Dean Koontz, The Good Guy

The Good Guy

Dean Koontz

Bantam, May 2007, $27.00

ISBN: 0553804812

After work, mason Tim Carrier drinks beer at his friend Liam Rooney's bar, Lamplighter Tavern. Tim prefers routines, so although Liam wants to set him up with his wife's cousin, he makes it clear that he prefers being alone. However, he also enjoys quiet conversation, so when the stranger with the manila envelop sat next to him, he thought this might prove an interesting discussion, as the man with a beer seems like a fellow "wet nurse" nursing a drink or two for the night.

The stranger tells Tim his stomach is in knots, just like skydiving for the first time. He then gives Tim the envelop, stating "Half of it's here. Ten thousand. The rest when she's gone." Not sure where the man is going, Tim pretends to listen, until the stranger abruptly leaves. Stunned, Tim opens up the envelop to learn the target is writer Linda Paquette of Laguna Beach, when a second stranger sits down and says to Tim "you're early". For not heeding mom's advice of never talking to strangers, Tim finds himself as target number two from an invincible killer with government connections. As the targeted pair meet and flee together, they struggle to learn why, even as the hit man keeps coming.

No writer today takes an everyman and places them in scenarios where they die or adapt better than Dean Koontz consistently does. His latest thriller hooks the audience from the moment Tim meets the two strangers, and never lets go, as Tim and Linda struggle to elude a killer out of the Energizer Bunny mold. Suspense fans will want to read Mr. Koontz's action-packed thriller, starring two sly everyday people and a cold blooded terminator.