Toward You

Krusoe (Erased) delivers his whimsical absurdity in the regrettably monotone final installment of his trilogy about life, death, and the afterlife. Bob has been trying to build a device to communicate with the dead ever since his days at the Institute for Mind/Body Research, where Yvonne, the love of his life, broke his heart. Years later, "the Communicator" is still a work in progress and Bob has opened an upholstery business. A series of bizarre and unlikely events conspire to bring Bob into contact with a motley cast of characters, including a rabid dog, a mentally unstable man known as "The Wagonmaster," a bumbling but enigmatic police officer, and, at long last, Yvonne, who is now a single mom working nights at a casino. Krusoe has constructed a fantastic world and characters that bend to his imagination, but the madcap scenarios lack dimension or authenticity and sap any sense of conflict, so that the action-heavy climax feels like a limp parody of a thriller. Krusoe's standoffish humor makes for an, at times, witty, but essentially lackluster novel. (Apr.)