Odd Thomas: By Dean Koontz

Thriller, Mystery, Suspenseful, Drama


Plot:
Odd Thomas is a very simple man in his early twenties. However, he possesses the otherworldly ability to see the dead.
This ability has haunted him his entire life, and he knows little about it. Odd lives in the quaint town of Pico Mundo. An artificial Eden for Odd, because there is less dead in a small population.
Odd takes pride in his profession of being a short fry cook at the grille, a job hes had since he was sixteen. By keeping his life so basic, he hopes to stay sane. His closet consists of 2 pairs of the same runners, jeans, and white T-shirts. He even refrains from using a bank to simplify his life.
On an early shift at the grill. An ominous man of stocky build walks into the grille, and orders an extremely large order.
Employees only seen this as a big payer. Odd however, seen a man of evil intent. Upon entering the grille. The man was followed by 2 shadowy figures that appeared to have the consistency of liquid. Bodachs.
Bodachs are spirits Odd believes to have come from hell. They impose no physical threat, but feed off violence and cruelty in the world. Seeing their presence guarantees a blood shed.
Once finishing his meal, the man leaves with a large suspicious smile. Followed by twenty more bodachs.

Odd immediately follows the man to his house and investigates his house, discovering immense secrets.
Stormy Llewellyn, Odd's girlfriend and soul mate. The only person he trusts with all his secrets.

The story follows Odd as he tries to uncover the mans mysterious intentions. Leading into twist, after dark twist Odd combats his sanity to save his town from a murderer.

Review:
Odd Thomas was a character I didn't find myself caring about for half the book. However, the books was intense, and immersed me into the story very early. This is a mature novel, dealing with murder, terrorism, and satanism. But that only adds to the depth of realism I felt as I read on.
Most would cast this book as being cheesy and over played, because the protagonist can see spirits similar to "The sixth sense". It doesn't help that the back of the book suggests that Elvis Presley is a main character. It's true he's in there, but only as a minor role. He isn't comic relief, or even a nostalgia factor as most would think. He adds more realism and is fairly depressing for the little bit of time he's in the story.
"The Sixth Sense" was a dark movie showing a child's perspective on death and ghosts. Odd Thomas is a book showing a much more in depth, and more dark reality of being able to see the dead.
This book is riddled with twists and turns you'd never expect, and it's one of the main reasons I love it.
I said I didn't care about Odd. But when you hit the last chapter you'll be in tears, or at least heartache as Odd concludes his story.
Dean Koontz is an amazing author, but he can be be to in depth. As he describes certain situations, he seems to get distracted long enough for me to forget what was originally happening. The speech between characters was awkward at times, but I could believe people talked like that.
Overall I give this book a 9/10 The story was perfect and dark. The only thing that made it worse was over describing everything. Yet still a remarkable book.