Ghouls [Paperback]

With a brief prologue from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1978, we are quickly moved ahead seven years into the life of Kurt Morris, a small town cop who rents a room from his Uncle Roy and is basically content with his life.

Lee wastes no time acquainting us his characters, exposing them completely right off the bat, forcing your acquaintance with then and making them familar to you whether you like them or not.

Lenny Stokes is the local yokel do-nothing scumbag who marries the innocent good-girl Vicky, a waitress at the local topless bar called The Anvil. Police Chief Bard is posed immediately as a fat, boorish cop who is barely competent, Kurt's co-workers Mark Higgins and Doug Swaggert are competent in their own rights and fully characterized right away; with Higgins as the happy-go-lucky guy and Swaggert as the guy who takes no crap and has been in trouble for his attitude. Kurt's long time friend Glen Rodz is a strange if amiable guy who works night shift as a guard on Dr. Williard's estate named Belleau Wood. Vicky Stokes is a mildly vapid but sweet girl who married wrong and seems determined to live with a husband that beats her and cheats on her. Joanne Sulley is The Anvil's prize dancer, and openly having an affair with Lenny Stokes. Melissa is Kurt's twelve year old neice, who is an obnoxious tease, but never seems to really develope as much as the rest of the characters. Another character called Sanders will show up later in the storyline...but I won't ruin that for you.

Things in Tylersville are as predictable as the rain, until the town's drunk Cody Drucker dies and is buried, only to have his coffin dug up just days later. Baffling enough in and of itself in this quiet town, Kurt barely has time to wonder about Drucker's missing body when a young girl turns up missing also. Things start looking their worst when one of Kurt's co-workers goes missing also, but he little does he realize this is just the beginning.

Very strange and unexplainable things are happening in Tylersville, and they all seem connected to Belleau Wood; and the strange, enigmatic Dr. Charles Willard and his beautiful young wife Nancy. Bit by bit Kurt tries to peel away the layers of mystery and the unknown horror that seems to be settling over his town, while Glen seems to become more and more vague, Vicky more and more harassed, and Chief Bard is forced to suspend him from the force.

As the title suggests, there are Ghouls out there, but what are they, and where are they, and who is behind their arrival in Tylersville? A decently thick 444 page novel, I nonetheless tore through this in less than a day. It is a plainly written, extremely fast paced journey into horror and mystery and suspense that you should not deprive yourself of. Though Lee's work has definitely developed over the years, this earlier work has less gore and more "feeling" to it, but there is still enough blood to make it a tasty addition to your library. Enjoy!