No Doors, No Windows

August 3, 2009
Schreiber's third horror novel is more of a languid, atmospheric ghost mystery than his previous page-turners, Eat the Dark
and Chasing the Dead
. Back in smalltown New Hampshire for his father's funeral, greeting card writer and frustrated novelist Scott Mast discovers the partial manuscript of a horror novel, The Black Wing
, hidden in the tool shed. His high school sweetheart, the still-sexy Sonia, suggests he stick around and finish his father's work. Scott agrees, partly so he can keep an eye on his alcoholic brother, Owen, and adorable nephew, Henry, but a local legend with ties to his family history soon has him wondering whether the manuscript is entirely fictional. With several genuinely creepy moments, this crunchy spook story with a gooey serial killer center will please readers who don't mind the slower patches.

July 15, 2009
More New England horror and madness tied to sadistic events in the past from Schreiber (Chasing the Dead, 2006, etc.).

When Seattle-based greeting-card writer and frustrated novelist Scott Mast returns for his father's funeral to small-town Milburn, N.H., where he grew up—and where his mother and great-uncle Butch died in a movie-theater fire 15 years ago—he discovers his brother Owen and five-year-old nephew Henry already in possession of the family house. In a ramshackle old shed, Scott finds a short, unfinished manuscript written by his father, evidently a horror story. Having come across the location where the story is set, the aptly named Round House—there are no sharp angles or edges anywhere—Scott impulsively rents the empty house with the intention of finishing the script. Meanwhile he tries to handle drunk, shiftless Owen by taking young Henry under his wing. He meets up with old flame Sonia Graham and, accidentally it seems, goes off his anti-depression/anxiety meds. The house itself is frigid, the writing goes nowhere and, while attempting to research old town records and legends, Scott becomes reacquainted with other denizens of the town, such as rich drunk Colette McGuire and her philandering ex-NFL husband Red Fontana. He also unearths hints of horrific goings-on in the 1880s and perhaps more recently. Suddenly Scott finds the ability to write and continue his father's story; coincidentally, perhaps, the long-delayed demolition of the site where his mother died begins. Owen rouses himself to take a job there, but what does he hope to find in the ashes? Further revelations about the Mast family past emerge, each less pleasant that the last. Scott begins to hallucinate. And young Henry wanders off in a snowstorm.

Workmanlike and agreeably absorbing, though lacking genuine thrills or chills.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 12, 2009
This slim novel features a book-within-a-book, The Black Wing (Schreiber's original working title), a half-finished manuscript discovered by Scott Mast after his father's death. After reading it, Scott learns that the house described within, an architectural oddity built with no right angles, is real and available for rent. Of course, he moves in and sits down to finish his father's work, which turns out to mean more than just writing. Verdict Fans of Lovecraftian horror and Stephen King (particularly The Dark Half or Lisey's Story) will enjoy this exploration of the inheritance of evil.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2009
When greeting-card wordsmith Scott Mast returns to his New Hampshire hometown for his fathers funeral, more than a few unnerving surprises await him. In a toolshed adjacent to the family home, now occupied by his alcoholic brother Owen, he discovers an unfinished manuscript, apparently penned by his father, featuring an odd, curved mansion dubbed Round House, which Scott quickly learns is based on a real, abandoned home on the towns outskirts. Inspired to complete his fathers novel, Scott takes a hiatus from his job and moves in with his laptop. No surprise to the reader, of course, Round Houses labyrinthine hallways and sealed rooms are haunted. But how Schreiber reveals the ghosts presence in a cunningly executed plot involving a burned theater, a rekindled relationship with an old high-school girlfriend, and Scotts slow descent into madness is a chain of disclosures worth savoring. Schreibers crisp, well-paced narrative, which includes tantalizing snippets from the murder-laced manuscript, results in a riveting ghost story equal to the best of King and Straub.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)