By John Farris
This is the
first John Farris book I have read outside of The Fury series. I thoroughly enjoyed that series, so I was
very happy when my wife bought me this book to read.
The plot of
this book is nothing original, a murder has taken place and a kid (Alex
Gambier) has supernatural contact with the dead and wants to help to bring the
murderer to justice. Since the idea has
been done before, the value of the book can only be determined by the quality
of the characters and the writing.
Alex
Gambier is a teenage boy who is mute (due to illness) and rebellious in
nature. His father and mother were
killed in a fire, and he is now being raised by his older brother Bobby. Bobby is a police officer with a young wife
and family. Alex is caught doing a
dangerous stunt at the railroad tracks, by Mally Shaw. Mally’s house soon becomes a refuge (from
which) he can escape from problems at home.
Mally was also the nurse providing hospice care for the dying Priest
Howard. On his deathbed, Priest Howard’s
reunion with his son was a tumultuous event.
It was very clear that Leland and his father did not see eye to eye, and
that Priest Howard wanted Leland to pay for an unexplained wrongdoing. Leland was confident that his secrets would
die along with his father, and was not concerned about any secrets ruining his
political career. That is, until he
begins to suspect that Mally might have been informed about his wrongdoing.
The book was
well written, and you can understand the characters motives and actions. However, there was nothing extravagant about
the story or the characters. I wouldn’t
say that I couldn’t put this book down, but the action was sufficiently
interesting to keep me reading. I would
classify this as what my wife calls a “beach read.” No thinking involved, and straight
entertainment. Not a bad book, but don’t
knock down any ladies at the library or Barnes and Noble to pick it up.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Bunsen Burners
Up Next: Sacrifice by John Farris
