Freeman is a very disturbed boy. Taken into care as a young child he has been moved from home to home as they try to help him recover from his past - as, shortly before the authorities stepped in, Freeman had been repeatedly abused by his father and had witnessed the murder of his mother.

When he arrives at Wendover he soon finds that this is no ordinary children's care home. It is run by Dr Francis Bondurant, a man who has some unusual techniques for helping disturbed children recover from their afflictions, and to become more "normal".

But what no one is aware of is that Freeman is no ordinary child, as he has the ability to "trip-trap", to read peoples minds and his abilities seem to be enhanced when he receives some of the doctor's more unusual therapies.

As time progresses, Freeman and his friend Vicky, who is also on the receiving end of Bondurant's treatments, start to see strange grey people who mysteriously disappear. Soon they realise that there is more to the children's home than meets the eye – and maybe there is more to Freeman's past than they are currently aware of?

The Home is the latest novel from author Scott Nicholson and it follows the experiences of a young boy, Freeman, as he is transferred into Wendover Children's Home following the murder of his mother. Needless to say it is no normal children's home and the treatments are far from conventional.

It is quite unusual to have a horror story when the main characters are mentally disturbed children, but where these same children are generally "The Good Guys" and the supposedly normal doctors are "The Bad Guys" - but when has this author ever done the expected - thankfully never.

As you might expect from a Scott Nicholson the characters are wonderfully sympathetically written managing to make you feel quite sorry for them as they experience the effects of both their mental problems and the treatments that are supposed to sure them.

And don't think that this is merely the story of some sick doctor performing Mengele-style experiments on children. This novel is so much more. The story twists and turns throughout – at many points you may feel that you have worked out the crux of the story but trust me, you are probably wrong. In fact the final twist in the tale even surprised me (and that definitely doesn't happen very often).

I have previously read The Hunger and The Manor by Scott Nicholson and I remember finding them both enjoyably original stories, when I picked this up I wondered whether Nicholson could maintain the style and quality of writing in future novels: the answer is most definitely YES! Nicholson is one of today's most talented writers whose style is developing with every book he writes.

This is a disturbing creepy tale that keeps you guessing.

Synopsis
When twelve-year-old Freeman Mills arrives at Wendover, a group home for troubled children, it's a chance for a fresh start. But second chances aren't easy for Freeman, the victim of painful childhood experiments that gave him the ability to read other people's minds.

Little does Freeman know that his transfer was made at the request of Dr. Richard Kracowski, whose research into the brain's electrical properties is revealing new powers of the human mind. Kracowski is working for a secret society called the Trust, but also has his own agenda in exploring the nature of the soul. His experiments have an unexpected side effect, though. The electromagnetic fields used in his experiments are summoning the ghosts of the patients who died at Wendover back when it was a psychiatric ward.

Freeman simply wants to survive, take his medicine for manic depression, and deceive his counselors into believing he is happy. When he meets the anorexic Vicky, who may also be telepathic, he's afraid some of his darkest secrets will be uncovered. But when the other children develop their own clairvoyant abilities, and insane spirits begin haunting the halls of Wendover, he can't safely hide inside his own head anymore.

Meanwhile, the Trust is installing sophisticated equipment in the home's basement, aggressively probing the threshold between life and death. And they've brought in another scientist who doesn't share Dr. Kracowski's reluctance to push the limits.

This scientist is a pioneer in ESP induction, and he performed most of his work on a very special subject: his son, Freeman Mills.