The Mountain of the Wolf

By Elisabeth Grace Foley

March 2017

In the shadow of the mountain, Rosa Jean Kennedy lives alone, waiting. Vengeance for her brother’s death is the only object left in her life, the one thing that steels her resolve to continue in a solitary, sometimes perilous existence.

When mustanger Quincy Burnett arrives on the mountain, he finds himself strangely drawn to the silent, lonely girl who seems to rebuff all attempts at friendship. But Rosa Jean is determined not to let anyone—even Quincy—stand in the way of her revenge, and her determination may lead them both toward disaster…for there are other dangers lurking in the mountains besides the wolves whose howls are heard at night.

This novella is billed as a Western re-imagining of Little Red Riding Hood in which a girl is willing to walk into the wolf’s den—but will she really find what she is seeking? 

One of Elisabeth Grace Foley’s strengths is creating characters you can believe in, care about their wellbeing and hope they are successful in their aims. Another of Foley’s fortes is her ability to describe situations and places that make you feel you are there with her characters, experience their emotions, be they happiness or fear, and for the most part of this terrific tale there doesn’t seem to be much of the former.

Like the majority of fairytales this story has a dark tone, and to begin with you won’t see much of a connection with the Red Riding Hood tale as the novella reads much like any western and has a storyline that throws suspicion on Quincy Burnett – is he who he says he is? Later, as Rosa sets off with picnic basket in an attempt to fulfil her desire for revenge the parallels with Red Riding Hood become terrifyingly real and Foley builds the suspense superbly. To say anymore would spoil this beautifully written tale.

I’ve read a couple of Elisabeth Grace Foley’s other western works, and this one has to be the best yet. 

Mountain of the Wolf is the third of Elisabeth Grace Foley’s series of fairytale-retelling novellas set in different historical eras.