This is a surprisingly restrained (for Bentley) haunted house story, which makes it all the better when things DO get totally twisted. It's set in New Mexico and follows a likable family as they relocate to a better neighborhood (they think). The characters were very well drawn and I even cried a little at the end! When I call it a "haunted house" story, I should clarify that it's more complicated than that, with flashbacks that go way back into the past before the house was even built, and involve creatures/spirits beyond just the usual dead people ghosts. I'm a fan of Bentley's work, and I think this is one of his best to date. He manages to convey a world view that I relate to, including jaded frustration with modern technology, social networking, and rampant consumerism. But he does it all without getting soapboxy. He's very good at chronicling the bizarre minutiae of our current American society and using skewed elements of it to inspire fear. Another thing I really appreciate about this particular book was that the teenage son feels insecure because he's not good at sports and gets called a sissy a lot, but his father assures him that he loves him no matter what, and whatever he likes or doesn't like is okay. There's a subtext in the relationship between the father and son that I found very touching. By the end of the novel it's still unclear if the son is gay or straight, but you know the father loves him either way.