The stallion reared
over me, silently slashing the air with the hooves of its forelegs, a
creature of such immense power that I stumbled backward even though I
knew that it was as immaterial as a dream. . . .
The woman astride the ghostly mount reaches out desperately, the latest
spirit to enlist the aid of Odd Thomas, the unassuming young fry cook
whose giftor curseit is to see the shades of the restless dead, and to
help them when he can. This mission of mercy will lead Odd through
realms of darkness he has never before encountered, as he probes the
long-held secrets of a sinister estate and those who inhabit it.
Once presided over by a flamboyant Hollywood mogul during the Roaring
20s, the magnificent West Coast property known as Roseland is now home
to a reclusive billionaire financier and his faithful servants. And, at
least for the moment, its also a port in the storm for Odd Thomas and
his traveling companion, the inscrutably charming Annamaria, the Lady of
the Bell. In the wake of Odds most recent clash with lethal
adversaries, the opulent manors comforts should be welcome. But theres
far more to Roseland than meets even the extraordinary eye of Odd, who
soon suspects it may be more hell than haven.
A harrowing
taste of Roselands terrors convinces Odd that its time to hit the road
again. Still, the prescient Annamaria insists that theyve been led
there for a reason, and hes promised to do his best for the ghost on
horseback. Just how deep and dreadful are the mysteries Roseland and her
masters have kept for nearly a century? And what consequences await
whoever is brave, or mad, enough to confront the most profound breed of
evil? Odd only knows. Like his acclaimed creator, the irresistible Odd
Thomas is in top-notch formas he takes on what may well be the most
terrifying challenge yet in his curious career.