Tragically, shootings in small town America have become all too frequent. Author Thomas Maltman chronicles one community’s reaction to a deadly shooting in his new book Little Wolves. This meditation on violence centers on a Midwest prairie town where a father searches for answers after his son commits a horrific murder that leaves him and one police officer dead. Set in drought-plagued rural Minnesota in the 1980s, this story also focuses on a pastor’s wife who is dealing with demons of her own and struggling to make sense of her brief friendship with the killer. Little Wolves weaves the lives of a father, a son, a pastor’s wife and a community in a compelling and complicated mystery of murder and secrets. A haunting plotline underscores this tragic tale and the suspenseful prose and compelling characters will keep readers guessing. Seeped in mythology and folklore, Little Wolves is a perfect thriller that hums with energy and portent.

Little Wolves is Maltman’s second novel. His debut, The Night Birds, won an Alex Award, a Spur Award and the Friends of American Writers Literary Award and was chosen as an “Outstanding Book for the College Bound” by the American Library Association.  Maltman has an MFA from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and teaches composition and creative writing at Normandale Community College in Minnesota.  He will discuss his new novel, Little Wolves, at Boswell Book Co., Thursday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m.