Inside the Wolf: A Novel

A haunting, "exquisitely written" novel that explores the true costs of tradition, gun ownership, masculinity, and Southern mythmaking through the lens of an accidental shooting that reverberates across generations (Fiona McFarlane, author of The Night Guest).​

“A vital Southern novel that speaks to a violent American legacy.” —The New York Times Book Review

Rachel Ruskin never intended to return to her family’s tobacco farm in Shiloh, North Carolina. But when a love affair and her academic career studying Southern folklore in New York City both flame out, she has no choice. Back in her hometown in the wake of family loss, she is alone, haunted by memories of the long-ago accidental shooting death of a childhood friend, an unexplained dead wolf in her backyard, and Shiloh’s buried history of racism and violence.

Rachel tries to connect with Jewel, her late brother’s girlfriend, to build a relationship with her baby niece, Lyric. And the curious young children, Tom and Lily, who live down the road, like to keep her company. Even a flirty rekindling with her neighbor Tobias might finally make her feel part of the community. But still, she can’t escape the whispers from the town.

When another tragic incident occurs, however, Rachel can no longer avoid confronting her own past wrongs; nor can she continue to hold herself apart from her community. How can the people of Shiloh reconcile their love of hunting and their belief in tradition with the loss of more children? How can she find a way back to those she grew up loving? Drawn back into the rhythms of Shiloh and in search of a place to belong, Rachel must question everything she grew up believing and at the same time find a way to accept those around her.

Immersive, fierce, and urgently topical, Inside the Wolf is also, ultimately, a page-turning and redemptive novel that interrogates the mythology of the American past.