Joshua Pearson, professor at Columbia University, upon the death of his father, receives a manuscript from his great-grandfather Rudolph Pearson. Rudolph was also a scholar at Columbia, specializing in medieval studies. The manuscript consists of the journals of Rudolph Pearson, starting in 1922 when he accompanies Detective Matthew Leahy to a murder scene where a Russian immigrant has been brutally murdered. It seems that someone has written something in blood at the scene, and Leahy needs Rudolph's help to translate. This is only the beginning of a series of interconnected events that are the mainstay of Rudolph's journal. But this is no murder mystery: since it deals with Lovecraftian themes, you can expect to read about "a horror that mankind may never be able to accept," as well as the fears for the fate of humanity.

The writing is chilling, the characters are well drawn and you'll find yourself continuing to turn pages so that you won't even notice time going by. Do read the stories in order; each one builds on the previous.

Highly recommended. ( )