One dark night, out in the desert, an arguing couple with a metal briefcase leave the main highway by accident and drives up to a 'Psycho' style dump called the Salt Lick Motel. The clerk seems reluctant to rent them a room, but they insist on checking in. Moments later they check out for good when some pretty horrific stuff goes down.

In LA, Joe Case is an ex-cop who lost his family in a home invasion robbery. Case had a breakdown of sorts and is now trying to rebuild his life. His sister talks him into trying to track down her abusive spouse, who has vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, Hollywood executive Kelly McCammon makes a huge mistake when she allows her receptionist to handle a mysterious package that ends up containing a fortune in bearer bonds that should have been delivered to the Mob. Assuming Kelly stole the money, the Mob murders her boss and put a contract out on her life.

These different threads come together when Case and Kelly meet in Lake Tahoe. For a variety of reasons, they join forces. The trail they are following takes them to that weird little town called Salt Lick, Nevada. It turns out Salt Lick is being pestered by a large gang of bikers. When a tourist couple is brutally murdered by what may or may not be a pack of wolves, Case helps the sheriff and the local Doc examine the crime scene and move the bodies. Big mistake. Now the bikers won't let them leave town.

Eventually Kelly and Case retreat to an isolated mountain cabin, where they confront an ancient mystery, the gang of bikers and two pissed-off hit men. At the climax, they find themselves face to face with a viscous pack of werewolves no longer bound by an ancient promise that has already been broken. There's even some romance along the way!

NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF is the second novel in a projected trilogy of 'Night' books (the first was 2002's Night of the Beast.) This novel is a thrill ride that reads like the best of the horror films of the great 1980's. Harry Shannon weaves a tale that is both engrossing and horrific, leaving the reader on the edge of their seat. Bring lots of popcorn.

I give NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF five gory bookwyrms.

Synopsis
The clan.

They have been among us for thousands of years.

One errant gene they carry lies dormant until the rising of the full moon -- and then they change.

Joe Case is an ex-cop searching for the man who humiliated his sister. Kelly McCammon is a Hollywood wanna-be running from the mob. Destiny leads them to tiny Salt Lick, Nevada; a town under siege by a gang of bikers. The night they share together will mark them forever.

...The Night of the Werewolf.