King and McCammon are my two favorite authors. They are the guys who got me hooked on reading horror during my teenage years and are the very reason I still have a passion for it today. Of course, I haven't read everything these two masters have written, and Mine is one of those books I've avoided over the years. Admittedly, it's because the cover simply never appealed to me.
This story is about a woman named Laura whose child is snatched from her by a deranged woman named Mary Terror. Mary used to belong to a cult that was very similar to the Manson family. She is obsessed with finding and bringing a baby to her Manson-type leader because she lost the baby that was theirs many years ago.
The first half of the story does a good job of developing the characters of Laura and Mary Terror. However, it starts to drag a bit towards the middle. But then it picks up again as Laura gets closer to getting her baby back. (For some reason, the Chili's song keeps popping into my head!) Unfortunately, the big chase scene where Laura gets so close to her child before Mary gets away keeps repeating itself over and over again. By the end, it becomes quite tiresome.
The writing is good because it's McCammon, but the book is way too long. 500 pages could easily be reduced to 300 pages, and then perhaps I would have enjoyed it more.
If any other author (besides King) had written this book, I would probably round this review up to 4 stars. But I hold McCammon's novels to a higher standard. I plan on reading Ushers Passing next, hoping that it will surpass my experience with Mine.