The hero of FIRECRACKER is a likeable, 32-year-old, slightly feckless divorced father-of-one who lives in Texas and is nicknamed 'Dead' Kennedy, for the rather good reason that he can see dead people. We're told this in a very matter of fact way - there's nothing gothic or horror-like about this novel - it's been something he's had to live with all his life and, apart from the fact that it makes driving a car impossible for him (he keeps swerving to avoid the ghosts), it hasn't really affected his life. DK is trying to put his life back on track, in part to do justice to the faith his daughter Megan - 12 years old, and very funny - continues to place in him, and in part because he's still in love with his ex-wife and he can't bear to prove her new ex-marine husband Don right. The trouble is, he keeps being distracted, first by a long-lost cousin with a weeping ghost in his garage and a terrible secret to hide, then by his all-too-alive mother who is planning a family reunion, and finally by a number of his dead relatives who all seem to want something from him. This isn't trying to be the Sixth Sense - it's far quirkier and funnier. It is a ghost story - with ghosts who are both living and dead - but it's also a love story and the story of a man who loses his way and the people who try and help him find it once again.

'FIRECRACKER is a superbly executed and extremely well written spine chilling thriller...[and] an intensely gripping read ...FIRECRACKER isa superbly worked piece and Stewart's assured and really very artful style is a joy to read.' SFRevu (April 2005) 'A comical but eerie must-read.' ***** HEAT (23-29 April 2005) 'Stewart delivers wry, self-deprecating humour and laugh aloud moments...This is a poignant story of a man coming of age (albeit several years overdue) and a highly recommended read.' -- Cath Staincliffe TANGLED WEB UK 'Firecracker is an assured, moving supernatural drama, with the emphasis squarely on the drama. Part of its strength comes from its narrator, a going-nowhere Texan thirtysomething divorcee with a bossy daughter and a big clan of mixed-up relatives. The hero's wry narration makes his slow revelations of a deep-seated emotional pain all the more effective.' -- Andrew Osmond DREAMWATCH (April 2005) 'Firecracker is a delightful, thought-provoking and intelligent little book, one that really makes you wonder what it would be like if you were able to see dead people.' -- Simon Withers SFX (June 2005) 'Firecracker is both moving and funny, touching on the profound but with its feet set firmly on the ground.' THE THIRD ALTERNATIVE (Summer '05) 'a good novel about Texas and redemption which satisfies those of us addicted addicted to the neatness of story and the working out of a plot driven as much by ideas as characters.' TIME OUT (13-20 July 20050

Sean Stewart is the author of two short stories and seven previous novels, including the New York Times Notable books Galveston and Resurrection Man. His novels have recieved the Aurora, Arthur Ellis, Canadian Library and World Fantasy Awards. He lives in California with his wife and two daughters.