I haven’t been this scared since I read Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot.

Lily Blake is desperate to find her kidnapped children after she was almost burned alive by intruders. After waiting several weeks for the FBI agents to find her children, Lily decides to find her children using a Native American spirit called the Wendigo which is part animal, part human. However, the spirit isn’t what she expected and her life becomes a terrifying ordeal even after she finds her children.

An excellent, terrifying ride! ( )

If you like other Masterton novels you probably like this one too. It contains some signature trademarks that make him a dependable novelist. His take on Windingo mythology is interesting but somewhat out of place. Here the monster is a two dimensional being having length and height but no width, so it becomes effectively invisible with turned edgewise. Yet Masterton doesn't run with the concept and I think he could have played with the two dimensional aspect to a greater extent than just making an invisible monster. The second problem is with another great idea left to languish. In the opening chapter, strangers break into a woman's house, tie her to a chair, and attempt to set her on fire as a witch. These men are takingback the children of fathers who are slighted after divorce. Now that is horror. But it is basically just a set up to get the woman to have an American Indian send the Windingo after them. Lots of great ideas in this book are lost behind the escape the monster story. Overall, it's an OK book, but Masterton could have done so much more with parts of it. ( )