This novel, while not as lackluster as Dominion and not as fantastic as Dispatch, this is definitely one of the more unsettling things I have read. It has the same icky mood and tone that something like the film version of Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door or Pet Semetary had, where you constantly having second thoughts about the fictional journey the author or authors are taking you on, because not only is it going to open up dark places in the characters, it may just do the same to you. This novel, one of the few Little novels that does not rely on any kind of supernatural happenings, concerns the life of Cathy, who lives alone with her aging father. A missing crazed brother who disappeared years ago, and murder-suicide that happened across the street still haunts her and keep her from moving on in life. While she is content with her life and friendship with Jimmy, a neighborhood kid, things take a very dark turn when an aloof woman moves into the infamous house with her mentally challenged son, and a series of gruesome murders begin to occur, all leading back to the house across the street. This is a very violent novel, more so then Dominion, but while in the context of that story, the violence was humorous, here, it is dead serious. There is a really nasty death involving pins and needles that is astounding in its uniqueness and horrifying in it’s implications. There is a general lack of anything optimistic in these people, which kind of rubs me the wrong way but can never ruin a story. Also, the killer is pretty easy to figure out, and when you do, the idea behind it is probably the scariest part of the book, and makes you thankful it is partially an untruth, at least I think. While not a masterpiece of shock literature, this book still packs a wallop, and anyone who like there stories dark, sleazy, and wet with gore, should enjoy this piece.
Rating: 4/5
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