A Choir of Ill Children

Piccirilli creates a steamy, noir-ish, gothic atmosphere with this story of one young man (Thomas) struggling with his very strange hometown of Kingdom Come. He has to contend with his unusual family and their dirty little secrets plus acting as a sort of employer/protector and frequent scapegoat/nemesis of every supporting character in Kingdom Come. I read this first a few years ago and it really blew me away with the imagery, intensity, and the strangeness of it all. The writing style really moved me, poetic and lyrical as other reviewers have said. It also has a lot of tension and edge.

It's not quite a perfect experience. I realize upon re-reading it how much time is spent with supporting characters “warning” Thomas of what's to come instead of the story just getting on with it. Also, mythically bizarre, but occasionally I found myself asking if there was some sort of symbolic connection to the subplots that I wasn't getting.

Choir of Ill Children is my kind of thing: a mix of genres among horror, thriller, weird fiction, transgressive etc. It's VC Andrews with a boost of testosterone and humor. Also a bit like a 90's canceled-too-soon tv show called American Gothic. I think it's very much worth reading and re-reading.