If you could make a truly horrific problem in your life go away when the only payment would be nothing you care about and that you could regain, would you do it?

This was the choice that Peter, Steve, Jimmy and Robin made as teenagers in 1958. They each had a rather terrible problem that made their lives unhappy to miserable. Robin's mother had a co-worker that was threatening her job that she needed desperately. Steve had a stuttering problem along with a teacher that seemed to take great pleasure and satisfaction in torturing him in front of the other students. Jimmy's father had a gambling problem that was keeping them in dire financial straits all the time. Peter's grandmother had come to live with him and his parents following a break in at her flat. Peter loved his grandmother but she was a controlling, judgmental shrew who was now ruining his life and that of his parents.

Things were getting worse all the time and then, one day, Peter received a note in the mail that said WHATEVER YOU MOST NEED I DO. All he was required to do was sign the enclosed form and his problem would be gone. He shared it with his three friends. After much consideration and precipitating events, they made copies of Peter's form and each signed them. A gust of wind came up and blew them into the cold ocean below the cliffs they stood upon when they signed the forms.

One by one, the problems they had went away in some form or fashion. Life was good for a while and they grew up to have rather successful careers. Then 25 years later, things started to fall apart. Peter was losing his mind and experiencing hallucinations. Jimmy lost something most precious to him. Steve's family started to lose their business and livelihood. Robin's mother had turned into her worst enemy.

Peter is the only one that blames their long ago decision to let an unknown entity for the things that are going terribly wrong in their present. The others eventually begin to wonder and question if Peter may be right. However, they don't know just how far round the bend Peter has gone and what he's willing to do to put his life to rights once more.

Ramsey Campbell has been writing horror fiction for years and is one of the best in the genre. The terror he so intricately crafts slithers its way into your brain and insists that you keep your lights on all night. OBSESSION is a re-issue of a book he wrote long ago, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. As a longtime fan of Mr. Campbell, I relished this book. It sent chills up my spine and kept me wondering through the entire book about what was actually going on and where it would all lead. Ramsey Campbell does not disappoint his readers. If you haven't read this one, do so and it will make you a fan, too.