Edgewise
by Graham Masterton
I picked up this novel from the stacks of unread books in my library. Like Richard Laymon, Masterton can be perverse but there was little of this here. Edgewise is a thriller novel based on the North American Indigenous legend of the Wendigo.
by Graham Masterton
The Wendigo is a forest spirit that possesses people and causes them to commit acts of violence and cannibalism, is created or summoned when people do evil all on their own, or that simply roams the forest eating people because it's cursed with never ending hunger.
Stories and details differ.
Although this is an older novel, having been released in 2007, it captures some of the fraught relations between men and women today, especially regarding divorce and resulting child custody battles. Lily Blake is a Minnesota realtor who has completed a divorce from her less successful husband Jeff, who saw his once promising IT career crater while Lily earned more than three times his salary.
According to Lily, wimpy Jeff couldn't handle her awesomeness which is why he's her ex. But apparently Jeff has gone over the deep end. Some seriously twisted hateful men who say they're from FLAME (Father's League Against Mothers' Evil) invade Lily's home, kidnap her young children Tasha and Sammy, and attempt to kill her.
The local police and FBI aren't much help. Jeff could have the kids and intend to leave the country.
Lily's lovestruck boss puts Lily in contact with some Native American men named John Shooks and George Iron Walker. The men claim to be able to help Lily get her kids back, for a certain price.
Lily doesn't believe the men but when some impossible things occur Lily's idea of reality expands. Unfortunately for Lily, George has an inflexible and literal idea of a binding contract. George doesn't want to hear that you won't or that you can't. To George, a deal is a deal.
George might be more than he seems, but I was increasingly unsympathetic to Lily. If I completed a task for someone and they changed the terms, refused to pay because they disliked me, or said they lacked authority to make an agreement, I'd be upset. Would I be so peeved as to send a multidimensional virtually invulnerable ravenous non human entity seemingly unbound by the laws of physics after them? Hmm.
The best parts of this 300 page story were the description of Midwest winters and woods. The characters were a little weak. This would be a good book to read on a airplane trip or similar travels.
