Horns by Joe Hill

"He threw the Bible into the trumpet case as well. There had to be something in there, some useful tips for his situation, a homeopathic remedy you could apply when you came down with a bad case of the devil."

Ignatius Perrish is having a rough year. Merrin, the love of his life, was brutally murdered and while there is nothing linking him to the crime most of the town is certain he did it. So, when he wakes up in a drunken stupor with no memory of the night previous, Ig is certain he's just imagining the horns growing out of his head. Soon he discovers that with his new head accessories comes new powers. People start telling him things-how they really feel about him and also, what they really know. Determined to find the real killer Ig starts a journey of revenge and personal transformation. For, as we all know, the devil is in the details. (oh, you knew I was going there.)

Joe Hill is also on my short list of authors that are automatic purchases. Feel free to analyze me-it is great fun. He has said that horror is rooted in sympathy...in understanding what it would be like to suffer the worst. His books have that gift of touching that base humanity in the reader while scaring the bejesus out of you. Horns is a character driven novel told mostly from the viewpoint of Ig with flashbacks to his life growing up as well as flashbacks told from the viewpoint of other characters. Part mystery, part horror, part commentary on life, love and religion, Horns is the kind of read that will make you wax poetic about the nature of good and evil with your best friend at the bar on a Saturday night. 2010, 370 pages.