Wicked Things
Thomas Tessier
Leisure, Jun 2007, $6.99
ISBN 0843955600

The insurance company hires private investigator Jack Carlson to look into an extremely excessive number of filings due to accidental deaths in the small rustic town, Winship. Jack arrives in Winship; his first impression is somehow he went back to a 1950s Norman Rockwell designed rural village.

Still Carlson is a pro so he goes about his work only to find a new mystery as those who die also vanish in a sort of personalized RAPTURE. He goes to visit the local insurance agent only to discover the salesman and his secretary were murdered with no apparent motive; law enforcement fails to investigate the homicides; in fact they fail to prevent marauding thugs assaulting the locals. He visits the town doctor to learn more about the accidents only to observe the physician commit suicide in front of him. As he keeps digging Carlson finds himself feeling like Alice through the rabbit hole. Even at night he feels haunted by the town as an eerie glow lights up the otherwise dark sky. As he begins the FINISHING TOUCHES to his inquiry, Carlson believes the strange happenings are linked to the enigmatic Order of St. Michael.

Jack is a fabulous protagonist who struggles with learning the truth, but keeps finding new WICKED THINGS instead. That in fact is the problem with this exciting horror thriller as the audience must read it in one sitting because they want to find out what is going on behind the Rockwell façade, but never seem to learn the answers. This is a thrilling tale that hooks readers from the onset but the climax leaves readers with too many unanswered questions. Fans of the award winning Thomas Tessier will appreciate this enjoyable stop in the Twilight Zone. Apparently the book also contains a second tale that this reviewer has not read.

Harriet Klausner