This the story of professor David Ullman. Professor Ullman is an expert on John Milton and his life is not going so great when we first meet him. His wife is cheating on him and he runs into the man involved with his wife after the last class of the semester. They have a verbal altercation. He then runs into a mysterious woman outside his office that he calls "the thin woman". The thin woman tells him to go to Italy, all expenses paid, and be at a certain address at a prearranged time. He thinks she is crazy, but is also intrigued. When Professor Ullman arrives home his wife tells him she wants a divorce.
The best thing in David Ullman's life is his daughter, Tess. Tess is not surprised about the divorce. David and Tess are very close and seem to have a special bond. Profeffor Ullman and his daughter decide to make the trip to Italy since it is all expenses paid and it would be a great escape from the looming divorce. David doesn't expect much from the potential meeting in Italy and mostly looks forward to having an adventure with Tess. It is in Italy that we first encounter the demons in this book. The is also when the book starts to get very scary. It's not often a book actually scares me, but this one was quite creepy. Things go downhill from here for the professor as he battles demons across the United States. Milton's Paradise Lost plays a major role in this novel as quotes from the poem lead Professor Ullman on his quest. He has help from his best friend Elaine show more along the way. I would hate to spoil anything, so I will say no more about the story. I highly reccomend this very fast paced, scary book. show less

This book is very funny. The best book I've read by Mr. Hiaasen in several years.

I was really looking forward to this book. Yes I read all of the Harry Potter books and loved them. I also read Dickens, Russo, Irving, Wodehouse and lots of other authors this new book would supposedly be compared to. I hate to say it, but good lord, I was amazingly disappointed. Disappointed doesn't begin to cover it. I was barely able to keep reading. I finished this book only because it was by J.K. Rowling. I am too old to spend time reading books that, after more than 100 pages of reading, I just don't like. I decided to make an exception of this novel. I expected a story about class struggle and death, but I also expected some humor. The book is devoid of any real humor. There is also no desire to feel any kind of sympathy for any of the characters, because you never really get a chance to like any of them from the beginning. There are so many characters to keep up with in this book that you would think some of them would be likable. they aren't. I"m sorry. I won't recap the book, everyone reading this probably has an idea. I cannot recommend this book. I hate to say it, but there it is.