FROM THE PUBLISHER
"The dead don't talk. I don't know why."
But they do try to communicate, with a short order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary guy, if possessed of a certain measure of talent at the Pico Mundo Grill and rapturously in love with the most beautiful girl in the world, Stormy Llewellyn. Maybe he has a gift, maybe it's a curse, Odd has never been sure, but he tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd's otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's sympathetic police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different. A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd's deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15. Today is August 15.

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This is one of the best books I have ever read, and very different from Koontz's other books. The story starts out being creepy, and becomes a thriller as well as a love story. Full of emotional ups & downs, this was truly a page turning roller coaster ride for me.

I read the hardcover library copy earlier this year, but when I saw this paperback copy in the store, I had to buy it and share it with my fellow bookcrossers. I am going to start a book ring with this book.

Okay, this very special book is about to begin its journey...here's the order for the bookring:

1. chambejd in MA (received)
2. CheriePie in MA (received)
3. hfitz5051 in FL (received)
4. guinaveve in OH (received)
5. sonnet116 in IL (received)
6. casperette in MN (received)
7. Sherria in CT (received)
8. TwiggySC1973 in SC (received)
9. spaceystacey in NJ (received)
10. back to me, time-traveler in NY - RECEIVED!
Please try to keep this book for no more than 2 - 2 1/2 weeks.

Have fun! I hope you all like it as much as I did!

I mailed this out to chambejd in MA today ~

I received this in the mail today. I look forward to reading it!

I really enjoyed this book. I found myself thinking about it when I wasn't reading it and wishing that I could just go and read it! This book will be mailed tomorrow to CheriePie. Thanks for sharing this book!

Received this today. I've got a couple other bookring books I need to finish before I can start this but I expect that I'll be able to begin in about a week or so. I'd heard this was a very good book and judging by the previous comments, that's certainly the case. I'm looking forward to this!

This was a great book. I had a hard time putting it down. The only drawback I can see, and it actually adds to the book in a way since it directly relates to Odd's character, is that he jumps around a lot in his thoughts, going into a long speel about a past event with his Grandmother or someone, while in the middle of some other part of the story that's got nothing to do with that person. At first, this bugged me a little, but after awhile, it endeared me more to Odd, allowed me to "get into his head" more, as we all well know that our own thoughts are often random and jumbled like this, and often have nothing to do with the situation at hand. Again, the only reason I found this a slight drawback in the beginning is that all these new characters and situations were being introduced, and if I wanted to go back and look up something I previously read about a character mentioned later, it could be anywhere... this is definitely one of those books where I used a post-it in the back of the book to note page numbers where key characters and some of their distinguishing characteristics were first introduced.

But now that I brought that up, I would have to say that that's probably the only reason I didn't give it a 10. Because the story itself was great! Suspenseful, quirky, touching, all those words come to mind when I think back over the story. I'm sure it's one of those books that'll remain with me for awhile to come. Matter of fact, I'll probably try to get a copy to have my fiance read at some point too. (Perhaps time-traveler would be willing to lend it to me again at the end of the ring if Mike is ready to read it. He doesn't have his own bookshelf here on BC though as he doesn't read nearly as much as me and then only things that have passed through my own hands first usually. I've got him reading his first Koontz novel, The Door to December, right now, but he's a very slow reader.)

In any case, this was definitely a great book and I look forward to reading everyone else's comments here as they come in. :)

I've sent off a PM to hfitz5051 in FL, who's next in the list, and will mail this out to her as soon as I can (probably sometime next week). I'll add another message here then with the Delivery Confirmation number too.

Thank you time-traveler for sharing such a wonderful book with us all. Happy Holidays!

Put this in the mail to hfitz5051 in Florida on Monday, 03-Jan-2005, via Media Mail.

This came in the mail today. I am going to start reading it tonight(after the kids go to bed).

This was a very good book. I couldn't put it down until it was finished.

Mailed to guinaveve today.

Thank you for starting this ring time-traveler. I will update with a review after I have read it.
Update
I enjoyed this book. It is very suspenseful and at times scarey. If you think about it, the very idea of the bodachs is pretty frightening. I found it was one of those books I couldn't put down, but once I had to put it down, I wasn't going completely crazy until I got back to it, until the end. With about 120 pages left, I stayed up entirely too late to finish it.
One thing I did notice is that the characters were very similiar in the way they spoke. Anything that one would have said, any of them could have said, including many quick witted one liners.
Koontz has come such a long way in his writing though. I have read almost everything by him, and his early writing are easy to distinguish from his more recent stuff. I enjoyed his first books, but they had the feel of being written by a good campfire storyteller. This book and From the Corner of His Eye are perfect examples of how far Koontz has come as a writer. The vocabulary, story line, and writing style are much more devoloped.
To sum up, this was a great book!

RELEASE NOTES:

Sending on to the next participant

This just arrived today! I will start it as soon as I finish my current read. I'm looking forward to it!

This was an enjoyable book. It really kept my interest…and it was even quite scary at times…
The whole “I see dead people” storyline was reminiscent of The Sixth Sense…but I think Koontz did a good job at taking this concept to a new level.

I'll be mailing this to casperette on Monday.

Sorry about the delay in Journaling. I was in Honduras and am now trying to catch up on everything! : ) The book has been received and I look forward to reading it. dean Koontz used to be one of my favorite authors. Then I became involved in two book clubs as well as bookcrossing and my reading has expanded so much - I'm not sure I can pick a favoriter author now! : ) (Athought Dan Brown has really impressed me). 0
I will read as soon as I can and get this book back on the road!

Koontz used to be my favorite author and I have not had the pleasure to read him lately as my reading has expanded to so many styles. This was a fairly good book.... it drug on a bit but held my attention. I just love Koonts' style of humor and imagination. The things this man comes up with!
I will mail to the next in line as soon as I have an address.

Sorry all - was out of the state and while I had attempted a few times to get a PM from the next bookcrosser on this ring I sat it aside and forgot I had it.
I am moving it on hopefully now as I await to hear from the next bookcrosser. Again my appoligies for this delay.

Arrived today...one book ahead of it, so I'll be starting it soon.

I really enjoyed this book, more even than I expected to. I don't know why it seemed different from the many other Koontz novels I've read - it has a sympathetic but strong protagonist, a distasteful antagonist, an interesting plot and an effective pace, just as most of his books do. There was something about this one, though, that made it special and I can't put my finger on what it was.

I really enjoyed the people in this book, from the main characters to the ones who got only minimal mention. Other than the "bad guys", they seems like interesting people that I'd like to get to know - quirky, but endearing.

Thanks for sharing this time-traveler. I sent it out via media mail to the next participant today.

Received in mail today...cannot wait to get started.

What a great and fast paced read. I was very pleased with the book and thanks so much for sharing this with me!

just received in the post today.

Only my second read from Dean Koontz and now I know what everyone is talking about with him. A real page-turner. I could not put it down once I was able to pick it up to read.

11/27/05 Mailed back to the originator of this ring. A big thank you for sharing this. I believe it was you who told me that a sequel or at least another Koontz novel will have Odd Thomas in it again. Looking forward to reading that one also.

Odd Thomas has made it back, after traveling around to 9 different states over the last year. I've put tape on the cover to give it support, so it is still in good reading condition.

I am tempted to read this again, before I read Forever Odd, the sequel to this book. I own a hardcover edition, so I will keep this one circulating. Thanks to everyone for joining - I'm glad most of you enjoyed it as much as I did!

I offered this on bookrelay and it got accepted already, so Odd will continue to travel - to its 10th different state! I'll be dropping it in the mailbox for Sidney1220 in VA. I hope you enjoy it, Sidney.

Today at the library I got a brand new copy of Forever Odd - I just couldn't resist checking it out!

Received today. Thanks...

This is sure a well-traveled book. Will read and let it go...

8/17/06 Putting into a wishlist books bookbox.

Received in the Wishlist bookbox # 3. To be read. Thank you for the opportunity AbbyNormal!

RELEASE NOTES:

Actually, my neice has discovered this author so she will wild release it in Florida somewhere when she is through reading it.