Beyond: A Ghost Story (review)

The incident with the nail gun is just the latest in what looks like a long string of self-destructive behaviors for Jane: she's also drunk drain cleaner, electrocuted herself with live wire, and stood in front of an oncoming train. Only she and her best friend, Lexi, know that these were not willing acts—instead, these were initiated by Jane's shadow, which compels her to attempt to destroy herself in punishment whenever she develops any kind of interest in a boy. As the shadow grows bolder and more corporeal, Jane and Lexi begin to uncover its secrets: it's actually the soul of a murdered boy, who entered Jane's body when she died and was revived at birth, who considers her to belong to him, and who's trying to kill her to make her his own permanently. McNamee has established his chops as a writer of thrillers supernatural and otherwise, and Jane's story is smoothly creepy; the strain is heightened by its contrast with her solid and loving family and staunch, unflappable, and delightfully gothic best friend. As the horror ramps up, the book takes it into the real world as well, with a harrowing Silence of the Lambs-redolent villain who's a serial child molester and murderer, and whom Jane eventually faces in hopes of laying her shadow to rest. The pacing is tight and the tension high throughout, and the book is particularly gifted at the cinematic trope of terrifying apparitions that disappear on awakening or observation by an outsider. With its blend of haunting and crime, this actually is a great movie-style summer thriller, so be sure to pull it out for display again in summer blockbuster season.