Odd Hours by Dean Koontz: A Book Review

That's because there's really no good place to put this book down.

I've been reading for many, many years and I've come to feel that many literary character are as dear to me as living people I know. Arthur, from T.H. White's Once and Future King, Scarlett from Gone with the Wind; even Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum have become real in my mind and heart.

But my favorite character, ever, of the literally hundreds of books I've read, is Odd Thomas.

The Odd Thomas graphic novel is called, "In Odd We Trust," and indeed, I do trust Oddie. He is the most decent, quietly gallant, absolutely true-blue hero I've ever run into, and he has a sense of humor, too.

No matter how weird things get around him, dealing with the dead who show themselves to him but can't speak, saving huge chunks of the world or just one small town, Odd Thomas comes through.

In this book, he has lost a lot of his innocence but none of his heart. He has learned, the hard way, to do what he has to do to thwart true evil, but he never, ever likes it or takes it lightly.

The action is harder and faster than in Odd Thomas or Brother Odd, but there are still those moments of grace. And, yes, there is both a great ghost dog and a great living dog to honor the spirit of Dean's beloved Trixie, who died last year. (The author information made me tear up: It says, "Dean Koontz lives with his wife, Gerda and the enduring spirit of their golden retriever, Trixie.."

There is also the spirit of Ol' Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, taking a hand in the action. And there are hints that this is a beginning of a partnership for Odd, with a mysterious young pregnant woman and a great new character named Blossom, badly deformed as a result of abuse but beautiful in every way that really matters. I can't wait to see where that leads in the future.

I really don't want to say too much about the plot, except that it's just non-stop adventure this time. But I do want to say that if you like adventure, mystery, suspense, the paranormal, or just the best and most lovable character ever written (not in the cutesy way, but in the genuinely LOVEable way,) pick up all of the Odd Thomas books and read them.

Oddie will never let you down.