Tech designer Louise Joyner hasn't lived in Charleston for more than 20 years when she gets the call nobody wants: her parents have both died in a car crash. Louise and her younger brother Mark have never gotten along, and the sudden death of their parents puts even more strain on their relationship, sparking fights over everything from what to do with the house to how to handle the funeral arrangements. Complicating matters further are the creepy vibes of the Joyner homestead, which is filled with their mother's collection of dolls and the puppets she built as a Christian puppeteer. One puppet, Pupkin, is particularly creepy, and after enough odd things happen to Louise, she's convinced that there's more to Pupkin than meets the eye.
I absolutely adore everything Hendrix writes — he's so adept at mixing horror, humor, and humanity — and this book is no exception. He carefully balances Louise's grief, her complicated relationship with her family, and the absolute horror of creepy dolls and puppets (seriously, after demonic possession and eldritch horror and vampires and slashers, Hendrix was due for a haunted toy story). I loved this book and I'll continue to read anything Hendrix publishes.
