Nine-year-old Tab is an artist harboring fears and anxieties that he soothes by drawing. After an encounter with an otherworldly creature, an angry bump afflicts his left temple. The wound burns and itches but will not heal. Worse, it summons ghosts.
Soon, Tab’s art portends real-life disasters like his father’s death. Tab becomes convinced his bump—his third eye—causes bad things.
Will Tab be able to control this power before it takes another life? Can he free himself from the ghost, who is determined to use that power to untold ends?
The answers lie in the secrets revealed by Tab’s terrible third eye.
Thorne hooks readers with a storm-ravaged opening depicting a family stitched with tension and hardly lets off the gas from there, keeping the pace swift and exciting while actualizing the Beard family’s struggles and Tab’s supernatural habitation in ways that feel relatable and tangible. Though the plot is taxed beyond its natural limits in favor of thematic pursuits—and the third act veers towards the comedic in ways that, for some, will scupper the story’s early promise—the book nevertheless anchors its increasingly outrageous proceedings with an endearingly human focus.
In a twist on the typical possession narrative, Thorne offers a uniquely bizarre vector via Tab’s eponymous third eye, the peculiar bump on his head that’s fueled by his anger and capable of making his most sinister thoughts spring to life. Though some readers will feel its plausibility overly stretched for narrative convenience, it remains a consistently intriguing element, especially when evolving from plot device to a prism through which the novel explores themes of regret, morality, and self-discovery. There’s a lot happening under the hood here—Tab’s burgeoning gender identity, the messy reality of families, living with a chronic illness or traumatic event—but horror fans seeking more than simple spills and chills will be satisfied.
Takeaway: Colorful possession narrative spin with a relatable human heart beating at its center.
Comparable Titles: Ayse Hafiza’s The Ghost in the Window, Nick Oliveri’s Monsters in My Mind.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A
