A prolific writer of the macabre—with 19 novels, he's roughly Britain's equivalent to Stephen King—James Herbert (Fluke, Haunted) has created a supernatural detective story with a hunchback protagonist. If that sounds a bit unwieldy, Others gets stranger. Though severely deformed since birth, the Brighton-based Nick Dismas has carved out a career as a private detective. Enlisted by a client to find a child who may or may not have died at birth, Dismas begins having strange visions, some of which may be related to the child, some to a mysterious nursing home, and some to a dead film star with whom Dismas shares a strange connection. Actually, it's not so strange: Others' opening pages suggest that Dismas may be the film star reincarnated to make up for past transgressions, which could account for both his deformity and his uncanny knowledge of old movies. Despite seeming to possess more elements than it needs—it's a detective story, a supernatural thriller, and an apparent spiritual parable in one oversized package—Herbert expertly keeps the novel's first half rolling. Dismas is an engaging hero, a sardonic but well-meaning misfit who's well aware of how his appearance affects others, and the plot remains compelling. But about halfway through, it becomes apparent that the author has too many elements to juggle. By the time a villain who can easily be imagined twirling his mustache takes center stage to explain everything in an overlong finale, most of the intrigue has evaporated. There's an interesting story of redemption and a pretty good thriller in here somewhere, both well-suited to the author's gifts, but Others' disappointing final acts suggest that Herbert gave up writing either somewhere along the way.