Forsaken

Werewolf Elena Michaels can’t catch a break in this absorbing, lengthy Otherworld Nights novella, set three years after she became Alpha of the North American Pack. Elena may have broken through the Pack’s glass ceiling, but she still endures the struggles of any high-powered professional woman: other Alphas question her authority, and her eight-year-old daughter, Kate, resents the time she spends away on business. When Kate runs off just as Elena receives a series of cryptic calls, Elena goes on high alert. As she, her husband, and various Pack members search for Kate, she scents a dangerous rogue werewolf previously banished from North America. Finding Kate and keeping her safe become more complicated and difficult when the girl begins experiencing a sort of paranormal puberty. Armstrong’s writing is alternately taut and intimate, and readers facing societal pressures around career and family will appreciate that at least they aren’t having to fight off violent monsters as well. Agent: Helen Heller, Helen Heller Agency. (Feb.)