Red rabbit

A witch, a demon, a shapeshifter, ghosts, and cannibals are just some of the characters whose exploits enliven this sprawling, picaresque post--Civil War weird western from Grecian (The Saint of Wolves and Butchers). When residents of Riddle, Kan., put a bounty on the head of accused local witch Sadie Grace, it attracts the attention of Texas cowboys Ned Hemingway and Moses Burke. As they ride northward for a shot at the prize, they're joined along the way by a widowed schoolmistress, a Mexican desperado, and a self-proclaimed witch-master and his enigmatic ward, Rabbit. Their experiences en route include a near-fatal confrontation with a supernaturally possessed outlaw, a terrifying journey through a forest that has seen mass suicides, and a dangerous stopover in a town of flesh-eating ghouls. Grecian's eccentric characters are wonderfully developed (save for the title character, who is mostly on the periphery for the tale's duration), but their episodic adventures meander with a randomness that keeps the narrative's direction loose and unfocused. It's all incident, no plot--but the incidents are good fun. (Sept.)