Uwharrie

In their first novel, Pfaff ( Meryl Streep: A Critical Biography ) and Causey deliver a suspense-powered tale of horror and revenge set in the Uwharrie Mountains around Clearview, N.C. in 1983. After an awkward start, readers meet Sparrow-in-Snow, a powerful Native American shaman linked to a tribe of Uwharrie Indians that was massacred by Clearview townfolk in 1868. With him is John Wolfe Singer, the one descendant of the last Uwharrie chief and the sole surviving warrior, whom Sparrow-in-Snow prepares to implement an ancient curse. Meanwhile, David Hale, the town's librarian, helps archeologist Arthur Walters to uncover evidence of 16th-century European contact with the Uwharrie. A romance develops between David and Walters's daughter, Diana, herself an expert in primitive culture. It seems an evil force has entered the town as, one by one, people are found dead under suspicious circumstances. By the time David and Diana comprehend what is really happening to Clearview's residents, fulfillment of the terrifying prophesy has already begun. The authors present a nightmarish vision of vengeance and buried horrors reminiscent of Stephen King's The Tommyknockers , while exhibiting a strong knowledge of Southeastern culture and local geography. (Sept.)