In his 11th outing, BLOODLINE, Repairman Jack show no signs of slowing down. Fans of the series may rejoice, because I think F. Paul Wilson has definitely hit upon the series’ creepiest story yet. It’s not centered on monsters in the sense of goblins and trolls, but some truly evil human ones.

The book begins a few months after the events of HARBINGERS (don’t worry; not having read it won’t hamper your enjoyment of this novel). For the uninitiated, Jack is not some Mr. Fix-It type with electronics and such. Nope, Jack “fixes” situations in which normal channels can’t help you out.

Here, Jack is hired by Christy Pickering, a single mom concerned about her 18-year-old daughter, Dawn, who has started to see a much older man named Bethlehem. Jack wonders if he even should get involved in such a basic job, but that’s where the book gets into the meat of the matter, as the original detective Christy had hired turns up dead via a type of water torture.

That only piques Jack’s interest, and the story never lets up in the creepy factor from this point on. We find out Bethlehem is an outpatient of some weird, federally funded prison/hosptial called the Creighton Institute. Then there’s a missing book of Jack’s that might be connected to the “otherness” that runs throughout the series, leading Jack to discover a self-help guru named Hank Thompson, who promises a new future for all his followers.

If you’ve not kept up with Wilson’s other books in the series, you might feel a little lost with these digressions, but fear not, because you’re going to delve headfirst into this one and the others.

For some reason, Wilson inserts himself into the story via an author named P. Frank Winslow, who writes about a man called Jake Fixx, whose first two books resemble two of Jack’s previous adventures. Why? It’s anyone’s guess, unless Winslow is slated to make other appearances in future novels.

It seems Winslow is dreaming about Jack’s life and writing about it. Is there a connection between them? Plus, what about the connection between Bethlehem and Hank? It leads to a very disturbing reveal halfway through the story. Let’s just say the book title fits perfectly.

That proceeds to a climax of events leading further into the bigger picture of what’s to come for Jack. Whether you’ve read all, one or none of Wilson’s Repairman Jack books, jump on and rejoice. BLOODLINE proves there’s no slowing down for the best anti-hero out there. –Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Amazon or at Gauntlet Press.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• ALL THE RAGE by F. Paul Wilson
• F. PAUL WILSON’S THE KEEP by F. Paul Wilson and Matthew Smith
• HOSTS by F. Paul Wilson
• LEGACIES by F. Paul Wilson