The 'Geisters

Stoker-winning Toronto author Nickle (Rasputin's Bastards) sets up what looks to be a fairly straightforward story of a woman and the malicious spirit that's been tormenting her since childhood. Ann LeSage calls the entity "the Insect," and its actions have killed her parents and crippled her brother. With Ann getting married%E2%80%94and coming into the circle of the mysterious and wealthy Ian Rickhardt%E2%80%94the Insect will have access to a wide new range of targets. In order to understand its true nature, Ann must face down both her past and the revelation about what Rickhardt and his friends really want from the Insect, and perhaps save herself in the process. What starts out as a fast-moving adventure, as Ann marries a man she hardly knows and discovers his dark secrets, becomes a much more contemplative, talky novel in its second half. Full of powerful imagery, the book loses some momentum as it glides to an unexpected and possibly off-putting climax. (June)