Wolf in Wanderley by Dave J. Andrae: An Aging Filmmaker, a Florida Move and an Old Grudge

What is Wolf in Wanderley about?

A filmmaker taking stock of his life while trouble drives toward him. Dave J. Andrae’s third novel, released by Kaji-Pup Press in the late summer of 2026, follows Wolfgang Barnes, known as Wolf, a Gen X writer and director who has spent years making films on tiny budgets and wondering whether the culture still has room for people like him.

The premise

After losing both of his parents, Wolf moves into their home in a southwest Florida enclave called Wanderley Creek. An inheritance gives him time, so he sets out to assemble his best work into a Blu-ray collection before it is too late. Settling in, he befriends the neighbors next door: Katherine and her daughter Maisy, a sharp-tongued punk with whom he forms an unexpectedly close bond.

The second thread belongs to Lenny Medway. Lenny once acted in one of Wolf's films, then went to prison on charges that included involuntary manslaughter. Now paroled and working in a Chicago restaurant, he blames a list of people for his sentence, Wolf among them. When he learns by chance where Wolf has gone, the question becomes whether he will act on the grudge.

The publisher pitches the book as a blend of crime, literary fiction, romance and cultural commentary seen through the eyes of an aging artist.

What reviewers noticed

Kirkus Reviews gave it a positive review, describing a measured, leisurely narrative that spends real time on Wolf's daily routine and on the plot of one of his films. The reviewer found Lenny the most compelling character, with his slide back into old habits building the tension, and judged that the final act delivers on the promised confrontation. Readers looking for nonstop thriller pacing should take note of that slow first half; readers who like character work will likely welcome it.

About the author

Andrae is a writer and filmmaker whose website collects his films and videos, music writing and movie reviews alongside his fiction. His earlier novels are Rem’s Chance and The Friends of Allan Renner. That background in low-budget filmmaking gives the book's portrait of an independent director an insider's angle, and it is the source of the novel's most specific details about making movies with little money.

Who it suits

The book should appeal to readers interested in stories about creative work and getting older, Florida settings, and crime plots that grow out of character rather than puzzles. It also speaks to anyone who has wondered what happens to a body of independent work when physical media fades.

Book details

• Title: Wolf in Wanderley
• Author: Dave J. Andrae
• Publisher: Kaji-Pup Press
• Release: September 1, 2026 (some retailers list an earlier August date)
• Length: about 353 pages
• ISBNs: 9798905041587 (print), 9798905041525 (ebook)