Henry Franks (review)

Despite the web of scars that cover his body, sixteen-year-old Henry Franks has no memory of the event that mutilated him and left his mother dead; nor does he remember any part of the life that preceded it. For a year now, Henry has tried to recall that life, one that his father informs him was happy and carefree, but Henry is plagued by bloody dreams of a little girl who calls him Daddy. as his discomfort in his own skin increases, Henry becomes convinced he is some kind of monster. Meanwhile, mysterious deaths have been reported in Henry's small town, his father is acting increasingly erratically, and his beautiful but loquacious neighbor is intent on finding out exactly who Henry is and what his past holds. Salomon sets a meticulous scene here, placing his inscrutable protagonist on the aptly named Jekyll Island (while Henry's name clues readers in to the Frankenstein inspiration) in the middle of a hot, languid summer just as a hurricane threatens to bear down on the claustrophobic town. Unfortunately, the third-person narration is aloof and distant, and the pace, especially initially, is slow to the point of being glacial. Those who stick with it, however, will be rewarded with a surprisingly action-packed climax and a satisfactorily creepy ending that should have readers questioning the motivations behind seemingly monstrous acts.