When the new preacher, Rev. Charles Jacobs, comes to a small Maine town, six-year-old Jaimie Morton is the first to meet him. Their relationship will span decades and define much of Jaimie's life. King's juvenile characters and family relationships are always well defined, and the early chapters set during Jaime's childhood are especially compelling. The later parts incorporate King's love of music and revisit his recurring themes of obsession, mortality, and life after death. A chilling conclusion finishes off another fine tale, narrated in an effective performance by David Morse. VERDICT King fans will be delighted, and, despite supernatural elements, those who think of King as just a horror writer will be pleasantly surprised. ["King fans will rejoice that the horror master is back in fine form," read the starred review of the Scribner hc, LJ 10/15/14.]—Janet Martin, Southern Pines P.L., NC

King's new thriller begins in Maine the summer of 1962, when its narrator, Jamie Morton, at age six, meets a charismatic young minister named Charles Jacobs, who soon becomes something of a mentor. Years later, as Jamie pursues a career as an itinerant rock musician, he crosses paths with Jacobs, who is now working his way from carnival huckster to wealthy faith healer and has developed an obsession with the curative powers of electricity. Jacobs, aged, ill, and more than a little crazed, convinces a skeptical but curious Jaime to assist him in his ultimate experiment with a "secret" form of electricity that he believes will allow him to "tap into the secrets of the universe." Screen actor Morse (The Green Mile) has a natural, down-to-earth delivery. His middle-aged Jamie narrates with a soft, knowing yet wistful voice as he recalls the happier days of smalltown life, his first paid job as a musician, his first romance. We hear his hope that Jacobs's "secret electricity" will heal his addiction to heroin, and the fear and uncertainty prompted by the experiment's nightmarish effects. Morse's Jacobs, who initially sounds bright and witty and filled with charm, becomes a man distracted and unemotional. By the novel's end, age and infirmity have slurred his speech. A Scribner hardcover. (Nov.)