"Running, crying
Laughing, dying
Blood on the ground
There's only one sound
Deadbeat"

The Necromancers are a rock band and the latest craze to hit America. Their music has a compulsive beat that seems to invade the very soul of their listeners. Once you hear it you can never forget it.

Eddie Bannon is an English teenager who travels to the US with his family to stay with friends of his parents. During an apparently normal tourist-visit to Liberty Island he sees a terrifying vision that seems to be accompanied by the rhythm of Deadbeat.

Stephanie Insel is the daughter of Eddie's American friends and she too has been drawn into the world of the Necromancers. However, in her case she is a lot closer to the true nature of the cult-like band. Having sent a demo tape to Donna Caryl, the lead singer of the Necromancers, she is invited to meet the star. Initially she believes that Donna just wants to hear her sing but she soon finds out that there is a much more insidious reason for her visit.

Very quickly Stephanie is enmeshed in the secret world of the Necromancers and finds herself a major participant in the cult of Deadbeat. As time passes she becomes aware of the truly evil intentions of Caryl and her neophytes.

Will Eddie be able to save Stephanie from her fate and prevent Deadbeat from taking over the world?

Deadbeat is a classic Guy N. Smith horror story written in his usual compelling style, pacey and full of momentum. You can almost feel the compulsive beat of the Necromancer's music running throughout the novel.

The characters are well rounded and convincing – I actually wanted to grab hold of Eddie's father and beat him to a pulp!

OK, so the idea that rock music is the soundtrack to evil is a little predictable but that doesn't make this a bad book. Far from it! Deadbeat is a great story and an excellent addition to the horror genre. It is unpretentious which makes for a refreshing change. All too often I find that authors try to be something they are not – they just try to be too clever for their own good. With Guy N. Smith you get "exactly what it says on the tin".

A no-nonsense horror story that definitely hits the spot.