Deadroads: A Novel of Supernatural Suspense

Riopelle’s uneven first novel centers on the quest to stop what may be a murderous “rogue ghost” whose rampage appears to follow train tracks near North Platte, Neb. Sol Sarrazin, an EMT from a family gifted with the ability to see the spirit world, investigates. For Sarrazin, the killings are so significant that he risks arrest by pretending to be a railroad police officer. His father, Aurie, from whom Sarrazin inherited both his gifts and his interest in ghost-hunting, was himself murdered in a similar way as the other victims. Riopelle never manages to conjure up a feeling of dread, or to convey the high stakes in a situation where Sarrazin must contend not only with one ghost but with the devil himself. Overly colorful similes (e.g, “The bank of clouds was moving to the south, the edge dark like eggs left too long on the griddle”) don’t help. Agent: Sandy Lu, Lori Perkins Agency. (Apr.)