Firefly Rain

Videogame creator Dansky displays some remarkable writing talent in his debut, a supernatural thriller that effectively breathes life into one of the genre's staples-the haunted house. Jacob Logan returns to the small North Carolina town of Mayfield five years after his mother's death. Logan, whose business venture in Boston has just failed, is looking for a change of pace, and hopes to find some meaning by taking up temporary residence in the house he grew up in. A series of bizarre occurrences soon threaten that hope: his furniture and most of his possessions are incinerated in a highway explosion; his car is stolen, only to reappear and almost run him down; and he gets creepy vibes from the house's caretaker, who had carried a torch for Logan's mother. The most disturbing manifestation of a supernatural presence comes from the fireflies, who refuse to cross into Logan's property and who die when he brings them over the invisible boundary. Dansky convincingly portrays Logan's isolation and terror, and subtly gives glimpses of the forces arrayed against him. The author's insights into human nature and ease with expressive language bode well for future fiction from his pen.