Rio Youers is a fascinating author for me, because I don't know that I've read a single summary of any one of his books that grabbed my attention. Every one of them hits me with, at best, a solid "meh" reaction.

I was pretty much browbeaten into reading my first Youers novel, WESTLAKE SOUL, by two different friends and, much to my surprise, I adored it. And I've enjoyed every single one of the novels he's put out since then.

But this one? This one is, as far as I'm concerned, his best since WESTLAKE. It's smart, it's brutal, it's unflinching, it's touching...Youers can freaking WRITE.

Once again, the summation you'll read can't hope to encompass all the elements that Youers effortlessly squeezes into this story. The best I can give you is, this is what you'd get if you mashed an offshoot of the psychic ability in Stephen King's THE DEAD ZONE, the weird Charlie McGee/John Rainbird relationship in FIRESTARTER, and the tragic, large scale mass killing events of MR. MERCEDES/END OF WATCH. Then layer in a version of Booya Moon from LISEY'S STORY. 

Sound like those elements will never come together and work? Yeah, you'd be wrong. Youers not only makes them work, but he wrings all the emotion he can out of them.

So, seriously, if you have read one of the summaries and thought "meh"...give him a shot. No one is writing novels like Youers, aside from maybe Philip Fracassi with his A CHILD ALONE WITH STRANGERS.

Brilliant book.