"Dean Koontz is at the top of his genre"

In Pico Mundo, California lives a man with two powerful paranormal gifts. He can communicate with the dead and using psychic magnetism that can visually hone in on whoever he is looking for. One night Odd Thomas sees Dr. Jessup; he knows that the man is dead and that his adopted son Danny is in terrible danger.

When he reaches the Jessup home, he finds the battered body of the doctor on the floor but Danny is nowhere around. His psychic magnetism leads him to the tunnels of the Maravilla Flood-Control Project where Danny and his kidnapper traveled. He eventually finds the trail that leads him to the destroyed Panamint Resort and Spa Casino where explosives are taped on Danny. The ringleader Datura used Danny as bait to get Odd to the casino because she wants him to produce a ghost for her. As back-up she has two strong men under her spell to do her bidding. Odd saves Danny hustling him into a safe place while he plays with these vicious hunters in the hopes that a plan for getting Danny and him free of these psychopaths will come to him.

This novel takes place a year after the events in ODD THINGS and readers find the vulnerable, likeable, and emotionally drained Odd Thomas still working with the authorities to put the bad guys behind bars. The villainous woman whose beauty hides an ugly heart and soul will creep out the reader with her perceived belief that she does the right actions. Dean Koontz is at the top of his genre with a sequel that his myriad of fans will treasure.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted November 22, 2005

Summary

Every so often a character so captures the hearts and imaginations of readers that he seems to take on a life of his own long after the final page is turned. For such a character, one book is not enough--readers must know what happens next. Now Dean Koontz returns with the novel his fans have been demanding. With the emotional power and sheer storytelling artistry that are his trademarks, Koontz takes up once more the story of a unique young hero and an eccentric little town in a tale that is equal parts suspense and terror, adventure and mystery--and altogether irresistibly odd. We're all a little odd beneath the surface. He's the most unlikely hero you'll ever meet--an ordinary guy with a modest job you might never look at twice. But there's so much more to any of us than meets the eye--and that goes triple for Odd Thomas. For Odd lives always between two worlds in the small desert town of Pico Mundo, where the heroic and the harrowing are everyday events. Odd never asked to communicate with the dead--it's something that just happened. But as the unofficial goodwill ambassador between our world and theirs, he's got a duty to do the right thing. That's the way Odd sees it and that's why he's won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death. A childhood friend of Odd's has disappeared. The worst is feared. But as Odd applies his unique talents to the task of finding the missing person, he discovers something worse than a dead body, encounters an enemy of exceptional cunning, and spirals into a vortex of terror. Once again Odd will stand against our worst fears. Around him will gather new allies and old, some living and some not. For in the battle to come, there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope. Whether you're meeting Odd Thomas for the first time or he's already an old friend, you'll be led on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror, wonder and delight--to a revelation that can change your life. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas.