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We first met Morgan Walsh in Frostbitten which took place in Alaska. Morgan is not a joiner, but being a werewolf without a pack is dangerous -- very dangerous, and the North American Pack gave him an invitation to visit and check them out. He's decided he's tired of being on his own and wants to see if his first impressions of them in Alaska play out in their home territory.

Kelley Armstrong: Otherworld series: * Bitten * Stolen * Dime Store Magic * Industrial Magic * Haunted * Broken * No Humans Involved * Personal Demon * Living with the Dead * Frostbitten * Walking the Witch * Spell Bound * Thirteen Anthologies and Shorter Works: * Men of the Otherworld * Angelic * Tales of the Otherworld * Hidden * The Hunter and the Hunted * Forbidden

Nearly to Stonehaven, Morgan stops at a small town diner for a meal. Next thing he knows he's under arrest. Even worse, the police have called Elena Michaels, and she and Clayton Danvers are coming to get him. If you've read the series, you can imagine the trepidation and horror Morgan feels at being told they are on their way.

This novella packs a big punch. There's a mystery here in the town of Westwood, NY. Something is not right. Luckily for Morgan, Elena and Clayton seem to believe his side of events and their sense of smell confirms some of what he told them. They also know some of the townspeople are lying. When the storm hits and they're all trapped in town, they decide to find out what's really going on.

Many longer novels don't pack in as many twists, turns, red herrings, and false leads as you'll find in Forbidden. My only complaint is that it wasn't longer -- but then I think that about most of the short stories in the Otherworlds universe.

This Subterranean Press novella also has several color illustrations by Xaviere Duumarie / Lisseth Kay. You can view samples of the artwork at the Subterranean website page for the book (link in the links section of this review).

Fans of the series will want to read Forbidden not just for the great story but to fill in some background on Morgan Walsh who does show up in later books. If you've never read any of Armstrong's previous Otherworld stories, you could start with this one -- it is complete in itself and while you might miss some of the emotional interplay (and why it's happening), there is enough information to get you up to speed on the story and world.