In Wolves' Clothing by Greg Levin

Episode 52 of the GSMC Book Review Podcast has me chatting with Greg Levin about his newest book, In Wolves' Clothing.

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On his best days, Zero Slade is the worst man you can imagine. He has to be. It's the only way to save the Lost Girls.

During his seven years on a team fighting child sex trafficking, Zero’s become quite good at schmoozing with pimps, getting handcuffed by cops and pretending not to care about the children he liberates. But the dangerous sting operations are starting to take their toll on his marriage and sanity. His affinity for prescription painkillers isn’t exactly helping matters.

When the youngest girl the team has ever rescued gets abducted from a safe house in Cambodia, Zero decides to risk everything to find her. His only shot is to go rogue—and sink deeper into the bowels of the trafficking world than he’s ever sunk.

It’s the biggest mission of his life. Trouble is, it’s almost certain death. (Source)

Given the rather heavy subject matter, and the fact that it was billed as dark comedy, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book.  It's really good, though.  I was immediately sucked in, I found the humor to be appropriate with just the right level of snark and sarcasm, and following Zero on his journey was oddly satisfying.  Yes, Zero's job sucks.  Greg's details of the child sex trafficking world are never gratuitous or overtly graphic.  They are used to further the story and also raise awareness of the issue within the context of the story.  The book is really more about Zero's journey as he struggles to come to terms with things he's been ignoring or denying for too long in his life, including his relationships and addiction.  Like every book in every genre, this one isn't for everyone, but don't skip it because you aren't sure of the underlying subject matter.

Also, if you want to read the book AND help the cause you can!  January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and Greg is donating 100% of his profits from the sales of In Wolves' Clothing to Operation Underground Railroad, an organization that works on anti-child trafficking efforts throughout the world.  (The organization that Zero works for in the book is based on OUR)

Genres:

• Dark Comedy
• Crime Fiction (Noir)
• Transgressive Fiction

What I enjoyed:

• The humanness of Zero as a character.  He's a hero, an anti-hero, and something in between. 
• The witty humor.  Is it dark?  Yep.  Is it sarcastic?  A lot.  Does it fit the tone of the book?  Perfectly.
• The secondary characters surrounding Zero, especially his wife and his colleague Caleb.  Caleb brings some much-needed lightness to the book, and is unintentionally hilarious.  Zero's wife, Neda, is fierce and loving and a force in her own right.

Who should read In Wolves' Clothing?

• Fans of transgressive fiction.
• Fans of crime fiction, especially in the noir genre.
• Fans of books that raise the consciousness but still allow for a measure of hope.  (as opposed to some books that I've read that have raised my consciousness so far I simply want to curl up in the fetal position and weep for eternity)

Quotes:

• "The point is, you'd be hard-pressed to find a finer, fiercer group of failures than the crew we've managed to assemble. Not to brag."
• "When your life bears a resemblance to a trailer park following a Category Five hurricane, you  don't want to be depended on to bring out the best in others."
• "There's nothing better than being the bad guy.  Long enough to do some good."
• "It's why you rarely hear of anyone breaking into a Zen center or a yoga studio in search of a mindfulness fix.  It's why nobody ever sells family heirlooms or their wedding ring or their body for thelatest instructional CD by Thich Nhat Hanh."

Where you can find Greg online:
Website: http://greglevin.com/
Blog: http://greglevin.com/scrawl-space-blog

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Greg-Levin/e/B0051AYWFI/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/424938.Greg_Levin
Facebook: @greglevintheauthor
Twitter: @greg_levin
Instagram: @greglevinauthor

One more website:  Greg is currently hosting an autographed novels giveaway for fans of transgressive fiction and dark humor.  The prize is a package of four book from authors Chuck Palahniuk, Monica Drake, Craig Cleven, and R.D. Ronald.  Click the link for more information:
http://greglevin.com/go/autographed-books-giveaway

Author Bio:

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Greg is an award-winning author of transgressive thrillers with a dark comedic tinge. He’s gone from being read merely by immediate family and friends to being read also by extended family and Facebook acquaintances.

Greg’s novel The Exit Man was optioned by HBO and later by Showtime for development into a TV series, and won a 2015 Independent Publisher Book Award (a.k.a., an “IPPY”). He earned a second IPPY with his next novel, Sick to Death, which Craig Clevenger (The Contortionist’s Handbook) called “a tour de force dark comedy.” Greg’s new book, In Wolves’ Clothing, was just published in October 2017 and is his most dangerous work to date. He wrote much of it during a ten-week-long workshop led by the great Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club and lots of other books Greg sleeps with at night).

Greg resides with his wife, daughter and two cats in Austin, Texas. He is currently wanted by local authorities for refusing to say “y’all” or do the two-step. (Source)

To listen to the episode with Greg please click here.