That was what the lady with the dog told Jack at the end of Hosts.

Was she right?

In Harbingers, F. Paul Wilson's 10th Repairman Jack novel, it starts off so simply: Jack, still down from the tragic events of Infernal, is hanging in Julio's when a regular named Timmy asks him for help. His teenage niece has been missing since this morning; the police say it's too early to worry, but Timmy knows something bad has happened. Jack says he'll put the word out on the street.

This simple request triggers a chain of seemingly coincidental events that lead Jack into the darkest days of his life.

At the end of Gateways Rasalom told him:

". . . Killing you now might be something of a favor. It would spare you so much pain in the months to come. And why should I do you a favor? Why should I spare you that pain? I don't want you to miss one iota of what is coming your way . . . A strong man slowly battered into despair and hopelessness . . . That is a delicacy. In your case, it might even approach ecstasy."

That pain is no longer in the future. It is here. Jack is desperate . . . And the last thing you want to do is make Jack desperate. That's when things begin to blow up and people begin to die.

A hang-onto-your-hat-and-heart thriller of triumph and tragedy that barrels along at F. Paul Wilson's trademarked breakneck pace.