In Orangefield, New Jersey the pumpkin capitol of the world, a woman has a late-night, uh, encounter with her husband. The next day she discovers that he had been killed the night before and never made it home. And she is pregnant.

Detective Bill Grant is not surprised to learn that Samhain, the Celtic Lord of the Dead is involved. Orangefield is known for 'Sam Sightings' and he's had run-ins with him before (which are detailed in the earlier Orangefield tales).

The opening is terrific and is guaranteed to grab you. But I think the story suffers from an over familiarity with the Orangefield characters. Detective Grant is familiar enough with Samhain that they have a relationship and this familiarity keeps the book from feeling particularly spooky.

Also, at 76 pages, The Baby is a glorified short story. Al realized that by making some slight changes to the last pages, he could expand the story into a grander tale (which became Halloweenland). I would recommend buying that collection as it contains this novella plus the longer, reworked version of the story.

A good story, just don't expect too much. ( )