Out of the Woods

Just before Halloween 1983, a mental hospital in rural Pennsylvania that’s about to be shuttered gets one final patient: Gary McCoy, who claims to be the harbinger of an unspeakable horror. Dr. Robert Gaskell sees a chance to make some money writing about McCoy’s delusions, but soon his greatest ambition is to stay alive in a horror story that uses familiar tropes to good effect. Using Gaskell’s first-person voice to keep the reader close to the terror, Carl (the Werewolf Apocalypse saga) provides vivid descriptions that will make even veteran horror readers wince. Gaskell is imperfect but likable, balancing ambition, love, and his own demons. In this world, everything Lovecraft wrote about is real, and the story builds to a climax with the protagonists trapped between cosmic creatures and insane, deformed humans who worship them. Horror aficionados will thrill to the heartbreaking final moments of this fast-paced novel, which is perfect for a dark and stormy night. (Apr.)