Wolf's Mouth

By: John Smolens

Narrated by: Clay Lomakayu

In 1944, Italian officer Captain Francesco Verdi is captured by Allied forces in North Africa and shipped to a POW camp in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where the senior POW, the ruthless Kommandant Vogel, demands that all prisoners adhere to his Nazi dictates. His life threatened, Verdi escapes from the camp and meets up with an American woman, Chiara Frangiapani, who helps him elude capture as they flee to the Lower Peninsula.

By 1956, they have become Frank and Claire Green, a young married couple building a new life in postwar Detroit. When INS agent James Giannopoulos tracks them down, Frank learns that Vogel is executing men like Frank for their wartime transgressions. As a series of brutal murders rivets Detroit, Frank is caught between American justice and Nazi vengeance. In Wolf 's Mouth, the recollections of Francesco Verdi/Frank Green give voice to the hopes, fears, and hard choices of a survivor as he strives to escape the ghosts of history.

©2016 John Smolens (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Smolens delivers a thrilling story of good versus evil.... It's beautifully and thoughtfully written, and it's bound to become part of Michigan's folk history." (Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of Tell Your Daughters)

Great book

Loved the historical fiction in the novel. Kept my attention through the whole book, and I enjoyed the character development and plot.

Where did they find this narrator?

This was a good story. Why they hired a reader who pronounces the word "Escape" as though it has an "X" in it, in a book about a Prisoner of War camp, no less, is beyond me. The constant mispronunciation of numerous words along with the phony Italian accent, made it very difficult to get through this book.

unique story, narration detracts

Where does Wolf's Mouth rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very interesting story on a subject I've not encountered before. A double pleasure for a lifelong Michigan/Detroit area resident.

What did you like best about this story?

Most enjoyed the complexity of events, people, and identities AFTER Frank's escape from the POW camp.

Did Clay Lomakayu do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I'm sorry, but Clay's rather singsong attempt at an Italian accent was lamentable and distracting. Further, he should have studied up a bit about the pronunciation of Italian and local Michigan names and places.

Who was the most memorable character of Wolf's Mouth and why?

The protagonist, Frank, of course. His character could be seen emerging and developing during the trajectory of his life and the circumstances he encountered.