The Pet

We are in Stephen King country. In the small town of Ashford, N.J., young Don Boyd contends with more than his share of problems and pressures: the high school jocks who are bullying him, the girls he doesn't know how to talk to, the breakup of his parents' marriage, and the fact that because his father is the principal of his school the teachers involved in a labor dispute are taking it out on Don. Add one homicidal maniac, dubbed the Howler, who's already killed and mutilated several teenagers in New York. Don responds to his fears and desires by summoning up a powerful if ghostly stallion from one of his wall posters. The horse makes Don a hero by dispatching the Howler, but then it prowls the neighborhood, killing Don's tormentors and threatening his friends. As usual with Grant (The Nestling, this is an atmospheric ride that toboggans forward faster than readers' questions and doubts. A treat for horror fans. (June 16)