Dean Koontz’s latest thriller, “The Good Guy,” uses some tropes that might seem familiar, but Koontz uses them so well, and tosses enough surprises into the mix, that even longtime fans who’ve read his oeuvre twice over will be digging their nails into the arms of their favorite reading chairs as the suspense relentlessly mounts with each chapter.
Last year’s stand-alone thriller, “The Husband,” involved an ordinary guy who was suddenly faced with an untenable choice, a woman in peril (a man’s wife) and the prospect of police being involved in the grand scheme.
“The Good Guy” borrows those same elements for its setup. Tim Carrier, a tall but unassuming mason, slides onto a stool in his favorite bar and orders up a beer with the notion of forgetting his tough day. Things start out OK, with Carrier practicing whimsical one-upmanship on his favorite bartender and friend, Liam Rooney. Not long after, a guy sidles up next to him and slides a large envelope in his direction. The stranger says, “Half of it’s there. Ten thousand. The rest when she’s gone.”
Before Tim can argue or convince the man he’s got the wrong contact, the stranger ducks out the door. Carrier peruses the envelope’s contents, learning the name of the intended victim. Before he can figure out what to do, another man walks in the bar. It’s Krait, the killer, and he’s mistaken Tim for the man who originally had the envelope.
Carrier tries to talk the killer out of his mission, but Krait is one very disturbed, cruel and insane man. Worse, Tim discovers Krait is a police officer of some sort (there’s a nearly unseen cherry light in Krait’s car). After Krait leaves the bar – a bit discombobulated – he decides that the man he just met deserves closer scrutiny. Simultaneously, Tim figures out the same thing.
Knowing he and the intended victim are in imminent danger, Tim races to the home of Linda Paquette. Like a couple in some 1940s noir film, Linda and Tim take it on the lam, with Linda barely missing getting nabbed by Krait – who chases her down an alley in his car – when the couple begin a run for their lives.
As the story progresses, the reasons behind Krait’s actions – and the contract on Linda’s life – come to light, which (along with an undisclosed element of Tim’s past) offers up one last surprise for already hooked readers.
Like his antagonists in “The Husband,” “Intensity” and “False Memory,” Krait is one of those bona fide wackos that Koontz does so well. Yes, there’s a bit of recycling going on in “The Good Guy,” but even when falling into the formula rut, Koontz writes thrillers that move so fast they make every other thriller writer seem to be standing still.
Dorman T. Shindler is a freelancer from Missouri.
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FICTION
The Good Guy
Dean Koontz
$27
