Meeting Evil — Thomas Berger

The author of the Pulitzer Prize�"finalist The Feud blurs reality in this breakneck thriller following one man's encounter with pure evil in high tops.
 
John Felton is a creature of habit. His job in real estate comes with no surprises; it's respectable work he can be proud of. Routine has been kind to him, but when a normal Monday of looking after the kids gets interrupted by a ringing of his doorbell, John may have to kiss his uneventful life goodbye . . .
 
Richie's car is stalled just at the bottom of the hill and he needs a push start. John agrees to help and then accepts a ride, though he's not entire sure why. After stepping into Richie's car, John is driven far away from the reality he once knew and dragged into Richie's frightening world -- one event at a time.
 
To make matters worse, the longer he spends in Richie's company the harder it is for the people around him to distinguish John from this curly-haired devil in a baseball cap. John must put an end to Richie's mad and murderous adventure before it reaches the most terrifying place of all -- John's very own home.
 
“The plot gets nicely complicated . . . and the entire contraption claps together in a great, unpredictable, satisfying calamity.” -- The New York Times Book Review
 
“Spare, meticulous prose . . . Sharply evocative of human weakness and rage.” -- The Washington Post