My last car trip was with Ted Dekker. While I drove from Minneapolis to Indianapolis, I listened to the audio version of Boneman's Daughter. Before I get into commenting on Ted, can I just say that hearing a man do female voices is freaky? I mean, yeah, I know the entire story was supposed to be creepy, but the dude's falsetto tone added an extra eew factor.

Now then, dare I admit I've only ever read one other Dekker? That was Showdown, and frankly, I wasn't that impressed. The writing was fine, but nothing that made me underline a catchy phrase or want to cry because I wish I would've written it first. The story moved along all right, but not at a breakneck pace that made me sit on the edge of my seat. All in all, I really didn't see what the Dekker fangirls were foaming at the mouth about.

Obviously I wasn't that put out, though. I figured any author can have a mediocre book, even one with a big name, so I decided to give him another try.

This time I still didn't find the magic of a Crichton or the killer prose of a Steinbeck, but the story pulled me in from the beginning and kept me engaged throughout. If you like scary (I'm talking serial killer kind of fright), then you'll want to scoop up a copy. But if you're easily grossed out, definitely pass.

Dekker's okay, but honestly? I probably won't go out of my way to score any more copies of his books. Hear that, Dekkerites? That's one less fan you'll have to elbow out of the way at his next signing.