Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Nat Cassidy’s "When the Wolf Comes Home" is a chilling blend of horror and psychological suspense that grips listeners from the first eerie moment. Narrated by Helen Laser and Nat Cassidy himself, the audiobook delivers an immersive experience that heightens the tension and dread woven throughout the story.

This novel follows Jess, a struggling actress whose life takes a terrifying turn when she discovers a five-year-old runaway hiding outside her apartment. What begins as an unsettling encounter quickly spirals into a nightmare as Jess and the boy find themselves pursued by his monstrous father—a creature that embodies pure, relentless horror. Cassidy masterfully crafts a narrative that is both visceral and deeply emotional, exploring themes of trauma, grief, and the complicated relationships between parents and children.

Helen Laser’s narration is hauntingly effective, capturing the raw fear and desperation of Jess as she navigates the horrors unfolding around her. Cassidy’s own narration adds an extra layer of authenticity, making the audiobook feel even more personal and immersive. The combination of their voices enhances the eerie atmosphere, pulling listeners deeper into the unsettling world Cassidy has created.

"When the Wolf Comes Home" balances brutal horror with poignant emotional depth. The story is not just about survival—it’s about confronting the ghosts of the past, both literal and metaphorical. The monstrous antagonist is terrifying, but the real horror lies in the emotional wounds that refuse to heal.

For fans of horror that don’t shy away from gore with a compelling emotional core, "When the Wolf Comes Home" is a must-listen.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC Audio Copy!

Nat Cassidy does it yet again, just wow. I was not really sure what to expect from this story, I skimmed over the description and got an idea of what this story was going to be, but I was so surprised about the direction that it went, and I was here for every second of it. The twist was really shocking, and I did not see it coming at all. Personally, I did not find it scary, but it takes a lot to scare me in books and can definitely see how it could be quite terrifying. The impact of the relationships, and all the feelings that this story evoked in me are so hard to describe, so all I can say is that it will blow you away Nat will forever be on my auto buy list after this.

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.
IG | Blog

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.. Jess finds a five year old boy outside her apartment in the bushes hiding. While she decides what to do with him, his father shows up at the apartment and something goes horribly wrong and there is death and several people are killed. Jess and the boy are now on the run and fighting to stay away from the boy's dad and stay alive. Why is the boy acting so strange and why has he been sheltered and doesn't even know what a TV is? This was a bizarre story for sure but once things were revealed about the dad and the boy it became a little more interesting. This is not the typical genre I would read but I did like it....Enjoy!!!

Jess is a struggling actor — struggling on several levels, really — and she’s having an exceptionally bad day at the third-rate diner where she works. Distracted and still dealing with the aftermath of her shift, she returns home only to look out the window to see a naked man in her apartment courtyard. At first, it’s unclear whether he’s having some kind of mental break… and then all hell breaks loose. And where did that wolf-like monster come from?
Jess soon finds a terrified five-year-old boy who clearly fears the man, and together they make a run for it.
The story is propulsive, but it also finds room to explore deeper themes: fear, grief, compassion, and love. It’s surprisingly poignant and tender — all wrapped in a modern fairy tale filled with intense body horror and scarce happy endings.
Helen Laser’s narration is particularly inspired, adding layers of emotion and urgency to an already gripping tale.
Also worth mentioning: the trigger warning section genuinely made me laugh out loud. The warnings are real, but Cassidy frames them in a delightful way. His afterword is also a beautiful and worthwhile listen.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7512049009

Does Cassidy ever miss? NOPE. This gets all the stars. You can always tell how much care Nat puts into his writing. That brilliance really shines through.

Did you think Cassidy was writing just your standard werewolf book? NOPE. When the Wolf Comes Home is such a fresh take on a classic trope. I genuinely don’t think I have anything negative to say. This is a book that you have to witness yourself and immerse yourself entirely in. It’s emotional and clever.

The audiobook was phenomenal, truly. I didn’t want it to end and will probably listen again once I have a physical copy to read along to. Obviously the addition of Nat’s own voice adds so much depth. The letter from the father 😩. Please do yourself a favor and do not miss the afterward. Like all Nat’s other books, that afterward will make you feel everything.

I enjoyed this book. I like the twist in the end. I like the extra tension that was created when Jess was poked with a needle while cleaning the bathroom in the beginning. Even when much scarier things were happening with the 'wolf', in the back of my mind, I was constantly thinking about it and worried about it. I really liked the innocence of the little boy. The boy's sweetness and innocence made the scary parts with him more intense; I was more invested in making sure he was not hurt.

I just wish authors would leave out commentary regarding political agendas. Regardless of which political belief is expressed or if I agree or not, it is distracting from the story and takes my mind away from what is actually happening in the book. It's not just this book, and I try not to let that effect my rating, but it does effect my reading experience.

When the Wolf Comes Home is my first read from Nat Cassidy, thanks to the audiobook ARC from NetGalley!

This novel, while not overwhelmingly scary to me, is haunting in a different way — it lingers through atmosphere, dread, and the emotional damage people carry inside.

The story blends horror elements with psychological suspense, following Jessa, an out of work actress. Jessa has a bad night that turns worse, that turns into an adventure with a young boy as she tries to protect him from his father. Cassidy accurately portrays Jessa as on the edge — emotionally frayed, morally complex, and fully human. My heart was pounding as I imagine Jessa’s was, due Cassidy’s writing and the creative voice of the narrator.

In the end, even though the supernatural elements are present, the real terror lies in the past we can’t escape and the monsters we might be becoming.

I felt there were two major themes:
• Memory and trauma: Much of the book revolves around how trauma shapes identity — and how memory can be both a shield and a weapon.
• The nature of monstrosity: Cassidy asks the reader to consider what truly makes a monster — is it violence, fear, or something buried deeper in the soul?

While the book didn’t deliver jump scares or overt terror, it maintained a slow-burn suspense that kept the pages turning. Cassidy’s writing is sharp, literary, and emotionally layered. For fans of horror that leans more slow burn than slasher, this is a rewarding, well-written novel that stays with you.

I’ve already put The Lathe of Heaven on my TBR. IYKYK. And the Afterword was as powerful as anything in the story.

I’m looking forward to reading more of Cassidy’s growing body of smart, psychologically nuanced horror.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for gifted access to this audiobook. All opinions below are my own.

Nat Cassidy's Nestlings was perfection for me so I was super excited to read his new one. He is a master of creepy horror and building paranoia. In this story, a young boy is seemingly being kept under lock and key by his domineering father. He is fascinated with fairy tales and loses himself in them until one day he escapes. The person he crosses paths with is a young actress who feels a bit trapped in the idea that she must save this kid. They go on the run and more and more fantastical and horrific things happen as she realizes not all is what it seems. I'll stop there to avoid spoilers.

I loved the creativity of this story. It made even more sense after the author's note at the end. The idea of having a child's view of what is scary in the world was a point of view I really enjoyed. It reminded me in a lot of ways of Patrick Ness's When A Monster Calls. I loved debating myself as the story went on as to what I would do in the situations as they happened.

Jess is trying to get her life together when one day turned into a disaster that changed her life forever.

She found a kid scared and running away from his dad that was a monster.

Little did Jess know the kid was special. When Jess figured this out it terrified her but she was willing to help save the kid.

This was a book I couldn’t stop listening to. It was so engaging and keep you waning to know what happened and then in the end there was a twist that you didn’t see coming.

When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This might be my new favorite horror read, full stop.

Nat Cassidy delivers a fever dream of a novel, it's one part Adventures in Babysitting meets a full dose of monstrous mayhem, and I devoured it in one sitting because there was absolutely NO WAY I was going to put it down. The slow-build tension had me clenched the entire time like I was waiting for a jump scare that never came...but the dread? Oh, it came.

A woman on the run, carrying more than secrets...
A boy with a mysterious past and unsettling energy...
A shapeshifting nightmare creature with teeth, trauma, and terrible timing...
Magic, monsters, and messy moral questions...

🎧 A hauntingly good audiobook narration that completely elevated the ride


Every new character that entered the story? I was already bracing for devastation. I had no trust in Nat to let anyone live peacefully (and spoiler alert: I was right). I grew attached. I got hurt. AND THEN HE TOOK THE COOKIES FROM US.

Vibes:
Found family, but make it deeply cursed
Road trip gone horrifically wrong
Supernatural survival horror
Emotional gut punches in between gore
Tension that doesn’t let up, ever

Would I recommend it?
Uh, YES. Horror fans, audiobook stans, readers who like their stories emotionally brutal and beautifully written run, don’t walk. Just be warned: no one is safe. Not even the baked goods.

Thank you Nat Cassidy, TOR Publishing, TorNightFire, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review.

I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again: I LOVE NAT CASSIDY. I seriously love every single one of his books and this is no exception. This one starts with a bang and is an adrenaline filled ride until the end. Our FMC, Jess, and the little boy have such an amazing bond that you can’t help but root for them. The boy’s dad is terrifying and the chase has you flying through the pages. I literally couldn’t put it down. There’s action, gore and a hell of a lot of heart. So definitely pick this one up and then slide into the DMs so we can yap all things Nat

This was my first read from Nat Cassidy, and it definitely piqued my interest to check out his earlier work.

The story kicks off with chaotic opening that pulled me in immediately. Jess, a struggling actress, finds a runaway kid in the bushes outside her apartment, and from there it’s a nonstop sprint from one violent, surreal encounter to the next.

The first half was packed with tension and action, while the second half slowed down a bit but still kept me invested. The audiobook was especially well done—immersive and atmospheric, with vivid descriptions that made the horror really land. Some parts leaned into ambiguity, especially toward the end, and while I wasn’t always totally sure what was happening, I kind of liked that. It worked with the strange, unsettling tone.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC.

I recently read When the Wolf Comes Home and really enjoyed this book! I rated it 4.75🌟🌟🌟🌟✨! This book was an emotional rollercoaster, made me want to scream at times and cry at others. Would definitely recommend picking this up if you haven’t already!

We follow Jess as she try’s to help a five year old boy flee from his monster of a father, but not everything is how it seems. 🐺🩸🖤

This one will definitely be getting a reread from me in the future!

Huge thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for an advanced copy! This book published on April 22, 2025!

I chose this audiobook for one of my Macmillan Audio influencer program options recently because I'd like to listen to Helen Laser narrate my own life, and I'm really glad I did because Nat Cassidy has intrigued me with this one. Part road trip/runaway novel, part Grimm's tale, WHEN THE WOLF COMES HOME is a haunting story about childhood fears, trauma, and grief. It absolutely delivers on the horror front — I found myself saying "ew!" a number of times. And Cassidy provided a surprisingly emotional finale, both in the story itself and the lovely afterword.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARC!

Nat Cassidy, you did it again! I loved the blend of fairytales and trauma, weaving a creepy tale of a woman just trying to make it and a boy who just wants to feel safe. I loved how the story had to play out based on the rules of children, not adults, because it was all dependent on how the child feels. And in true Cassidy fashion, the ending left me angry and frustrated. Will definitely be rereading soon.

I absolutely loved this book and audio! The narrator did an amazing job making us feel the emotions of anxiety, sadness, pain, worry. What added such a great detail to the story was having the author read the letter. It was an easy read and kept me engaged the entire time! Cannot recommend this book enough!

*When the Wolf Comes Home* is a masterfully written and brilliantly narrated audiobook that sinks its teeth into you from the very first chapter and refuses to let go. Nat Cassidy once again proves his genius for blending psychological horror with raw emotional depth, creating a story that is as terrifying as it is deeply human. The audiobook performance is exceptional—evocative, well-paced, and perfectly matched to Cassidy’s haunting prose. The narrator captures the emotional complexity of the characters and the rising tension of the plot with gripping precision. This isn’t just a horror story—it’s a profound exploration of grief, identity, and the monstrous things we carry within. Whether you’re a longtime fan of Cassidy or new to his work, *When the Wolf Comes Home* is an unforgettable listening experience that deserves every bit of praise. Highly recommended!

Aspiring actress and part-time diner waitress Jess *thought* the worst thing to happen to her that night would be the accidental needle poke whilst cleaning the bathroom. When she gets home, a young, distressed boy stumbles into her life and a series of chaotic events unfurl.

This was creative! I appreciated the way that Cassidy builds suspense and anxiety in this book—there’s a very menacing energy throughout, though the source shifts in clever ways at different points of the novel. Without dropping any major spoilers, I will say that the big twist was more of a slow burn and creeping revelation than a culminating dramatic moment.

The narrator was good at capturing the voices and age ranges of the characters. Things got a bit convoluted towards the end.

A unique thriller/horror story that all starts with a kind woman who helps a young child hiding in her bushes. They remain together for the book as they try to navigate and escape the problems that seem to be chasing them. Things are not as they appear and this book does a great job of keeping the reader guessing.

Labeled as horror, yes, but it's really quite mild and makes for a great thriller. It is a fast paced book that keeps the reader engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC.