Midnight
Dean Koontz

Strange deaths have occurred in picturesque Moonlight Cove, an idyllic northern California coastal town - "the edge of paradise" to some but increasingly the edge of sheer terror for others. Certain residents harbor a secret so dark it could cost even more lives - in and beyond Moonlight Cove.
Tessa Lockland comes to town to probe her sister's seemingly unprompted suicide. Unusually hopeful and unfailingly optimistic, Janice was hardly the sort to take her own life. In exploring the circumstances of her death, Tessa comes harrowingly close to the secret of Moonlight Cove... and in the process places her own life in jeopardy.
Sam Booker, haunted by ghosts of his own, is another town newcomer. A federal agent operating under cover, Sam has been sent to Moonlight Cove after the formal FBI investigation failed to discover the truth behind the mysterious string of deaths. He's faced terror before, but nothing he's encountered has prepared him for the crippling fear that seizes him in Moonlight Cove.
Chrissie Foster, an eleven year old whose family lives on a ranch in the hills north of town, is on the run from her parents. They are not the same loving people who raised her, they've changed. Darkness dwells in them now. And they are bent on instilling that darkness into their daughter.
Harry Talbot, a wheelchair bound veteran, lives with his faithful dog, Moose. From his windows, Harry has seen things he was not meant to see, things he can scarcely believe. If the wrong people learn all he's witnessed, neither Moose nor Harry's skill with a revolver will keep the two safe.
In Midnight, these four will be drawn together to make a stand against the swiftly descending darkness that may soon bring endless night to Moonlight Cove.

Moonlight has the feel of a typical Koontz novel, and that's a good thing. It has the usual plot formula of boy meets girl and the two of them are on the run from something, but interestingly enough, since the town is on lockdown, they don't have far that they can run. And they need to find a safe place where they can get off the streets because patrols of police and other citizens are out looking for them.

Add in a girl who is also on the run and a handicapped veteran who is there to aid them, and you have the makings of a very good Koontz novel.

There is also the aspect of the supernatural that, in the end, turns out to be not so supernatural. People are changing and devolving into beasts, but not from any alien being as the young girl things. Instead, small machines are being injected into them and making them "better". But when "better" means without any normal human emotions, people are willing to devolve to an animalistic state... and worse.

With all the trappings of a typical Koonz novel combined with a fresh storyline, Midnight is one of the Koontz novels that is a good read for fans and newcomers alike. Whether you've been reading his books for years, or have just started, this is something I would recommend to anyone.

My rating: Four out of five snails.