This week I finished Odd Thomas, a book written by Dean R. Koontz in 2003. I've never been a giant Koontz fan, primarily because he does a lot of short, little scenes, moving from character to character. This one isn't like that. Odd Thomas is very linnear, starting with Odd (yes, that's his name), a Southern fry cook who can see ghosts -- including Elvis!
I've read a lot of these types of books in my day, and the "supernatural visionary" type character can be done well, or poorly. Koontz handles it quite well. Ghosts aren't novel to Odd. They're just a part of his days, part of his life -- and this is definitely Koontz's best character. Odd is named Odd for a reason, and I'd be giving away details to say more than that.
One of the neatest parts of this book is the "bodachs," which are wispy, spiritual type entities that only Odd can see. They are drawn to people and places where something bad will happen, and Koontz's deft handling of them really rachets up the suspense.
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This book is suspenseful, funny, and a fast read -- took me two weeks or so, reading only before bed, which makes it a good summer read!
