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Dean Koontz is one of my favorite authors, and as I continue to write here, you will find that I’ll be writing many reviews on his books. Mr. Murder is one of the latest books that I have read though, and it is a must-read for those readers who enjoy action, suspense, horror, and the love that is shared between family members.
Koontz is like a magician as he weaves this tale for us, about an best-selling author named Martin Stillwater who soon finds his family and himself in danger by a strange, psychotic killer that looks just like him. With the cops offering no help to the terrified family, Martin takes his family as far away as possible, with the stranger following just a few steps behind them.
The personalities provides for each of the characters are the best parts in my opinion. The two little girls in the Stillwater family are sweet and adorable, both with different mindsets from how their bedrooms look to the sense of strength they both have as they flee from the confused killer. Martin Stillwater and his wife Paige are both very likeable. Events in their past had made them both strong and the foundation by which the children cling to in the time of crisis. Even the killer “Alfie” is understandable to some degree. Though he is a confused individual, he longs for a perfect family as those found only on the movies he watches relentlessly.
While the main plot goes on, there is a subplot that helps to better understand the mystery that surrounds Alfie and how he so closely resembles Martin Stillwater. The characters in this plot are both likeable and despised. For instance, the man named Karl Clocker is a Star Trek fan and offers little way into the workings of his head until the very end of the story. His partner however is one that is both annoying and as coldhearted as the actual killer, determined only to keep up his good family name rather than submit to morals.
I don’t want to give away the story, and I certainly won’t in any way, shape, or form, but Mr. Murder by Dean Koontz is a wonderful work of fiction that is both satisfying and full of nonstop suspense to the very end of the novel.