The Evening Wolves

Iron on Iron, Book 4

By: Gregory Ashe

Narrated by: Tristan James

Every victory comes at a cost.

The trail has gone cold. For months now, Emery Hazard and John-Henry Somerset have been trying to find something—anything—that might help them uncover the truth about the criminal organization operating out of the Cottonmouth Club. But every lead has turned out to be a dead end, and every step forward has cost them two steps back.

Until, one night, John-Henry is arrested for a terrible crime.

As their friends gather again in Wahredua, Emery and John-Henry must rush to prove John-Henry's innocence. The falsified evidence used to implicate him provides them with fresh clues, but as the charges against John-Henry ripple out into the community, they find themselves without their usual resources, and facing new and unexpected opposition.

Putting an end to this evil, they discover, might be possible.

All it will cost them is everything.

©2024 Gregory Ashe (P)2024 Gregory Ashe

As exciting as reading the story of Ragnarok!

Ragnarok. Half-way through listening to this audio book, the story of Ragnarok popped into my thoughts. Like many of the Norse myths, this book tells a tale of epic battles between good and evil with fallible warriors who strive to protect humanity. (I am sure Hazard would roll his eyes at the comparison.) This book entertained and inspired me as much as my favorite Norse myths.

Much of the story centers around John-Henry's quest to prove his innocence of a dreadful crime. Like the self-indulgent but honorable Norse god Thor, John-Henry has a persistent need to prove himself worthy of his role. When John-Henry experiences a fall from grace, his struggle to deal with the aftermath pulls him back to his high school days, when he behaved like an arrogant bully. The person he treated so badly then, Emery Hazard, is the one person he can count on now to help him through his current trial. John-Henry's arrest left me feeling a bit hopeless. It was a painful reminder that, without sufficient support, innocent people can be tried and convicted. Gregory Ashe's ability to develop complex characters and to balance the dark elements of a story with brighter ones, is clearly exhibited as John-Henry moves through cycles of despair and hope. The book covers some very grim subjects, but I still found plenty of opportunities to laugh at the antics of the characters that Emery and John-Henry have allowed into their lives.

Like the story of Ragnarok, this book ends one era and offers the possibility of a new one. I enjoyed Tristan James' narration of John-Henry and Hazard, and I will be listening to this story over and over. I am also going to be comparing Gregory Ashe's characters to Norse gods. Shaw is definitely Loki.

The full team assembled...

After following these various sets of characters thtough many books, short stories, and audio books, this four book arc is a perfect blending. each book in the series features one set of characters, in aid to the others, and the parallel audio book is performed by the person associated with each series. In this conclusion, Tristan James gives voice to John Henry and Emory--- a perfect pairing. He also does an excellent job with North and Shaw, etc. In this book, John Henry faces the greatest challenge of his professional life, and Emery, with their motley band of brothers, work to save him, and each other, from a network of evil. It is complex, thrilling, brutal at times, and peppered with Ashe's trademark humor---thank you Shaw, Jem, and Augie! As dark as Ashe's books can be, there is an emotional core to them, and his vivid main characters feel emotionally true to the reader. The outstanding performances in the audio books just sharpen the sense that these characters are real, authentic, and worthy.

Great ending to the series!

OMG the growth of these two characters was great! Hazard and Somers are the best!!! How GA makes these characters better every series is nothing but amazing! Loved these guys and the rest of the crew! So good! The narrator was great as always!!

Narration didn't live up to the story's quality

As I said in my review of the written version of this book, it's more than a four-star read. Yet a few things didn't quite jell for me.

First things first: It's an excellent conclusion to an excellent series. I loved seeing John-Henry put in this horrific situation and coming thisclose to breaking and NOT breaking. (Well, with the exception of that appalling "let's have a baby" nonsense, which, yes, is part of the reason this book didn't get five stars from me. Ew, no.)

The other thing that didn't entirely work for me was that I didn't get an idea of how this Big Bad was... that big? That is, how they came to wield as much power as they did.

Those quibbles aside, what a masterpiece the personal interactions in this book are. And that's where, unfortunately, the narration fell down on the job. The voices for the other guys just... did not work. John and Emery were great, of course, but everyone else was mediocre at best. Was North supposed to sound like... a weird New Yorker? And Tean, and—yeah, everyone else, really. I get that doing all those different voices is a challenge for the narrator. I certainly couldn't do it! And yet... that's their job. So that aspect was definitely a disappointment.

Despite it not hitting the mark on all points, this is a worthwhile version of the story, and I'll be listening to it again.

My thanks to the author for a complimentary copy of this audiobook.

Perfect!

This was the best book of this series. A fitting conclusion to the epic mash-up of the four series by Ashe.

So good. So powerful. Crying.

Oof - I knew this one was going to be rough, and it was, but even more so than I was ready for. Every time I think we’ve unearthed every aspect of trauma for John-Henry and Emory, something new comes up. This is quite possibly the most realistic and gripping part of every Gregory Ashe series - that the characters are so dynamic their trauma has trauma, and just like real people, they manage to unearth and heal parts of themselves only to uncover the next part.

It’s been a long time since a book made me actually cry. But this one got me. This couple gets me because very rarely in life do you see true second chances, redemption and forgiveness. Their story is told over _____ books long but I can remember every second of it.

Nakita Thomas

The Evening Wolves Loved it from start to finish and Welcome back Tristan James! 💖💖💖💖💖

YAAASSSSAAHHH! Iron on Iron Rocks!

I’m all out of words to describe this delectable series…the entire HAZARDVERSE!

I loved it from beginning to end…
From FIRST QUARTO To IRON ON IRON…
Makes me want to learn all the self defense and what not…

I love every single character…even the antagonists…

I did get frustrated when things went wrong for my guys, especially in the later series…in my regular-person mind, I figured they would have learned by then how NOT to get in trouble?!! Ugh! I know, I know…foreshadowing, character-growth, tension-building, nail-biting plots, blah, blah, blah. I nearly had a heart attack…a bunch of times. I also laughed out loud too many times to count.

The narration was freaking out of this world…except for Iron on Iron BOOK 3…I would have preferred Tristan or J.F. Harding…but I still loved the story.

I’m definitely considering all the extras available to subscribers online…

You will LOVE these guys…and, if you don’t…get that checked. Just sayin’ 🤗

Enjoy!💖

Hurts so good!

Mr. Ashe pulled out all the feels for this final book wrapping up this series. Of course the mysteries are always engaging, but what I enjoyed most was the interaction between all the Hazardverse characters. Even when I wanted to cry or throw something, one of them managed to sneak in a chuckle! Bravo Gregory Ashe and Tristan James for his spot-on narrating.

Emotional Roller Coaster

This is the fourth and maybe(?) last book in GA’s love letter to his fans, the crossover series, Iron on Iron. This book focuses on Hazard & Somerset of the multi Hazard & Somerset series. Although not necessary to enjoy all the previous books, it certainly helps. Especially in this book as it references events in past books. Also, I believe it is essential to knowing how deep the accusations against John Henry is if you know a little of his backstory.

This book is, as always, a real emotional roller coaster for fans of this couple. The original mystery of the Cottonmouth Club is coming to a head. Whoever is behind this mystery decides they need to get John Henry off their trail. And they do it by setting him up for a horrible crime. Obviously a large part of the book is trying to clear John’s name with the Scooby Gang assembling to lend support. But an equal part is John realizing that a large part of the town, which he thought knew him, is not standing with him and the implications of that on him and his family. He also has to come to grip with his past behavior towards Emery in high school and the guilt he has carried around for decades. The truth comes out when it threatens Colt, his son. A fitting ending to this amazing series, but hopefully not an end to this couple’s journey. GA seems to leave room for “a little more”.

I am thrilled that Tristan James is the narrator. He does a masterful job. He is the only person I hear when I think of Emery and John. A++++

I was given a free copy of this audiobook in return for an honest review