Velocity by Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz seems to be a hit and miss for me. I have really enjoyed his, Sole Survivor, The Taking, Phantoms, Watchers, and the Frankenstein novels; but I couldn't even finish his works such as: The Vision, The Bad Place, Intensity, Odd Thomas, or The Husband.

So I go into his books with strong hesitation. I'm never sure of what I'm going to get. Some of his novels are great; with strong characters and a driving story. Others are lame-brained with horrid graphic detail.

I actually only read Velocity because it was given to me.

This tale follows Billy Wiles - bartender and seemingly innocent man until a serial killer decides to use him as the decider. Billy finds a note beneath his car's windshield wipers that reads,

If you don't take this note to the police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher. If you do take this note to the police, I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have four hours to decide. The choice is yours.

What would you do? Would you think it a terrible joke? When the first death is reported, Billy knows it's for real and he is thrust into one choice after another. Leaving us with the question: "Why?"

This was one of Koontz's better stories. I kept turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. The chapters were very short which helped in the speed in which I read this book. And by the time I realized the identity of the killer; it was one of those "I should have saw that coming" moments.

The negative comments I have for Velocity is that there are some graphic parts near the end of the novel. But I think they were needed to create how you would feel for a character.