This is a well written, disturbing horror novel. It begins with us learning that Katie had shown signs of psychic abilities and also leaned heavily towards cruelty from a very young age. Exactly what this cruelty is, is only hinted at, and we don't hear anything else about this until she reaches adulthood. I didn't get the main character's name since it's Philo, and not Katie. Katie is the name of the book. Philo is the protagonist which the book centers around. She's eighteen-years-old, a seamstress' daughter who are poor and generally unremarkable; at least until things start to happen around her that launch her directly and unwittingly into Katie's path. It was still strange, but I began to be able to understand the title character, "Katie", and Philo's relationship. Philo's mother gets a letter from her father.... Philo's grandfather. He had disowned her mother 23 years earlier for marrying now deceased Philo's father. In the letter he requests that Philo come help him escape "Katie" and her degenerate family who have taken over his farm. Philo has never met her grandfather; but she is eager to help. Her motivation is not purely innocent though, as her grandfather is quite wealthy and has promised to provide for her and her mother once he is rescued. Philo having been poor her entire life, dreams of nothing more than throwing her promised upcoming wealth in the faces of everyone that shunned her when she arrives back home. Philo is rather naive and sorely underestimates just how evil Katie and her family are. My biggest complaint about the story is that "Katie" is more of a background character. We only find sketchy information about this person whose name graces the title of the book. I would have liked more about who in the world she was... more of her history... more about what went on in the mind of this psycho. Overall, the story itself was a fast read that had enough twists to not be completely predictable. ( )

Poor monkey, indeed
orphaned, robbed, left destitute
still quite the looker. ( )

Are you a horror fan? If so, read this book NOW!!

This tale reminds me of how and why I became a horror fan. I remember picking up horror paperbacks in the late 70s-early 80s and ripping through them at a breakneck pace. I experienced that feeling again this past weekend and I realized how much I missed and loved that experience!

In the very small town of New Egypt, New Jersey lives Philomela Drax with her mother, the local seamstress. They don't have much since Mr. Drax passed on and they certainly do not enjoy status of any kind. Mrs. Drax receives a letter from her estranged, crippled, father begging her or Philo to come to his aid. Apparently, the people that he hired to take care of his farm are now trying to kill him and steal everything that's not nailed down, including the farm itself. Philo, being of the highest character, immediately leaves to see if she can put a stop to these shenanigans. Shortly thereafter, Philo meets the family Slape and this story puts the gas pedal to the floor.

Michael McDowell creates characters that you love or hate with all your might. His observations of human nature are spot on, which only adds to the believability of his stories. His works are almost always unpredictable. Just when you think a story is going one way, he jerks your heartstrings and turns it in a totally different direction.

Mr. McDowell is currently near the top of my favorite authors list and he's been dead for 1.5 decades. I can't help but wonder how many more awesome stories he could have come up with had he lived longer. I can only say that I would have purchased and read every single one of them. As things stand now, his works are very difficult to find. If it weren't for Valancourt Books, I might never have been able to read this horror classic, or The Elementals either, for that matter. I know that they are working hard to bring back even more of his work and I, for one, can't wait to check them out.

My highest recommendation!

*I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is it!* ( )