Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz is the first of seven books told in the first person by a humble fry cook, who happens to see dead people. Odd views his abilities as a gift and takes the responsibility upon himself to help the ghosts so that they can move on. This time he has a chance not to simply solve a crime but help try to prevent one. A sudden appearance of shadowy figures that Odd refers to as bodachs in larger numbers than he has ever seen before warns him that the man who visits his restaurant is big trouble. Odd begins investigating the man and passes along what he discovers to his friend in the police, but then everything begins to unravel. The suspicious man turns up dead in Odd's house, and Odd's police contact is shot multiple times leaving Odd alone to figure out what exactly is supposed to happen on August 15th, who the dead man's accomplices are, and how to stop their plans.
Overall the tale is a bit darker than most stories I read, but I truly loved the character of Odd Thomas. He is a sweet man who tries to make use of his gift and do the right
thing. His family is horrible, but his friends and especially his girlfriend are wonderfully supportive. The ending had me in tears. The plot is well paced, but the author seems to introduce elements such as thw black room that are never really explained. I would rate the book as four stars.
I fell in like with Odd Thomas a few years back and have read the whole series. You have much to look forward to and yes, more boxes of tissues will be needed.
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