the_tenderness_of_wolves_penney
2008 Longlist

The Tenderness of Wolves

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ABOUT
THE BOOK

As winter tightens its grip on the isolated settlement of Dove River, a man is brutally murdered and a seventeen-year-old boy disappears. Tracks leaving the dead man’s cabin head north towards the forest and the tundra beyond. In the wake of such violence, people are drawn to the township – journalists, Hudson’s Bay Company men, trappers, traders – but do they want to solve the crime, or exploit it?

One by one, the assembled searchers set out from Dove River, pursuing the tracks across a desolate landscape home only to wild animals, madmen and fugitives, variously seeking a murderer, a son, two sisters missing for seventeen years and a forgotten Native American culture, before the snows settle and cover the tracks of the past for good.

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Stef
Penney

Stef Penney was born and grew up in Edinburgh. After a degree in Philosophy and Theology from Bristol University she turned to film-making, studying Film and TV at Bournemouth College of Art. On graduation she was selected for the Carlton Television New Writers Scheme and has since written and directed two short films. Her first novel, The Tenderness of Wolves is a world-wide bestseller and prolific award-winner. Stef lives in London.

Stef Penney was born and grew up in Edinburgh. After a degree in Philosophy and Theology from Bristol University she turned to film-making, studying Film and TV at Bournemouth College of Art. On graduation she was selected for the Carlton Television New Writers Scheme and has since written and directed two short films. Her first novel, The Tenderness of Wolves is a world-wide bestseller and prolific award-winner. Stef lives in London.

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NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS

Gripping story interwoven with the relationships and personalities of the different characters, the Hudson Bay Company, Pioneer America and Native American lives.

A suspenseful atmospheric novel, well written with several intriguing mysteries and romance.

A debut novel, full of suspense, extraordinarily compulsive reading. Chosen by Reader Development Librarian.

A story that gradually builds into an absorbing read. Penney creates a vivid picture of Canada in the 1860’s and the characterisation is superb.

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