The Dead Whisper on

A miner-turned-garbage collector is the refreshingly different protagonist of this sophomore horror outing by Hines (Waking Lazarus). Chubby redhead Candace ""Canada Mac"" MacHugh drives a '72 Dodge Charger, lives in a hand-me-down trailer full of junk in Butte, Montana, and hears the voice of her father who died 11 years ago. It turns out her dad wants her to join him and some mysterious shadows of the presumed dead in what seem to be do-good missions. As Canada begins her first mission working with the shadows, Hines uses multiple points of view to show a town where people are spontaneously combusting and discerning good from evil is surprisingly difficult. Hines writes with wry humor and imagination, although the plot elements don't always transition smoothly. Some of the scenes are creative and metaphorical (a dream about Old Faithful); others are less successful, as when Canada reunites a little girl with her father in the aftermath of a tornado. The spiritual themes are more of the ""good vs. evil"" variety than overtly Christian. As the story ends, the symbolic nature of the malady striking the inhabitants of Butte might have been more powerful if not so clearly explained. Although the novel frays a bit at the edges, in his best moments, Hines brings to mind W. G. Griffiths (Driven).