Returning to his family hometown when his best friend is placed in a hospital for the criminally insane--after committing unspeakable crimes--Matthew Galen, the only person who knows the true source of his friend's problem, faces a sinister evil force.The author, Tom Piccirilli , 22 November, 1998
A synopsis of HEXES
My protagonist, Matthew Galen, is a guy who, as a child, releases evil and is forced to battle it throughout his adolescence, who loses his family and his girlfriend to this horror that's a part of him, and in a moment of weakness abandons his remaining friends and neighbors and decides to make a run for safety. Five years later he returns to discover that a part of the world he's known remains the same, the burger joint is the same, the quaint county roads and houses are the same, folks are still in their hammocks and mowing their lawns, but beneath all that lurks a madness and spiritual corruption that he must battle again. That impending confrontation is actually his redemption, and that makes for a character who's got a great many facets to his personality. We all have our ghosts, but this guy has his ghosts. We all battle our demons but he must battle his *demons*. In essence, I think he is someone who gets to completely liberate himself from his own sins and failures in ways that most of us only wish we could. That makes him quite appealing to me.(c)1998 by Tom Piccirilli

Poppy Z. Brite, author of LOST SOULS and EXQUISITE CORPSE: "Tom Piccirilli never backs away from a disturbing or disgusting scene in the dubious interest of self-censorship, but neither does he seem to relish it as some perverted writers do (guilty, guilty, guilty). He faces it and follows it through to the consequences, and that requires bravery."

Douglas Clegg, author of GOAT DANCE and THE HALLOWEEN MAN: "Tom Piccirilli is a master of the occult novel. He creates an atmosphere like nobody else, one that is terrifying and yet sheds an eerie glow of acceptance upon all the darkness. HEXES is a wild detour through a hell that occupies the shadowy corners of our homes and our minds."

Jack Ketchum, author of STRANGLEHOLD and THE GIRL NEXT DOOR: "The first book of Piccirilli's I encountered was SHARDS, a humdinger of a modern noir. I resolved right then and there that it wouldn't be the last by any means. Piccirilli is one to watch. He's an author who knows how to terrify."

Richard Laymon, author of THE CELLAR, AFTER MIDNIGHT and THE MIDNIGHT TOUR: "Whether writing horror, mysteries or thrillers, Tom Piccirilli delivers the goods. His characters have heart, smarts and guts. They come to life in fine stories you'll not soon forget. I'm a big fan."

T.M. Wright, author of A MANHATTAN GHOST STORY, STRANGE SEED, and THE SCHOOL: "Tom Piccirilli has style and wit, and it shows in his writing. What's more, he's damned scary."

Edward Lee, author of CREEKERS, SACRIFICE and THE USHERS & OTHER STORIES: "Few writers in the field even come close to Piccirilli's all-round mastery of the modern horror story. Always original and in a style all his own, he's been scaring the hell out of me for years. Piccirilli has always been one of the best, and with guys like this at the helm, the future of the genre couldn't be in better hands."