It was an extremely challenging task not to miss someone, not to shed tears for him and grieve over him. It is rather easy to look at death from a distant perspective, yet it becomes far more difficult when one has to gaze directly into its face.

Everybody is on their own unique kind of Mystery Walk. They are following the path of their days, doing their utmost to deal with whatever life throws at them. Sometimes, it is mightily hard to figure out what is right and what is wrong in this jumbled-up world. What seems black can sometimes truly be white, and what appears like chalk can sometimes be pure ebony.

Mystery Walk by Robert R. McCammon narrates the story of Billy Creekmore, who is born and brought up in Alabama. His mother is Choctaw, and through her, Billy acquires a spiritual power that allows him to see dead people, somewhat similar to Cole Sear from Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense. However, unlike The Sixth Sense, this book takes a different turn as it leads the reader through Billy's adolescence into adulthood with Native American mysticism. This is a tale of one person's Mystery Walk, which McCammon contends is a journey that everyone must undertake with inevitable happenings that test us. Along that journey, each person has to make choices, and those choices will transform and shape our character.

Consequently, McCammon's novel features individuals who have become explicitly evil because of poor choices in their past, and the protagonist will encounter these people as part of his Mystery Walk developmental journey. Now, that statement might be perplexing, but the novel itself is not. In fact, it is very readable and exciting, incorporating some episodes that could be regarded as graphic and others that are somewhat erotic. In other words, this is not a book suitable for children.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed Mystery Walk. I felt that the characters were well-developed, the descriptions were vivid, the action sequences were thrilling, and the ending was touching. In my opinion, McCammon is a maestro of his craft, and I relish reading his novels. Mystery Walk is an outstanding read.

I found myself racing through this book with great eagerness, all because I have a deep love for Robert McCammon's works. However, as I delved deeper into this particular piece, I couldn't help but notice that the flow seemed rather disjointed. It felt as if there were a few different stories all revolving around the same character, but not quite meshing together seamlessly.

Despite this flaw, I still found myself somewhat engaged. There were certain elements and moments that managed to capture my attention and keep me turning the pages.

In the end, after much consideration, I decided to round up my rating from 3 3/4 stars. While it may not have been a perfect read, it still had enough of McCammon's signature style and charm to make it worth the effort.

I look forward to seeing what he has in store for us in his future works.

Billy Creekmore's remarkable gift sets him apart in the small town of Hawthorne, Alabama. He can perceive when people are on the verge of death, see the spirits of the departed, and assist them in crossing over to the afterlife. His mother, a Choctaw Indian, shares this gift, which has been passed down through generations. However, Billy's father, who is not of Indian descent and is a devout Bible-thumper, views this gift with suspicion and believes it to be of the devil. Many others in the town share his father's opinion.

The story of Billy Creekmore unfolds in a somewhat disjointed manner. It begins before his birth and then jumps around in time, showing him at different ages: 10, 17, and 22. While the character of Billy and his mother are initially engaging, as the book progresses, the reader's interest starts to wane. There are other significant characters, but Billy and his family remain at the heart of the story. Unfortunately, some of the characters come across as rather one-dimensional caricatures and stereotypes.

Moreover, the point of view in the book shifts omnisciently without any warning, often within the same paragraph. This constant shifting makes it difficult for the reader to fully engage with the story and can be quite irritating. Overall, while the book had some potential, it failed to live up to the expectations set by the author's previous work, "Boy's Life". It was an okay read, but not one that the reviewer would highly recommend.

“Call them haunts, or ghosts, or revenants—but some of them cling to this world after death, out of confusion, pain, or fear; some of them are stunned and wander looking for help. But all of them have to find peace—they have to give up their emotions, and the feelings they had at the instant of death if those feelings are keeping them here in this world—before they can pass over. I’m not saying I understand death, and I’m not saying I know what Heaven and Hell are going to be like, but death itself isn’t evil, Billy; it’s the call to rest after a long day’s work.”