May 2, 1994
Masterton blends horror and humor with aplomb in this gleefully gruesome second sequel to his best-known novel, The Manitou . Once again the spirit of Misquamacus, the greatest of all Indian medicine men, ventures forth from the world of the dead to avenge the near-extermination of his people. But this time the horrific wraith teams up not only with a Lovecraft-like god of the underworld (a hulking shadow complete with tentacles) but also with the spirit of a voodoo priest eager to pay back whites for their enslavement of his tribe. Against these forces, modern America writhes in agony. Chicago and New York are reduced to rubble; a man possessed by Misquamacus reaches deep into a woman's body and pulls her inside out; the Indian spirit performs the hastiest eyeball-removal seen on paper since Jerzy Kosinski's The Painted Bird. None of this is inherently funny, of course, but what gives the novel its bright comic glaze is the wisecracking narration (alternating with third-person scenes of carnage) by Harry Erskine, the charlatan clairvoyant who's taken on Misquamacus twice before. And what saves it from fatal political incorrectness, though not from soap-boxing, is Masterton's hammering home of injustices done to Indians and blacks by whites. All in all, this is a treat for horror fans enamored of steak tartare and even bloodier books.
June 27, 2016
British author Masterton’s fast-moving if improbable sixth crime thriller featuring Irish Det. Supt. Katie Maguire (after 2015’s Blood Sisters) intertwines two story lines. The first is the mystery surrounding the mummified corpses of a family found beneath the floorboards of a cottage in Blarney, Cork. All the bodies—even a baby and two pet dogs—were shot execution-style in the back of head. As Maguire investigates the bizarre case dating back to the 1920s, she must also covertly deal with a vicious criminal who has abducted her former husband in retaliation for Maguire targeting his lucrative tobacco smuggling business. Steeped in bloody atmospherics and visceral imagery, the story suffers from more than a few highly unlikely plot points, such as Maguire too easily locating the house where her ex is being held and a too tidy conclusion. Still, those who have a high tolerance for gore and a healthy dose of Irish patois should be satisfied.