John Cassady's artwork graces the cover of this intriguing story. I wasn't a fan of the cover until I read the book, and it totally works. Good concept.

Christopher Golden is a talented writer. You can tell he loves to write. Because... this book was about 100 pages too long. We got stuck reading a lot of minutiae -- Golden created reams of darlings that needed to fall on the sword. The urgency and tension of the story got bogged down in all those words. The long chapters were tedious.

But, the overall narrative was good. His ideas advanced the plot nicely. The bad guys, or girls in this case, were very suggestive of Stephen King's little bald doctors from Insomnia.

A nice tightening would have helped the pacing here and elevated this story to another level. ( )

Michael and Jillian Dansky seem to have it all - a happy marriage, two successful careers, and a bright future. However late one October evening, that changes completely. It's while driving home from a Halloween masquerade that Michael briefly nods off behind the wheel. When he wakes up, he finds a little girl standing beside his car - a little girl who Michael apparently came within a breath of running over.

Shaken by her appearance at such a late hour, and concerned that the child isn't wearing the most appropriate clothing for the frigid weather, Michael tries to help her as much as he can. She leads him to a darkened empty house, filled with shadows and haunted by whispers and sends him away with a whisper of her own: "Come find me." With her curious command echoing in his ears, Michael drives back home.

In the weeks to come, it's clear that someone - or something - doesn't want the girl found. As much as Michael tries to fulfill the girl's request, he just doesn't seem to be having much luck. And when a cold, cruel, vindictive woman awakens in the guise of his once loving and caring wife, Michael's search shifts slightly. Suddenly his quest isn't just for the missing girl, but for the Jillian he loves and may have lost forever...on Wildwood Road.

First of all, let me say that Mareena got this book as a 'just because' gift for herself when she saw that Stephen King had written a blurb for the book, and decided that I could read it as well if I wanted. She knew of Christopher Golden as primarily a young adult author, although she has never read any of his books. So, Mr. Golden is a new author for her to read.

In my opinion, this book was very enjoyable and I'm certainly glad to have read it. The story was quite a different treatment of horror from the books that I usually read, and was interesting enough to hold my attention right until the very end. It was well-written and I appreciated that the plot was constantly moving; the pacing never slowed or deteriorated in any way and this story never became dull or boring; at least for me. Overall, I give this book an A! ( )

30-Something meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Kudos to Golden for a lucid and crispt writting style. A man is driving his wife home from a party, and coming arround a bend in the road he almost hits a young girl. He lets her direct him back to where she says she belongs, and before she runs inside implores him to come kind her. She begins to haunt him and he tries, and is strengthened in his resolve when the dark forces that keep the girl trapped in the house attack his wife, supposedly to warn him of the scent. Doesn't work, he's determined to save his wife. He discovers he must battle an ancient evil to return his wife's soul to her, as well as the other lost children secreted inside the house.

A leetle preachy, but nothing a YA would pick up on. This is a kids' horror book well done for kids. If you really hate the gloom in modern horror, this one does provide respite if not an affirming resolution.

A pretty enjoyable book. Not perfect - it was a little predictable at times, and things wrapped up a little too nicely - but a nice little ghost story of sorts.

I like Christopher Golden's writing in general - his Myth Hunters trilogy is some of my favorite recent fantasy writing - and although this doesn't have the same flow as Myth Hunters did, it was still written well enough that I stayed interested in the story.

Not in my top 10 fantasy books or anything, but definitely an enjoyable read. ( )