Black House by Stephen King

The provided excerpts from the novel "Black House" by Stephen King and Peter Straub detail a grim investigation in the fictional town of French Landing, Wisconsin, concerning a serial killer and sex criminal dubbed "the Fisherman." The narrative centers on Jack Sawyer, a former police officer known as "Hollywood," who is reluctantly drawn into the case by Police Chief Dale Gilbertson and his blind, insightful friend Henry Leyden, who has multiple radio personalities, including "George Rathbun" and "the Wisconsin Rat." The Fisherman's third victim, ten-year-old Irma Freneau, is discovered, and later, ten-year-old Tyler Marshall is abducted, whose disturbed mother, Judy Marshall, connects the crimes to a parallel dimension called the Territories or Faraway, which Jack had previously visited as a child. The plot involves Jack's struggle with his past, his unique connection to the Territories, and the eventual confrontation with the Fisherman, who is aided by a demonic entity named Mr. Munshun and ultimately revealed to be Charles Burnside, a resident of a nearby elder care facility. The excerpt culminates in a violent confrontation and a press conference where Jack Sawyer is shot by Wanda Kinderling, the wife of an earlier criminal Jack arrested, though he is predicted to recover due to his connection to the Talisman.