The author is unable to give any life, character or purpose to the ghosts, the phantom honky tonks, the bad guys, the good guys, the southern setting; everything he touches end up as mere clichés that could be substituted for anything or anyone else without adding or taking away from the book. And when he tries to add some political/social commentary to this sorry ordeal, it just gets pathetic. Item: A female journalist demonstrates her political guts and rugged individualism by not insisting on calling her cameraman a "cameraperson". Puhleeze. This kind of reversed political correctness is every bit as silly as the original. Likewise, the homogeneity of superficial political comments made by the "good guys" make them all seem like excuses for the author to pout rather than real people of flesh and blood.
So if you like rockabilly, this is not the book for you. If you like horror, this is not the book for you. If you like crime, this is not the book for you. In short, this is probably not the book for you.
- Tom Ekeberg
