The Good Guy by Dean Koontz
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Book Reviews of The Good Guy
Book Review: To Portland and back seated between a mason and a psycho killer
Summary: 5 Stars
When I infrequently turn to a Dean Koontz thriller for entertainment, I usually discover some psycho that's evolved from a bad childhood. It makes one wonder what crowd the author ran with as a kid.
Here, stonemason Tim Carrier, minding his own business on a barstool, finds himself mistaken for a hit man by one who abruptly gives him an envelope of money and the note: "Half of its there. Ten thousand. The rest when she's gone." The "she" is author Linda Paquette.
Then, when hired killer Krait shows up at the same barstool, Tim endeavors to pass himself off as the one ordering the hit, but with a change of mind. He gives Krait the 10K to not carry out the pre-arranged contract. Krait is unmoved.
On flights from Burbank to Oakland to Portland to Las Vegas to Burbank, THE GOOD GUY was a book I couldn't put down. I barely noticed the packaged peanuts or, on the leg to Vegas, the young woman with the showgirl body and plunging neckline in the seat across the aisle. The read is that good.
As Carrier takes it upon himself to single-handedly save Linda's life, the hook of the plot is obviously to discover if he succeeds or if they both end up as corpses. Krait is one twisted and relentless dude in his pursuit of the fleeing pair. Then, there are the anticipated answers to the questions that the reader asks. What was Carrier before he started laying brick that enables him to keep himself and Paquette out of harm's way? You or I would be dead in a heartbeat, so don't try this at home. And why has Linda been targeted? Even she hasn't a clue.
Except for its diversionary potential, THE GOOD GUY has no redeeming value whatsoever; it's pure trash. But, for a plane ride from Burbank to Oakland to Portland to Las Vegas to Burbank, it was absolutely perfect. Even if I did pass on the opportunity to ogle the showgirl.
Book Review: Reviewed for Midwest Book Review
Summary: 5 Stars
Timothy Carrier is a man who keeps to himself and tries to live as simple a life as possible. Until one day when a man sits beside Timothy at a bar and passes him an envelope with ten thousand dollars and a picture of a beautiful woman named Linda Paquette. Timothy is intrigued by the woman but horrified to know the man has mistaken him for the contract killer he employed to murder her. When the killer later arrives and mistakes Timothy for the man who hired him, Timothy tells him the hit is off and gives him the money but pockets the picture. However, the killer makes it clear he will not be stopped. Timothy rushes to Linda's house to warn her, and from that point on, both are engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with the killer who now is determined to kill Timothy as well and will go to any length to do so.
Koontz excels at creating evil characters and allowing the reader a glimpse into the mind of a deranged murderer. The story moves at a fast pace and is filled with gut-wrenching suspense and continuous action. Timothy and Linda are two damaged souls who immediately connect and trust one another. Koontz's ubiquitous dog is present, and, as always, appreciated. The killer is deliciously malevolent and intense, and the story one that will keep the reader turning pages.
Book Review: Information required
Summary: 5 Stars
I did read this book and thought it was another excellent story by Dean Koontz. I have loved every Dean Koontz book I've read. But I am trying to find one I read a a few years ago and I can not remember the name of it. I've gone through the descriptions of his books but I haven't found it and I'm just positive he was the author. It's about a woman who is a police officer. She is having an affair with another officer. He leaves her house one night and gets shot. She sees her husband leaving the scene and figures he shot him because of the affair. Although evidence keeps pointing to her husband (who I believe was also a police officer) she keeps doing whatever she can to make sure the evidence does not immplicate him. It ends up that he's actually involved in something that included the man he killed and it had nothing to do with the affair. I can't remember all of the story but it was really good and I want to read it again. If anyone out there knows what this book is, PLEASE let me know. I would very much appreciate it. My niece and I both read this book and we both think that it was by Dean Koontz but I'm beginning to wonder if our memory is way off track. So this is my last hope to try to find out. Thanks.Book Review: Sometimes Being the Good Guy Can Be Dangerous Work
Summary: 5 Stars
Stone mason, bachelor Tim Carrier is sitting in a pal's bar having a beer when a man approaches him and gives him an envelope. Tim looks inside, finds ten grand and a photo. Not an idiot Tim, he figures out he's been mistaken for a hit man. That's bad enough, but shortly after the real hit man arrives. Tim, wanting to do the right thing, to be the good guy, takes out the intended victim's info, pretends to be the first guy, gives the bad guy the ten large and tells him the deal's off.
Of course, Kraut, the bad guy, doesn't buy it and now Tim, continuing to be the good guy, seeks out Laguna Beach writer Linda Paquette, the intended victim. After all, it's a good guy's job to save the beautiful girl from the bad guy. But saving her isn't going to be a piece of cake, because now the bad guy is hot on their trail.
There you have it, the setup for this book. It's not a horror story, but it's stuffed full of suspense, twists and turns and I liked it a lot. The characters were great, though I gotta admit I liked the bad guy the best. Dean Koontz just keeps churning out fast-paced, well thought out tales of suspense.
Book Review: Grabs you by the throat...
Summary: 5 Stars
... and drops you panting 400 pages later. Koontz's The Good Guy is relentless. But the reason it doesn't let you pause is that it is believable. Tim, the hero, is in the very first pages the victim of a misunderstanding: mistaken for another at his local bar, he passes on an envelope with the instructions for a contract killing. Tim decides to warn the girl, the intended victim. It could happen to anyone, even we are forced to wonder whether we would show the same courage.
Koontz writes well, with a dark, sarcastic style that matches the tension and violence of his situations. His images are well chosen and original; indeed, Koontz is superior to many adepts of supposedly more serious literature. The Good Guy is something of a cross between Raymond Chandler and the TV series 24: pulsing with action but richly, idiosyncratically portrayed. It is also a pure thriller: unlike most of Koontz's prose, classified as horror, it doesn't involve the supernatural. I doubt you will hold it in your hands longer than three days.