Shackled
Ray Garton, author of such acclaimed supernatural horror novels asLive GirlsandCrucifax, proves himself here to be accomplished at the suspense-thriller genre as well. The story is that pre-teen and teenage children are being abducted and subjected to horrifying "training" in order to turn them into brainwashed sexual slaves. The heroes whose quest is to uncover this operation are charming, interesting characters: a preacher in search of his kidnapped son, a tabloid reporter who's been assigned to cover the story, a true-crime writer who gets pulled unwillingly into the action, and a wheelchair-bound researcher with a computer-geek sidekick. The book is well structured, well paced, with some deliciously excruciating scenes involving spiders and snakes. This reviewer's only (mild) complaint is that all the heroes are men. An interview withRay Gartoncan be read at Amazon.com.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.