In this story, set in Depression-era New Orleans, McCammon has created a memorable cast of heroes and villains, which, along with an intriguing story and smooth prose, keeps the story barreling forward to a thrilling finish. While the supernatural element does loom large in the story, it plays no part in the main conflict. It is simply a crime suspense story about the kidnapping of the two children of a wealthy industrialist, and two of the characters are able to communicate with each other telepathically.

As skilled a writer as McCammon is, though, I was disappointed in two scenes he wrote that utilized two horrible tropes of the horror genre. In one,

Spoiler

a character who has been beaten to within an inch of his death is able to muster the strength, using a sharpened stick, to lance a person clean through the body, like the proverbial hot knife through butter. In another, a seemingly "dead" person suddenly springs up, alive, for one last gasp effort.

So, minus one star for those two silly bits. Other than that, if you are a McCammon fan, or you just enjoy a ripping crime thriller, I can heartily recommend this book.