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I predict that this title will show up on a lot of the "best of" lists for 2013, although it's hard to say whether those will be mystery or horror lists, since this novel has that "Turn of the Screw" atmosphere in which one is uncertain whether anything supernatural is going on or not. The story also manages to be both psychological and darkly humorous, and the characters are a large part of what makes this such a wonderful book.
The small town of Brewster, Rhode Island, is shocked when a newborn baby is abducted from the hospital and then disappears without a trace, except for a live snake which has been left in its place. Then other strange occurrences begin to accumulate, including the increasing number of coyotes which have invaded the town and seem oddly unafraid of humans. Police detective Woody Potter and his partner, Bobby, become increasingly more difficult to find reasonable explanations for the numerous bizarre events, and soon the town's inhabitants are more interested in finding scapegoats rather than reasonable explanations.
This is one of those books which is difficult to sum up in a few sentences because, hwile there is a lot of action, the characters are the engine that really makes it move, as each character responds to the events in a way which seems a natural extension of his or her personality. The result is a powerful example of New England gothic which is only further complemented by Dobyns's other form of genre writing, poetry. While there is no actual poetry in the book, Dobyns's prose provides another powerful facet to the story.
Highly recommended for both mystery and horror fans.
The small town of Brewster, Rhode Island, is shocked when a newborn baby is abducted from the hospital and then disappears without a trace, except for a live snake which has been left in its place. Then other strange occurrences begin to accumulate, including the increasing number of coyotes which have invaded the town and seem oddly unafraid of humans. Police detective Woody Potter and his partner, Bobby, become increasingly more difficult to find reasonable explanations for the numerous bizarre events, and soon the town's inhabitants are more interested in finding scapegoats rather than reasonable explanations.
This is one of those books which is difficult to sum up in a few sentences because, hwile there is a lot of action, the characters are the engine that really makes it move, as each character responds to the events in a way which seems a natural extension of his or her personality. The result is a powerful example of New England gothic which is only further complemented by Dobyns's other form of genre writing, poetry. While there is no actual poetry in the book, Dobyns's prose provides another powerful facet to the story.
Highly recommended for both mystery and horror fans.
