In Skull Session, Daniel Hecht's first novel, we meet Paul Skoglund, a good natured man who is afflicted with Tourette's syndrome and currently out of work. When his rich, haughty, old Aunt Vivien calls from San Fransisco and asks him to repair the vandalism that has been done to her mansion, he dutifully takes on the job. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Paul, a handfull of teenagers have been coming up missing in the area.
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Morgan Ford, a lonely, likeable, yet trigger happy police detective with a disreputable past is assigned to the missing teens case. He digs up clues using interviews, time tables, etc., but doesn't exactly hit the nail on the head; and does not realize the severity of the danger he is up against.
Paul finds the mansion in an unbelievable condition; damages that are clearly not the work of simple vandalists. The mangled mess is astounding, only some kind of Superman could have inflicted this degree of mischief to the estate. Within the rubble, Paul finds secret family documents and photos, and discovers that he has some detective work of his own to do. Upon learning the secrets of his family's deranged and hidden past, he also begins to discover powers within himself that he never dreamed imaginable. He may be the only one who is able to stop the nonsensical violence that has been going on there for years.
Within the subplot are serious yet humorous glimpses of of Paul's struggle with Tourette's Syndrome, his relationships with his beautiful, thrill seeking girlfriend Lia and his 8 year old son, Mark (who has also inherited neurological disorders), and the inclusion of quite a few more memorable characters.
The review of this Book prepared by Teresa Thornton
