Playing Wolf, Zuzana Rihova
Playing Wolf, Zuzana Rihova
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Playing Wolf
A Novel

Author: Zuzana Ríhová, Alex Zucker

Narrator: Alex Raby

Unabridged: 10 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/25/2025

Categories: Fiction, Horror


Synopsis

A distinctly poetic and disturbingly elegant horror novel for fans of Midsommar and The Witch.

Husband and wife Bohumil and Bohumila, together with their son, move from Prague to a remote village with the hopes of salvaging their marriage. In the searing summer heat, they try to fit in with the villagers, only to be met with hostile stares and evasive lies. Each night, the couple hears what they suspect to be a large animal wandering around their cottage—an impression that oddly corresponds to the mysterious flyers found at the local watering hole regarding a wolfen fairytale. As inexplicable coincidences begin piling up, it's clear something sinister is afoot.

After a drunken night out, Bohumil and Bohumila come home to find the house empty: their son is gone. After three days of searching, they find the villagers in festive costumes gathered outside their cottage. Is it a bizarre game, or some perverse, folkloric ritual? Are Bohumil and Bohumila in danger? And what has happened to their son?

A dark social tale that slides inexorably towards psychological horror, Playing Wolf is a modern ballad of human destiny and discovering the animal in each of us.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Strega on October 22, 2025

DNF at 40%. A straight-up bad time for humans peppered with unrelenting wildlife misery. Not particularly original in the realm of "evil villages using folklore to torment city people". Skimmed the end to confirm it was going where you'd figured it would. Do not read this novel if you are in a preca......more

Goodreads review by Lori on June 14, 2025

Oooh, this was one of my most anticipated books of the year. The cover and description were an instant win—but the execution, unfortunately, fell short. A husband and wife move to a quiet village with their young son, hoping to mend the fractures in their marriage. But from the moment they arrive, an......more

Goodreads review by Lori on July 30, 2022

Chtela jsem dat hodnoceni 4*, ale konec mi prisel takovy odflaknuty, takze takto.......more

Goodreads review by Lubomír on July 04, 2022

V knize je od začátku ironizován romantický mýtus poklidného venkova. Příroda zde nehraje roli esteticky krásného útočiště, ale naopak všudypřítomné nejistoty a nebezpečí, lidé zde nejsou skromní rolníci, co vám přinesou plato vajec k prahu, tradice jsou fuč a kulisy na sebe stihly nabalit všechno p......more

Goodreads review by Veronika on September 03, 2023

Najhnusnejšia fikcia, akú som kedy čítala. Ľutujem, že som ju zobrala do rúk. Hnus, zlo, špina doslovná aj prenesená. Jazyk pôsobivý, to áno, a aj chcete dočítať, že o čo ide. Ale tak koncentrovaná ľudská hnusota, až neviem, čo tým autorka chcela povedať.......more