Brother Odd
Dean Koontz

St. Bartholomew's Abbey sits in majestic solitude amid the wild peaks of California's High Sierra, a haven for children otherwise abandoned and a sanctuary for those seeking insight. Odd Thomas has come here to learn to live fully again, and among the eccentric monks, their other guests, and the nuns and young students of the attached convent school, he has begun to find his way. The silent spirits of the dead who visited him in his earlier life are mercifully absent, save for the bell-ringing Brother Constantine and Odd's steady companion the King of Rock 'n' Roll.
But trouble has a way of finding Odd Thomas, and it slinks back onto his path in the form of the sinister bodachs he has met previously, the black shades who herald death and disaster, and who come late one December night to hover above the abbey's most precious charges. For Odd is about to face an enemy who eclipses any he has yet encountered as he embarks on a journey of mystery, wonder, and sheer suspense that surpasses all that has come before.

When taking this book out of the library, I did not realize it was the third in a series of books about the character Odd Thomas. That being said, I was in no way confused and this book, while probably even better when read as the third in the series, is an excellent novel and works as a stand alone book. That should say a lot about the character of this work - that you can read it without having read the rest of the series and still fully enjoy it. Of course, now I'll have to make sure to check the other two books out as well.

This book hooks the reader from the beginning. The appearance of the dreadful bodachs mean one thing - something horrible is about to happen at the abbey. The fact that they seem to be interested in the children does not bode well and through this novel, Odd Thomas must try and find out what disaster is about to happen and how to stop it. While knowing disaster is coming is useful, not knowing when or how makes things very difficult for the characters of this book.

The dialogue is excellent and is more true to life than in most novels. The sinister lurking disaster slowly comes into focus and by the time it is revealed, the reader will be rather surprised as to the source of it. The blend of the supernatural with the scientific is also greatly impressive.

All in all this is a thrilling novel and one that I would recommend.

My rating: Four out of five snails.