Wolf's Deal: A Nick Lupo Novella (The Nick Lupo Series) (20 page)

A collection of some collaborations between
David Benton and W.D. Gagliani
, MYSTERIES & MAYHEM (Tarkus
Press), is available for Kindle and all other formats. Five of their
collaborative short stories are included, as well as one solo short story from
each author, and a bonus guest short story.

The author has also written book reviews, articles, and interviews
published since 1985 in venues such as THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, CHIZINE,
CEMETERY DANCE, HORRORWORLD, PAPERBACK PARADE, CINEMA RETRO, HELLNOTES, FLESH
& BLOOD, BOOKPAGE, BOOKLOVERS, THE SCREAM FACTORY, HORROR MAGAZINE, SF CHRONICLE,
BARE BONES, and others. His nonfiction has also been published in the classic Writers
Digest book ON WRITING HORROR (edited by Mort Castle), THEY BITE! (edited by
Jonathan Maberry and David Kramer), and in the Edgar Award-nominated THRILLERS:
THE 100 MUST READS (edited by David Morrell & Hank Wagner), published by
Oceanside for the International Thriller Writers. In October 2011, The Writer
magazine published his article on writing werewolf epics.

His interests include old and new progressive rock, synthesizers and
electronic music, weapons, history (including alternate history, secret
history, and steampunk), military history, movies, book reviewing, and plain
old reading and writing. He is an Active member of the Horror Writers
Association (HWA), the International Thriller Writers (ITW), and the Authors
Guild. He lives and writes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Find him at his website (
www.wdgagliani.com
), on Facebook (
www.facebook.com/wdgagliani
) and on Twitter
(@WDGagliani). He loves to hear from readers.

*

“Gagliani
has cemented his place in werewolf legend with a muscular and smart series that
deserves a much bigger audience...”
(
HorrorWorld)

Some of What
They Said About
Wolf’s Trap

“The
best werewolf novel since
The Howling
!”
(J.A. Konrath, author of Whiskey Sour,
Bloody Mary and many other “Jack Daniels” thrillers)

“One of the best
werewolf novels of the last ten years.”
(Gary
A. Braunbeck, author of In Silent Graves, In the Midnight Museum, and Keepers)

“A top-notch lunar-challenged hero,
a villain bent on painful revenge, a deliciously developed plot… I read the
last half in one sitting on, appropriately, a night with a full moon. Bravo!”
(Elaine
Bergstrom, author of Shattered Glass and Nocturne)

“... [a] suspenseful story that
mixes serial murder with werewolves ... Another small press title worth chasing
down.”
(Don D’Ammassa, writing in Chronicle; Dec 2003)

“... snares the reader right from
the first page ... first-rate entertainment will keep you reading deep into the
moonlit night.”
(Tom Piccirilli, multiple Bram Stoker award winner and author
of The Last Whisper in the Dark, The Coldest Mile, and The Night Class)

“
Gagliani has brought bite back to the werewolf
novel
... [
Wolf’s Trap
] will grab you by the reading jugular and keep you
clawing the pages until the story’s exciting conclusion.”
(CNN.com Headline
News Book Lizard review by James Argendeli)

“Cops,
werewolves, serial killers, violence, and sex! You get it all! W.D. Gagliani’s
Wolf’s Trap
, is a cross-genre delight…”
(Michael Laimo, author of Deep In The
Darkness, Dead Souls, Sleepwalker, The Demonologist, and Atmosphere)

“I was caught in the jaws of the
trap and could not escape until I finished page last.”
(Robert W. Walker,
author of the Instinct and Edge Series and many other thrillers)

“W.D. Gagliani’s
Wolf’s Trap
catches you by the throat
and shakes your senses hard. Highly recommended.”
(James A. Moore, author of Under the Overtree and Bram Stoker
Award-nominated Serenity Falls)

“Wolf’s Trap
is a riveting, disturbing,
gut-wrenching – and entertaining as all

get-out
– journey into the darkest part of the human soul, and I loved every
page!”
(Jay Bonansinga, author The Black
Mariah, Sick, The Killer’s Game, and Oblivion)

“
Wolf’s Trap
rocks! … [it] will grab you
by the scruff of the neck and shake you till you see stars!”
(Tamara
Thorne, author of Thunder Road, Bad Things, and Candle Bay)

“… if
you like fast-paced horror with elements from outside the genre – and
especially if you like werewolf fiction –
Wolf’s Trap
qualifies as an engaging read.”
(Cemetery Dance)

“Shall I say it was a ‘howling’
good read?”
(P.D. Cacek, World Fantasy Award winner and author of Canyons)

What They Said About
Wolf’s Gambit

“
Wolf’s Gambit
is that rare accomplishment in horror of a sequel
that not only surpasses the power of the original but turns your expectations
against you at every turn. W.D. Gagliani has taken the central conceit of
Wolf’s Trap
and used it as a springboard
for his most unpredictable, accomplished, and rewarding novel to date. His
writing has never been crisper, his suspense never more nerve-wracking, and his
dry humor so consistently refreshing. If you think you know what you’ll be
getting, trust me, you’re wrong. Gagliani is fashioning an epic werewolf cycle
here, one filled with terror, passion, violence, surprisingly affecting sensuality,
and enough fantastical twists and turns to satisfy even the most jaded horror
reader. Put your preconceptions aside and get ready for one hell of a ride.”
(5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner Gary A.
Braunbeck, author of In Silent Graves, Coffin County, and Far Dark Field)

“A great big bloody beast of a book
that enthralls the reader on multiple levels. Vicious, gory, sexy, fascinating
– part-supernatural thriller, part-police procedural, pure dynamite!”
(Edward Lee, author of City Infernal, Brides
of the Impaler, and The Golem)

“If you’re looking for the
same-ol’-same-ol’ werewolf story, W.D. Gagliani’s
Wolf’s Gambit
is definitely not for you. Gagliani … masterfully
weaves sensuality and horror throughout…
Wolf’s
Gambit
is one book you won't put down.”
(Deborah
LeBlanc, bestselling author of Water Witch)

“
Wolf’s Gambit
is the equivalent of a North Woods rollercoaster
– with each brutal twist the body count rises, but you never want the
ride to end! This one goes for the throat over and over again, and as you slip
through the slayings with Detective Lupo in a desperate race against time, the
pages seem to turn themselves! I couldn’t put it down!”
(John Everson, author of Covenant, NightWhere, and Sacrifice)

What They Said About
Wolf’s Bluff

“
Wolf’s Bluff
is arguably the best novel in Gagliani’s werewolf
series. It’s creepy, sexy, fast-paced and brimming with humanity.”
(Gary A. Braunbeck, Bram Stoker
Award-winning author of In Silent Graves, Keepers, Things Left Behind, and Far
Dark Fields)

“
Wolf’s Bluff
will keep you biting your nails right up to its
blood-drenched final. Gagliani sets a relentless pace from the first page and
never lets up.”
(John Everson, Bram
Stoker Award-winning author of Covenant, Sacrifice, Siren, and NightWhere)

What They Said About
Wolf’s Edge

“In
Wolf’s Bluff
Gagliani once more proves that werewolves are scary as
hell. The book is fast, vicious and thoroughly satisfying.”
(Jonathan Maberry, Bram Stoker Award-winning
author of The Wolfman, Patient Zero, Rot & Ruin, and The Dragon Factory)

“Gagliani
has cemented his place in werewolf legend with a muscular and smart series that
deserves a much bigger audience...”
(
HorrorWorld)

“
Wolf’s
Edge
 
is an exciting page-turner
full of suspense, mystery, and thrills. Don't miss it!”
(
The Horror Zine)

What They Said About
Wolf’s Cut

“
Wolf’s
Cut
 
is a stellar addition to
Gagliani’s Nick Lupo series. An impressive and addictive read... cements
Gagliani’s place at the top of the new wave of horror/crime fiction.”
(
Dreadful Tales)

“With his
series of Nick Lupo books, W.D. Gagliani has done more than pump a little
oxygen into the tired werewolf thriller. He’s resurrected the entire genre and
added a rush of nitrous oxide excitement. Do yourself a favor and pick up 
Wolf’s
Cut
, a nice
addition to this superior series.”
(
Gene
O’Neill, author of 
Dance of the Blue Lady and The Blue Heron)

“W.D.
Gagliani’s Detective Lupo series is the best of the werewolf genre. Top-notch
writing, nail-biting suspense, and a ferocious mix of serial killers and werewolves...
Gagliani continues to deliver fast-paced horror that will get your heart
pumping. Highly recommended.”
(
Brian
Moreland, author of 
Dead of Winter
 and 
The Devil’s Woods)

“Being
Italian and a former cop I can relate to Lupo on many levels. The whole series
is a big hit at our store with several of our staff. We can’t wait for the next
book. Keep howling!”
(
Tony
D’Amato, Chief Armorer of The Gun Store, Las Vegas, NV)

“Let out
a howl, because Lupo’s back, and badder than ever!”
(
John Everson, Bram Stoker Award-winning
author of Covenant,
Violet Eyes,
 and 
NightWhere)

*

An excerpt from
Wolf’s Trap
:

PROLOGUE

Cincinnati, March 2

He headed for the park again.

He went just about every day,
when the weather was nice, but only once every few weeks did he feel the tingle
that told him something special would happen.

Today he felt the tingle, and he
smiled.

It was warm, but he wore his
parka anyway. The mushy ground seemed to spring under his step, still wet from
the last snow, but the benches were dry.

He pulled himself into character,
easily enough.

He was so happy. He was going to
see a girl.

He’d been seeing her every day
for a couple of weeks now, and had managed to say “hello” in his own shy way.
And Susan had just as shyly told him her name when he’d pressed her for it a few
days before, after she told him she liked to watch him feed squirrels. Maybe it
was the way the small, furry rodents climbed all over him, looking for peanuts
and corn kernels, that first attracted her to him. Or because he was a nice, quiet
person. He dressed well, spoke well, and made her feel safe with his subdued
manner.

And maybe his priest’s collar
made her feel even safer.

When Susan had come up to him
that first day, he’d had to admit that she was cute. Just plain, really, with a
heavy dose of cute. Brown hair, grey eyes, normal nose (maybe a little bony)
and no make-up except lipstick. That had made him perk right up. When she
smiled, she was no longer plain.

He was a smile man, pure and
simple.

And she did smile, seeing all
those squirrels waiting their turn to jump up and search through the folds and
pockets of the young priest’s parka.

“I didn’t realize they were so
tame,” she had said.

He pretended to see her for the
first time. “Oh, yes,” he said, “they’re pretty used to me.”

When he looked at her, he often
looked at just her lips. He did that, he explained, because he was a little
deaf, though not enough to require a hearing aid. He told her it helped just to
see her lips forming words. It didn’t hurt when the lips he “read” were so
stunningly perfect.

He smiled at her, his priestly
smile.

“They’re so cute,” she said,
smiling back.

He nodded, silent because one
chubby squirrel was checking out the top of his head, tiny paws grabbing onto
his shoulder. When it was done, it scurried down the back of the parka, and a
different fellow climbed up. He put another peanut in his hair.