I must admit, I was a little weary of The Intruders when I first saw it: a cheesy front cover, with an inside flap that promised only what any other mystery novel could offer. However, when I started reading the first chapter, I didn't want to stop until I'd finished it. Marshall (who writes under several pen names, though is mostly known for the Straw Men trilogy) alternates between the stories a violent murder mystery, the ramblings of an over rational paranoid ex-cop whose wife may be missing, and the disappearance of a haunted little girl who acts nothing like a girl. What starts out as a series of random occurrences slowly forms into a solid mystery, and by mystery, I really mean mystery. The novel creeps along at a good pace, and the whole time there lingers the mixing tastes of a crime novel, a psychological thriller, and speculative fiction. I think for a novel to be a true "mystery" requires more than just a who-dunnit crime, or a highly intelligent detective; for a story to be a mystery, a writer must challenge his readers to uncover the state of reality, how horrific of a world the characters involved must live in. The world Marshall commits his novel to keeps the reader's attention by slowly unveiling possibilities that seem extra planar, or supernatural. Then, by diminishing his audience's reason, Marshall allows for a wide open thriller that presses on in relentless horror. At times violent, touching, and just plain creepy, The Intruders is the kind of novel that causes your brain to twitch in confusing glee. A must read for fans of subtlety in general, though anyone who enjoys a good dark mystery will find what he or she is looking for here
Then, by diminishing his audience's reason, Marshall allows for a wide open thriller that presses on in relentless horror