(image from Amazon.com)
This is a book about a fry cook who loves his job as simple as it is because he has a very complicated gift. He sees the dead....sees...not hears because the dead are silent in Odd's world.
Odd's life seems on the outside to be very simple...he has a simple romance, a simple job, a simple apartment, a variety of characters for friends who seem genuine, and he lives in a simple town, Pico Mundo, CA.
The complicated part isn't so much that he sees the dead...the complications arise from the dead wanting him to assist in stopping major mind blowing crimes...or to solve the issues (murder mysteries) of the dead in between. This book has a major mind blowing crime waiting in the wings that Odd tries to stop just in the nick of time...does he save the day? You'll have to read it to find out.
What I like about this book is the combination of the paranormal and the suspense/thriller genres intertwined so that it becomes hard to tell the dead from the living. Odd has animated interactions with the dead even though they don't speak...and the appearance of Elvis every now and again gives the spookiness a bit of comical relief. I will admit though that not only did I turn pages quickly as you would reading any suspenseful book, I also had to put the book down towards the end to dab at my eyes with a tissue. Dean Koontz surprised me quite a bit at the end of this one.
In summary, this is a great read. Not too deep, not too scary, not hard at all to follow. The characters are genuine and believable, the plot fun and surprising. Could a fry cook do the things Odd Thomas did in this story? Who knows...but I do know this...
Odd Thomas is captivating enough to lead me to read the next in the series. I'll see you at the end of that one!
**** The Critical Librarian gives Odd Thomas four out of five stars
