on my radar, I'd been telling myself "oh man, this is going to be a good one". And honestly? That was an understatement. When The Wolf Comes Home is a GREAT one. I'll be singing my praises to Nat Cassidy until the day I die, because he is truly a horror icon in the making. I believe in this man's writing with my entire heart and soul, and When The Wolf Comes Home only cements that belief further.

Let's get into it-

Concept- A little boy has the strange ability to bring his beliefs to life. This power is made all the more dangerous by the fact that his life is ruled by fear, meaning he unwillingly gives life to his own nightmares. And what's more scary than fear itself? This is the kind of concept that makes you mad that you didn't think of it yourself. Cassidy plays every element of this story in such a masterful way that you are bound to walk away with your mind blown. Wherever you thought that this book was going to take you- trust me- you're dead wrong. Strap in, because this story is one hell of a ride. 5/5

Pacing- When The Wolf Comes Home starts off like cannon fire, and the story doesn't let up up until the very end. The breakneck pacing of the book complemented the concept perfectly, and only added to the heart-pounding fear that Nat Cassidy cooked up in every chapter. And despite being consistently face-paced, I never felt fatigued. 5/5

Horror- There is some truly gruesome imagery here. The horrors that this little boy brings to life made me feel like a little kid who was afraid of the shadows in my closet and the monsters under my bed. It's literally childhood fear brought to life. And on top of that, there is this horrible, existential crisis that Jess, our main character, faces as the story nears its end that brings in a sickening psychological horror element. This is the kind of book that has something for every kind of horror reader, and it's scary scary SCARY all the way through. It made me sick. 5/5

Writing- In case I haven't yet made this clear, I think that Nat Cassidy is a genius. He has no business writing women as well as he does, and I can only assume that he's made some pact with a terrible entity in order to craft his stories the way that he does. Possible soul-selling aside, I'm obsessed with this man and his sick stories. When The Wolf Comes Home might just be my favorite of his yet (and that's saying a lot, because Rest Stop still makes my skin crawl just thinking about it). The writing, like everything else here, is phenomenal. 5/5 (duh)

All I can say is, I'm sorry in advance to my friends and followers, because they're not going to stop hearing about this book from me. I've already convinced my horror book club to pick it up as one of their summer picks, and trust me, I'm looking forward to watching all of them have their minds blown. This book will undoubtedly be one of my top reads of the year, and it's one I see myself returning to for a reread again and again.

Nat Cassidy, I eagerly await what comes next from you. Whatever it is, I trust it will be great!

Perfection. No notes. A++. 🤌

But for real, this was a perfect horror read. Gripping, terrifying, emotional, heart pounding. You may have a general sense of the story from the synopsis, but I promise you won’t guess what’s actually going to happen. 🐺

Nat *really* knows how to get you invested in his characters—their wants, needs, deepest fears, most cherished memories. I felt so deeply for Jess and the kiddo.

My honest suggestion? Go in as blind as you can. That’s what I did, just going off the rave reviews of likeminded friends. And it surely paid off. ❤️‍🔥

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TL;DR: this one really is haunting. It's the kind of book that I think will stay with me for a while, both because of the horror / storytelling, and the thematic elements within it.

damn! Okay. It's hard to talk about this book without spoiling anything, and I'd recommend readers go into it relatively blind. Jess is an actress and she has a rough day. That's what I think you need to know going into this. Oh, and there's a lot of gore and death and creepy stuff - but it is a horror book so I mean, you should expect that.

The premise for the actual horror in the book was fascinating and there were so many nuances that I can't stop thinking about. The ending especially seems stuck with me and I want to talk about it with someone!

Jess as a character did sort of bug me - something about her felt off in a way I couldn't quite understand. I think her motives weren't fully fleshed out, and it made me kind of think "huh" to myself relatively often. that's my main complaint though - otherwise this book is haunting (pun intended) and explores some heavy stuff in a really interesting way.

If you want a horror that reflects human nature in all the darkest ways, and if you want to think while reading your book, this is a good story! If you need horror that is character driven, this might not be a good fit - it's idea and thematically driven. Also, this is a crazy unique horror story so I would highly recommend it to horror aficionados who want something weird and wonderful.

It pains me to say this, but this book was a big miss for me.

I went into this book with the expectation that it might get a little campy and silly given that there was a literal werewolf lurking around in it. Although I am not typically into creature horror, I trusted that Nat Cassidy would deliver something that would at least be entertaining and unsettling. And, at first, that is exactly what he delivered. But then it quickly devolved into something silly and distractingly cheesy.

As someone who grew up with Who Framed Roger Rabbit as one of their favorite movies to watch, the twist that happens about halfway through the book REALLY threw me off and pulled me out of any tension the story provided. How can I be scared or unsettled when childhood cartoon characters are suddenly villains beyond what was already going to be a werewolf situation? Any and all tension and intrigue was immediately gone for me and I decided to set the book down because I couldn't get back into the story.

I am disappointed that this book didn't work for me, especially given how many other people seemed to love it.

This was such an intense, heartbreaking & thought-provoking novel, exploring themes of generational trauma, family dynamics, & inherited fear. It’s about the monsters we create & the ones we try to escape from. The therapist in me felt for the characters, & for all my clients who have to be the parent to their own parents (4.75★)

Thank you so so so much NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Thank you Nat Cassidy. Nat! Cassidy! One of my favorite horror authors. Nobody does horror like Nat! I devoured this book. The storytelling and sheer uniqueness of this book was top tier. 5/5 for vibes. 5/5 for characters. 5/5 for plot. I wish I could read this book again for the first time. There was a lot of play on the thought of "who's the bad guy in your story", and I loved that. I think Nat really did a great job at making the reader think outside the box. Expect the unexpected...whenever it comes to Cassidy's writings. Man, literally can't praise this book or the author enough. Love every minute of it.

“As talented as children can be when it comes to being afraid, there’s really no comparison to how they love, is there?”

🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺
I’ve been saying for months that I knew this book would be amazing, but I had no idea how transformative it would be too. I went into it kind of blind, just knowing the blurb and general vibe so that’s what I’ll leave you with if you haven’t read the book yet. I recommend just opening to the first page and diving in.

Just know it’s an easy 5 stars and, in my opinion, Nat’s best work to date.

🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺
Now getting into some spoilers below (light ones, anyway!) and my full thoughts.
🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺

Kids are truly magical thinkers. I see it every time my kids wish for something that comes true. They’re the best at manifesting because nothing in their lives has told them that their dreams can’t be real. I saw it when my son was 3 and wished to see a hot air balloon (a VERY uncommon occurrence around our parts). Not even 2 hours later one flew overhead. I see it every time my 4 year old wishes to see a randomly colored car or special vehicle on a drive around town and sees one within minutes.

This book speaks to that power and what can happen when a child isn’t told that their power is true and good. What happens when a child is raised in fear.

Not only is this an exceptional work of horror, it’s also very powerful as a parent in regards the importance of working on generational traumas and telling kids, at all times, that they are immensely good and can change the world for the better.

If you’re someone’s child, read it. If you’re responsible for children, read it. If you love horror, read it. If you want to cry buckets and buckets, read it. It’s perfect.

When the Wolf Comes Home might be my favorite Nat Cassidy novel so far. The story follows a struggling young actress who ends up responsible for a five-year-old boy with a terrifying superpower: whatever he believes becomes reality. Since he’s a child, that means his world is shaped by imagination, confusion, and, most intensely, fear. And when a scared child’s imagination controls reality, things get horrifying very quickly.

What really stood out to me about this book—aside from the nightmare logic and genuinely creepy imagery—was how neatly the plot comes together. Compared to Cassidy’s previous work, this one feels especially well-constructed and intentional. Beneath the horror, it’s also a thoughtful exploration of identity and fear—how much of who we are is shaped by what we’re afraid of, or what we’re afraid we might be.

There’s also a really lovely afterword where Cassidy connects this novel to his personal journey, much like he did with his earlier books. That added context made the whole thing land even more deeply. Highly recommend this one if you’re in the mood for something unusually unsettling and heartfelt.

After my mother passed away, I became acutely aware of what I called the ‘stains’ of her. My mother was by no means a terrible person, but even the best of humanity has some sort of unconscious grudge or bias that they hold. For parents, I believe it then becomes impossible not to pass those onto their children, like stains that can’t entirely be washed away, no matter how hard you try.
You might be asking yourself why I bring this up? It’s because I believe this novel, aside from being a divine case study into the complex and overwhelming world of irrational terror, is also a fairy tale of legacy—those small, inevitable catalysts and inheritances that we are forced to accept as parts of our identity lest they hunt us down and haunt us.
Personally, while I am not an expert on child rearing or caretaking in general, I was still able to connect with this book despite it having some decidedly familial and progenic themes. In my opinion, what makes When the Wolf Comes Home more universal is the use of parenthood and guardianship as these umbrella concepts. Allowing for that horror element to not only parallel the fear, paranoia, and sense of dread that comes with being responsible for a child, but also the idea of growing up shaped by whatever irrational belief or learned behaviour you inherited from your own parent or guardian, whether they taught you consciously or not.
Honestly, though I found the book enlightening, I would probably only recommend it to the most die-hard horror fans. This isn’t a story you come out of feeling satisfied with the ending, but I don’t think you are supposed to.

When the Wolf Comes Home follows Jess, a woman who finds herself on the run with a five-year-old boy after a brutal encounter with the boy’s father.

I can see why there have been a lot of rave reviews about When a Wolf Comes Home. It’s a solid little book that uses childlike fears and adult grief in a co-mingling of horror. Jess is dealing with the recent death of an absent father, and her story is very much shaped around grief, and adult stress of finances and jobs, while the little boy has (some) normal fears of the big bad wolf, or scary cartoons. The balance of different fears and how it affects both children and adults is an interesting mix.
This is also a book about the chase. The hunt for Jess and the boy, and not just by his father. It’s a standard horror book in that way, that they move around trying to stay one step ahead of whatever is after them.

Again, I can see why other people really enjoyed this book. I think grief horror is something that resonates with a lot of readers lately, adding in the emotional aspect that some horror books are missing, giving you a better connection to the characters and being able to relate to their lives. For some reason though, I just don’t find it scary, and I don’t always connect as well as other readers might. So it just falls a little flat for me.
I also didn’t love some of the tropes of the books - I could tell the homage to Firestarter by Stephen King before I read the authors note, but it felt a little overdone. Maybe I’ve read too many similar stories, but I would have liked a different twist to the boys fears and where it stems from.

This was a good book that I definitely recommend to the right reader. For those that really connect to grief horror, and want that emotional connection to their horror characters, this is absolutely an excellent book for you. It’s a really well written book. And despite the content warnings at the beginning, it wasn’t as horrific or gory as I was expecting, so it should be tolerable for readers who are just branching into the horror genre without being too grossed out or overwhelmed by violence(but check the content warnings just the same! We all have different tolerance levels)

When the Wolf Comes Home is not merely read—it’s felt. Nat Cassidy has written a novel that sinks its teeth into your spirit, a story so hauntingly beautiful that it moves like a ghost through the chambers of the heart long after the last page is turned.

Every sentence pulses with life and sorrow, weaving horror and humanity together in a tapestry both brutal and breathtaking. Cassidy does not simply frighten; he sings—to the lost, the broken, the fierce souls still fighting for a place to belong. His monsters are not just creatures of the dark, but reflections of our own battered hopes and unbearable loves.

The prose is lush and aching, a slow, relentless heartbeat driving the story forward. You do not sprint through this book—you are pulled under, dragged through memory and myth, clawing for light, for meaning, for home.

When the Wolf Comes Home is a masterwork of horror not because it chills you—but because it breaks you open, reminds you that some wounds howl forever, and somehow, despite it all, we find the strength to return, bloodied but breathing.

This is storytelling at its most primal, most tender, and most unforgettable. An offering to anyone who has ever known the sharp, aching hunger for belonging—and survived it.

Thank you to Nat Cassidy and Tor Nightfire for the ARC!

“Haven’t you noticed by now? Just because something is impossible doesn’t mean its not real”…

I have hesitated writing my review for this book because it was so well done, so perfect that it’s been in my head since I finished reading. I just didn’t know how to explain my feelings in a way that would do it justice! Throughout the entire story, there is a sense of foreboding, a feeling of dread of what is to come. Our FMC, Jess, is stronger than she thinks, even though she is reeling from a loss herself. But she soon realizes that she has no clue what she’s up against. But she still risks everything to help a little boy in need. “Kiddo”, as she calls him, tugged at my heart and the two of them together were magical; I think she didn’t realize how much she needed him, and he definitely needed her. The pacing of this story was perfect as well, with Jess and kiddo were on the run for the majority of the story. The further away they got, the more the wolf seemed to catch up with them. Amidst the mystery and horror, there was a deep message to take from this story. The author’s note at the end further expanded on that and brought me to tears. Easily one of my favorite books I have read this year! Do not miss this one.

”When the Wolf Comes Home” is out now! This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

Gosh. Wow. 😭😭

Nat Cassidy has officially become an auto-buy author for me after this book. First, he won me over with the humor and heart in Mary. Now, with the emotional story of When the Wolf Comes Home, I am forever a fan.

This book follows Jess and a young boy she finds outside her apartment on a scary cat and mouse chase from the boys father, a man with the ability to shapeshift into the big bad wolf. This book can get bloody and violent, but at its core it's a book about family, parenting, grief, loneliness, and hope.

This story made me emotional. I resonated with Jessa's own feelings sometimes and I just love when I connect so deeply with a character. This was hard to put down and that afterword was such a beautiful way to round out a powerful story. Thank you for writing this.

5 stars.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and to Tor publishing group for the ability to read this early in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.