Bad Things
Michael Marshall

Harper
November 2010 / ISBN 978-0061434419
Psychological suspense
Amazon

Reviewed by Barbara Buhrer

Lawyer John Henderson's 4 year old son, Scott, fell from the dock into the lake . He died for no apparent reason. The doctor's opinion was that "he just died".

Three years later Henderson is living in Spokane, divorced, working as a waiter, and is unable to come to terms with his son's death. He receives an email from a perfect stranger stating "Come home. I know what happened".

Unable to resist the desire to learn the truth, he returns to Black Ridge. There he finds the town seems to be in the grip of unknown elements. The behavior of the inhabitants is unnerving. The more he tries to find the truth the more confusing and unreal it becomes. It is as though events were controlled by a supernatural force,

I must admit that I put this book aside several times, unable to become completely engrossed in the story. I finally finished it because I wanted to see where the story was leading and where it would end.

This is a fast moving psychological study of tormented characters told from different perspectives. It is a unique plot with a wide range of characters, some of them quite violent villains.