Best Mystery Novels review Fans of spy novels and political thrillers might like this entertaining novel that blends in a dash of the paranormal. Codename Poltergeist by William Joel features many familiar thriller tropes – conspiracies on Capitol Hill, CIA, local lawmen at loggerheads, and a hero who finds his world is no longer quite home. This last is quite literal – our hard-boiled hero James Halyard (whose codename is Poltergeist) is from a race of angelic-type beings (possible aliens) who monitor the Earth. After an assassination attempt on his life results in the brutally sudden death of his beloved wife, Halyard is given a new position among his kind. Halyard transforms from a valued secret agent known for being almost invisible, into a supernaturally endowed investigator who can literally vanish.