Demon's Door

October 1, 2010
Jim Rook, the community-college remedial English teacher and investigator of strange phenomena, returns for another adventure. It begins somberly: Rook accidentally runs over and kills his beloved cat, Tiddles. But then one of his students gives him a basket with an unusual gift inside: Tiddles, looking and acting as if nothing had happened. The student tells Jim that this is a gift from Kwisin, a Korean spiritor perhaps demonwho is expressing gratitude, in advance, for something Jim will do for her (naturally Jim figures this probably isnt a good sign, and, as usual, hes right). As with the previous Rook novels, the story is frightening without being terrifying, with a hero whos a regular guy who happens to possess some psychic abilities that enable him to cross over the boundary between the real and the surreal. A solid entry in the series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)