Through Atkins' use of the first person narrative, When Jeff Comes Home achieves a chilling reality. The fact that Atkins leaves most of the grim details unstated does nothing to undermine the impact of what we understand was Jeff's terror. We do not know exactly what happened to him, but we can imagine. Jeff tells bits and pieces of his story throughout the novel, and he reverts to flashbacks when the terror in his past becomes too real to ignore. Atkins puts words in italics when Jeff thinks deep, unspoken thoughts that he is not yet ready to come to terms with or voice out loud. These italicized phrases are particularly insightful, and we quickly begin to understand the devastating effect Ray had on Jeff's psyche.

The book can essentially be broken down into two parts. In the first part, Atkins builds suspense as to how...