Hideaway

In the past week or two I've concentrated on suspense and horror novels. I go through occasional periods where I enjoy them even when they scare or disgust me. Then I move away from them again, sometimes for years.

Hideaway by Dean Koontz was quite good. It concerns a man who dies in an accident, drowns in extremely cold water, and is brought back to life by a new technique that turns him into a modern-day Lazarus. The only problem is that he comes back with a mental link to a vicious and sociopathic murderer, and he is tormented by the visions he receives from the killer's mind. It's an epic struggle between good and evil, and they are just about evenly matched. The plot swirls around the threat to a little handicapped girl who represents innocence and goodness, even though she is not the least bit nauseatingly sweet.

I also enjoyed Koontz's afterword where he stated that this was the first of his novels that attracted hate mail. Apparently some atheists were highly offended that he wrote a book that assumed the existence of God, and some even threatened him! In a sense, though, that's the ultimate compliment to his writing, because they were clearly emotionally moved.

I recommend this book.