Lost Boy, Lost Girl
by Peter Straub
Hardcover: 304 pages
Random House (October 7, 2003)
ISBN: 1400060923
Lost Boy, Lost Girl features characters those who have read Peter Straub's best-sellers Koko (1988), Mystery (1989), and The Throat (1993) will quickly recognize. In this book, horror novelist/Vietnam vet Timothy Underhill must travel home to Millhaven, IL and seek the aid of P.I. Tom Pasmore to solve the mystery of why Underhill's nephew disappeared after witnessing his mother's suicide.
While they track a pedophilic serial killer, they realize the lost boy had become obsessed with an abandoned house where he may have fallen under the spell of a ghostly girl.
This is without a doubt the best thing Straub's written in a decade. I for one thinks it takes a lot of guts and integrity for a writer of his stature to go off in a new direction under the guidance of a new editor and--gulp!--actually grow before our very eyes.
My respect for Straub has tripled since reading this book, and I use every chance I can to tell any dark fantasy fans I meet that they must read Lost Boy, Lost Girl -- I think it's every bit as important a novel in the field now as Ghost Story was when it was released.
One of the goals Straub and his new editor had in mind with this novel is for Straub to reach a wider audience--which is why it's so short. If you've had trouble with his stuff being far too dense in the past, then this is definitely the book for you. It's the most accessible novel he's ever written in the genre. It's beautifully crafted, surprisingly moving, and creepy as hell. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Gary A. Braunbeck is the author of 14 books and over 150 short stories. If you enjoyed this review, check out his book Fear in a Handful of Dust: Horror as a Way of Life.
Labels: bookreview, GAB, Gary A. Braunbeck, Peter Straub
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