Between » (Reprint)

Tananarive Due is a Miami Herald columnist. A finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for a first novel, she is also included in Naked Came the Manatee, a collaborative mystery novel featuring Miami writers. She lives in Miami, FL.

When Hilton was just a boy, his grandmother sacrificed her life to save him from drowning. Thirty years later, he begins to suspect that he was never meant to survive that accident, and that dark forces are working to rectify that mistake.

When Hilton's wife, the only elected African-American judge in Dade County, FL, begins to receive racist hate mail, he becomes obsessed with protecting his family. Soon, however, he begins to have horrible nightmares, more intense and disturbing than any he has ever experienced. Are the strange dreams trying to tell him something? His sense of reality begins to slip away as he battles both the psychotic threatening to destroy his family and the even more terrifying enemy stalking his sleep. Chilling and utterly convincing, The Between follows the struggles of a man desperately trying to hold on to the people and life he loves, but may have already lost. The compelling plot holds readers in suspense until the final, profound moment of resolution.

BookList

As Hilton James' fortieth birthday draws near, his dreams put a damper on his celebration. Thirty years ago, his grandmother sacrificed her life to save him from drowning. And now Hilton is experiencing nightmares that cause him to question his mortality: Should he be dead? Hilton is a dedicated social worker, his wife is the first African American judge in Miami, and their two children are healthy and bright. The Jameses are an enviable black, middle-class family. Ironically, the very success they sought has turned into their worst nightmare. After his wife prosecutes a criminal, he sends her racist hate mail, and around this time, Hilton's dreams become frightening. Hilton's reality becomes more surreal as the mail becomes more personal, suggesting harm will come to his children. In order to protect his family, his marriage, and his sanity, he seeks therapy and discovers the cause for his nightmares. Refreshingly, this novel of horror and the supernatural has an intriguing and suspenseful plot. Due may very well develop a loyal following with her first novel.