I started reading some Peter Straub books because he and Stephen King had written The Talisman together. I figured if he was good enough to write with Stephen King, he must be damn good! Well, I was right!

Tom Passmore, the main character, is a 17 year old boy who, after an accident that left him in the hospital for 3 months at age 10, has very little friends. Though his father and mother and grandfather all expect him to take over the family business, he has another interest. Tom Passmore is interested in Murder Mysteries.

After having solved his first murder, he sends a letter to Fulton Bishop, the chief of police on the island of Mill Walk. When Fulton Bishop does not arrest the right man, Tom is thrown into a deeper thicker plot by a friend, Mr. Lamont von Heilitz.

Summertime rolls around, and Tom's grandfather sends him to Eagle Lake to start becoming friends with the right people. Tom, of course, has other things on his mind. As soon as he gets there, he starts to stir up trouble, and to anger people.

He peeves off Buddy Redwing, the Spences and the Redwings when he fools around with Buddy's girlfriend, he angers Jerry when he starts to hint at having found something out about them. His only friends seem to be a homosexual couple who would be leaving in a matter of days anyway.

Finally, left all alone it seems, Tom starts to figure things out, and starts to work with the local police. After having been shot at, he finds out who he can trust, who he can work with and whatnot.

If I tell you anymore of the story, it won't be any fun. I gave you a skeleton outline to give you an idea of what you'll be reading, but trust me, there's a whole lot more to the story!

Mystery offers us with characters we love, characters we can believe are true. Throughout the novel, we are faced with completely unexpected plot twists and mind games­. More often then not, I would stay up TOO late to read the next chapter of the book.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes to read, and, more specifically, anyone who's into Mystery novels.

Recommended: Yes