cover image The Book of Webster's

The Book of Webster's

J. N. Williamson. Longmeadow Press, $17.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-681-41598-0

In what reads like a travelogue from Hell, Williamson ( Don't Take Away the Light ) recounts a murderous cross-country rampage. Incarcerated sociopath Dell has decided that words are magic. Given a dictionary by his cellmate (he calls it his ``Book of Websters,'') Dell finds the definition of `` vicarious , as in a sacrifice ,'' and his twisted mind deduces that killing is a way to acquire magical powers. Once released from jail, Dell meets teenaged psychotic Kee, and they begin a bloody ``joyride.'' The law seems awestruck by the randomness and sheer number of the duo's killings, and Georgia detective Kirk Douglas does not not have much time to find them before the murderers strike again and the feds take over the investigation. Horror veteran Williamson's serial killers have none of the romantic mystique endowed on other sociopaths elsewhere. The characters here are conscienceless monsters whose self-absorbed ignorance and twisted beliefs would be almost laughable if not for the ominous depravity of their acts. With their realistic dialogue enhanced by authentic regional speech, they are all too credible and menacing. (Oct.)