Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Koontz's suspense masterpieces (Intensity, 1996; The Face, 2002) have tight plots or strikingly enclosed worlds. But you can't win 'em all, and despite the lift he strives for, these pages go by on automatic pilot. Suspense here turns on the life of Odd Thomas, 21, an unassuming lad gifted with the power to see dead people who cannot tear themselves from Pico Mundo, Odd's small hometown abroil on the Mojave Desert—as neither can Odd, whose "agoraphobia" has not let him drive or step outside the town. Ever. Koontz focuses on the little world of Pico Mundo itself, its physical layout and the lovable eccentrics who fill it chock-a-block. Among others, there's 400-pound romance-and-mystery novelist P. Oswald Boone (better known as Little Ozzie), and Odd's landlady Rosalia Sanchez, who fears turning invisible. Odd—a flashy fry-cook—works as a kind of Tom Cruise of the griddle at Terri Stambaugh's Pico Mundo Grille. Terri is an Elvis savant who knows what the King was doing every hour of his life. Odd's confidential tie with Police Chief Wyatt Porter has led Chief Porter to varied murderers and artists of mayhem whose victims have hung around and pointed out to Odd just who murdered them. Then to the grille comes strangely fungoid Bob Robertson, followed about by black bodachs, hungry doglike shadows sniffing out folks scented with death. When Odd secretly steals into Robertson's house, he finds first a housekeeping mess, then a computer workroom of Spartan order whose files reveal the mind of a mass murderer. And Odd stumbles upon a room of pure blackness—perhaps an adjunct to King/Straub's Black House? The date August 15 is torn from Robertson's desk calendar. Terri tells Odd, who is often followed about by the tearful and warning ghost of Elvis, that Gladys Presley died on August 14 and Elvis on August 16. Does the missing date mean Robertson will go berserk on the 15th—and kill Odd as well? With its tender surprise ending, call it It's a Wonderful Sixth Sense, built out of wet pulp and milk. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal
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In this quick follow-up to The Face, a troubled young man named Odd Thomas struggles between past and present, life and death as he tries to head off a catastrophe that only he sees coming. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

What if Cole ("I see dead people") Sear from the film The Sixth Sense had grown up and wanted to use his special gift for the benefit of others while keeping this talent hidden from all but his closest friends? He would be Odd Thomas. A 20-year-old short-order cook, Odd Thomas seeks to avoid attention and keep his life simple, at the same time dealing with spirits (including that of Elvis) that have not yet let go of their ties to the real world. In addition, Odd Thomas is able to see other spiritual entities that swarm near people and places where future violence will occur. He narrates a story that is ripe with suspenseful possibilities and filled with an eclectic troupe of friends and acquaintances who aid him in his quest to rid his hometown of brutality and evil. Koontz has once again set in motion a compelling combination of character and circumstance, tempered with his special brand of dark humor. For most popular fiction collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 8/03.]-Nancy McNicol, Ora Mason Branch Lib., West Haven, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

His name really is Odd, but many would call anyone odd who sees ghosts and harbingers of mayhem called borachs, and who homes in on mass murderers by means of PMS--that's psychic magnetism syndrome, according to his luscious girlfriend, Stormy ( not her real name). Few others, however, know of his capabilities, which suits the Pico Mundo (California) Grille's 20-year-old short-order cook just fine. He would be better off without his gift, for, as he says, when he sees dead people, he does something about it. That gets him, and nearly all his fellow Pico Mundians, in deep, hot water after a big, pasty creep Odd at first dubs Fungus Man comes into the Grille. Borachs teem around the guy, whom Odd connects immediately to his recurrent, seemingly premonitory nightmare about mass murder. Odd has to follow him, and his pursuit occupies the rest of Koontz's corker of a new thriller, his best since Intensity (1996) and Dark Rivers of the Heart (1994). We are at Odd's elbow throughout, for Koontz adopts, rather unusually for him, first-person narration, and Odd is the kind of instantly and persistently likable narrator that Fredric Brown used in such detective classics as the Ed and Am mysteries (collected in Hunter and Hunted, 2002), though the pace of a Brown novel is relaxed in comparison. Also like Brown, Koontz employs dry, goofy humor, often in daring counterpoint to the story's spikes in tension and horror. Koontz also waxes as honorably sentimental as Ray Bradbury, and writes in breathy, two-line paragraphs, recalling the punchy manner of Robert Bloch. Obviously, then, this is a book worthy of any of the great three Bs of pop fiction. --Ray Olson Copyright 2003 Booklist

Publishers Weekly
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Once in a very great while, an author does everything right-as Koontz has in this marvelous novel. Odd Thomas, who narrates, is odd indeed: only 20, he works contentedly as a fry cook in a small fictional California town, despite a talent for writing. The reason for his lack of ambition? A much rarer talent: Odd sees and converses with ghosts, the lingering dead who have yet to pass on, a secret he has kept from nearly everyone but his girlfriend, an eccentric author friend and the local police chief, whom he occasionally helps solve terrible crimes. Odd also has the ability to see bodachs, malevolent spirits that feast on pain and whose presence signifies a likelihood of imminent violence. The proximity of bodachs to a weird-looking stranger in town, whom Odd dubs "Fungus Man," alerts Odd that trouble is brewing; breaking into Fungus Man's house, Odd discovers not only hundreds of bodachs but a shrine to serial killers that helps him deduce that somehow Fungus Man will wreak widespread havoc very soon-so Odd is caught in a classic race against time to deter catastrophe. As with Koontz's best novels, this one features electrifying tension and suspense, plus a few walloping surprises. But Koontz fans know that the author has recently added humor to his arsenal of effects, and this thriller also stands out for its brilliant tightrope walk between the amusing and the macabre; one of the dead with whom Odd interacts frequently, for instance, is Elvis, still pining for his long-dead mother, Gladys. Above all, the story, like most great stories, runs on character-and here Koontz has created a hero whose honest, humble voice will resonate with many. In some recent books, Koontz has tended to overwrite, but not here: the narrative is as simple and clear as a newborn's gaze. This is Koontz working at his pinnacle, providing terrific entertainment that deals seriously with some of the deepest themes of human existence: the nature of evil, the grip of fate and the power of love. (Dec. 9) Forecast: Koontz novels always fly up bestseller lists, and this one will, too, but there's potential for additional sales here. Of all of Koontz's many adult novels, this one, despite some rough scenes, can be, because of its warm, direct voice and inherent moralism, recommended to a mature YA readership, who will love it. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal
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Adult/High School-Odd Thomas is just that. He works as a fry cook in the fictional California town of Pico Mundo. Should he ever leave that position, he sees a future in selling tires or shoes. What he lacks in ambition, he makes up for with a special gift. He communes with and sees the dead, some of whom enlist his help in avenging their deaths from foul play. His gift is a secret from everyone except his beautiful girlfriend and the Chief of Police, who never questions Odd's tips, advice, or presence at a murder scene. The man sees "bodachs" as well, small, evil creatures, fluid in shape, that feed upon horrific acts of carnage. He is horrified to see hordes of them gathering in his town. He spots a weird looking stranger in whom the bodachs appear very interested, nicknames him Fungus Man, and rightly assumes that he is involved in the impending disaster. Breaking into the man's house, Odd finds a mysterious black room, a shrine to serial killers, and a page from a calendar that tells him the date of the planned event. Now it's a race against time to foil the plot. The rapid pace, eerie circumstances, and bizarre characters will keep readers turning pages. Just when the suspense is almost unbearable, Koontz exhibits his wry sense of humor to break the tension. The last chapters are so powerful and heartrending that they should be read several times.-Katherine Fitch, Rachel Carson Middle School, Fairfax, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Odd Thomas has a unique and frightening gift: he can commune with the ghosts of local residents who have been the victims of violent deaths. He is also able to see supernatural visitors shortly before a tragic event, thereby enabling him to predict those deaths. Uniquely Koontz, this psychological drama and eerie thriller includes enough 20th- and 21st-century references to be readily believable. Modern-day allusions include references to the PT Cruiser; 9/11/01; serial killers Manson, Bundy, and Gacey; E.T.; and occasional visits from Elvis Presley. Literary allusions include The Narnia Chronicles, Andromeda, and quotes from Mark Twain. David Aaron Baker provides an excellent reading with accent-free speech and distinctive tonal variations to differentiate among characters. While the professionally produced cassettes are noise-free, they do not indicate tape or side changes nor is there any sentence repetition at the beginning and end of a side change to assist the listener with continuity. This will be in demand by Koontz fans; purchase where needed. Laurie Selwyn, Grayson Cty. Law Lib., Sherman, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.