A review by readerofhorror
Lost Boy Lost Girl, by Peter Straub

2.0

The story's narrator, for some reason, needs to remotely access his computer in New York, in order to access his email. Now, there is simply no reason why he can't just log into his email from any computer. Instead, Straub explicitly goes through pains to let you know he's using a program to access his computer back in New York. When we see the emails, one from a kid one from an adult, the kid's replies painfully look like an adult trying to write how they think how a child would online. There's one final bit where this remote setup fails and affects his NYC computer... in a ghostly way. Now, this is from 2003 and maybe this was a more novel idea at the time, and maybe the whole thing doesn't deserve so much of a focus in my review.

But it's a good example of how the book kept pulling me out of its reality. I'm able to suspend my disbelief for the story's central conceits: haunted house, serial killer, dead mother, troubled kid, ghost girl. I'm on board. The haunted house is spooky, and I like the idea of a smart kid being the first to find its terrible secret compartments.

The familiar-sounding story should have me comparing Straub to Stephen King in terms of suspense, but I'm instead of reminded of later-era King's poor understanding of technology and unnatural sounding dialogue for younger characters. In a King book -- The Institute is a good recent example -- I'm usually able to look past this because it's not a big focus and the plot is good. But here we get chapter after chapter from Mark and Jimbo, saying "Yo, my dad is racist," listening to Eminem and skateboarding, and the story isn't good enough to pull me back in.

The story peaks when Mark is investigating the house. But then Mark has sex with a ghost girl and disappears to go live with her forever. And the serial killer is instantly caught when someone has the bright idea to look up who currently owns the creepy house.

From the narrator's (Tim's) perspective, we get the feeling that this is supposed to be a happy ending for Mark. But isn't this probably exactly what Mark's mother didn't want to happen? Her son to go into the house and become consumed by it? It doesn't seem like a happy or even fitting ending for Mark, considering how late in the story the girl comes and how she has really nothing to do with Mark. His mother feels guilty that she didn't save her, but why does this have to be Mark's destiny?

Black House, written by Straub and King around the same time as this, is perhaps a better-realized product of some of the ideas here. The haunted house, and the serial killer who emulates a past serial killer, are strikingly similar.

This book was a disappointment but I still want to read more Peter Straub, happy to take recommendations.