Horns by Joe Hill

This one makes my list of dark favorites. Iggy's true love has been dead almost a year, and his bright future has fizzled away. He bleeds his time away in an alcohol-fueled haze in the town where they both grew up, and where most of the population believe he's guilty of her murder. Then, on the anniversary of her death, something intercedes in his slow suicide, offering him the power he needs to find her killer.

Hill plays with morality and religion, making Old Scratch new and recasting him as a necessary part of the wheel of life, death, and justice. I didn't expect to like this one; from the cover, I expected horror, and instead got a sort of salty frolic through the fields of grief, love and vengeance. Ig is a great character, whose internal compass of right and wrong rings true even as he surrenders to some of his more demonic impulses. I laughed, I cried (in my defense, there were a couple of really sad parts), and I recommend it to anyone with a slightly twisted sense of humor and an earthy sensibility. (Earthy here signifies that this book has a few dirty words, very little sex, and some arguably unavoidable violence.)

Hill is the second son of Stephen and Tabitha King; I didn't know that when I read it, or even when I originally composed this blog post. It's kind of an interesting fact, but don't prejudge him on that; Horns stands on its own two feet.