By Ray Walsh

For the Lansing State Journal

Two recent crime novels dealing with serial killers were penned by graduates of local high schools.

"The Sandman," by Holt High School graduate Matthew F. Winn, is a macabre and grisly tale of convicted serial killer Rueben "Cracker" Graham, scheduled to die by electrocution at Florida's Starke Prison.

Graham locates and reads an obscure book on dreaming and uses it to gain mind control over pediatrician Timothy Duggan, causing the doctor to kill violently.

When the bodies of new victims appear with a similar MO and body parts missing, local police are called in to check out if the real culprit is on

death row or if a copycat killer is committing these crimes.

A tale that's not for the weak of heart, Winn's first novel explores the mindset of a jailed, amoral killer who longs to escape death. It's a contemporary version of Jack London's "Star Rover" with a touch of Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter added for good measure.