The Night Strangers/ Chris Bohjalian/ 378 pp

An airline pilot decides to do an emergency landing in a lake but, unlike Capt Sulley Sullenberger, this pilot, Chip Linton, is unable to land safely.  The resulting depression and post traumatic stress forces the family to a seek out a small town out of spotlight to recover.  Almost immediately Chip, his wife Emily and their twin daughters are embraced by women in the town who call themselves herbalists.  Their interest in the girls go beyond neighborly and soon the reader is drawn into the story wondering if the herbalists have an agenda.  Chip, meanwhile, has discovered some secrets in the old house and is haunted by the people he was unable to save.

I was captivated by the premise of the story but the ending left me unsatisfied.  The author does a wonderful job portraying the mind of someone who is gripped by forces outside himself.