“To his mother, Joey seems an ordinary six year old boy, special to her but to no-one else. To others, however, he is an evil presence who must be destroyed- an anti Christ who must die”

This is the third novel by Leigh Nichols that I’m reading, the other two (Door to December & Key to Midnight) were pretty good, much better IMO to Koontz’s later work.

This has a similar storyline to his other Nichols work, primarily a woman on the run, sometimes with a child (as this one) and always with male assistance.

It’s definitely worth reading, as all his Leigh Nichols work is so if you’ve never tried Koontz before these books are a good place to start.

“Who was Joanna Rand? Alex Hunter (not the same chap as in FIFA!) hasn’t come to Japan to fall in love but Joanna was the most beautiful, exciting woman he had ever met, yet Joanna was not who she thought she was. Ten years before, halfway across the world, a brutally bizarre experiment had re-created her mind, a violation so hideous that her dreams were filled with horror and her memories were a lie. If they were ever to be free, Alex and Joanna had to re-open the dangerous door into the nightmare past, somehow they had to find the key to midnight”

Yeah this was okay. The usual Koontz as Leigh Nichols work with a woman on the run being abley abetted by a loving male though the full extent of the plot does keep you interested.

Definitely worth reading if you’re a fan of Koontz but even if you’re not, his Leigh Nichols thrillers are still worth reading and this one wouldn’t be a bad place to start.

“Six years ago Laura’s three year old daughter Melanie was kidnapped by her estranged husband, Dylan and seemingly vanished. Now she’s been found, wandering the streets of Los Angeles with blank eyes and a secret in her soul. Dylan has been found too albeit his mangled remains and Melanie is home again but will she ever be safe?”

I’ve recently finished this, my first of the six books that were originally published under the name of Leigh Nichols which was an early pseudonym of Dean Koontz and it was pretty disappointing because I sorta guessed how the book would end very early on but it’s still a decent read and IMO better than Koontz’s later work.

This is her debut novel, an impulse cover buy that I recently (pre virus outbreak!) picked up at a charity shop and I thought it was pretty good.

One weekend, at Baird College, Five lonely students find themselves grouped together (by force or by chance?) whom after discovering a hidden ouija board, decide to experiment with it only to become aware of another prescence disturbing the building’s ominous silence.

Together, they’ll face it…

Five lonely students whom nobody wants and no-one will miss…

Thanks to the recent outbreak of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) I’ve started on my second reading of this King Classic though this time I’m reading the original 1978 version which is a few hundred pages shorter!

Currently 60 pages in…

I’d heard mixed reviews about this book, some good some bad some awful but have finally bought myself a copy which I’ve recently read (in one sitting as at 164 pages it’s more a novella) and I liked it.

It’s about a young girl called Gwendy Peterson whom is given a button box by the strange Mr Farris, a man dressed in black whom she has never seen before yet who knows much about her and it changes her life sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.

It’s a great little novella with the only surprising element being the need for two authors! It’s definitely worth reading.

Having watched the tv series adaptation of this novel it was about time (32 years later) that I read this epic novel and now that I have, I can honestly say it was pretty disappointing.

Apart from Bobbi and Jim spending ages digging up what Bobbi had stumbled across in the woods behind her garden and the people in her home town of Haven receiving unexpected abilities not much else happens and the first third of the book was concentrated far too much on just two characters so overall I’d give it 2/5 and a place in my Top Ten Worst Stephen King books!

I was unaware of his rumoured prediction of Coronavirus contained in this book when I read it. It seemed to be another run of the mill lost child novel and it’s not until toward the end of the book that any virus is actually mentioned so, Koontz’s so called prediction aside, this is a pretty decent thriller about a mother who can’t accept the death of her son especially when she starts receiving messages which fuel her belief that her son is still alive and with the help of her ex military lawyer boyfriend goes in search of her son.

I’ve recently read this book for a second time whilst simultaneously watching the HBO series based on it.

Overall, I was very disappointed with the series, there were too many deviants from the book (which is bloody brilliant) and didn’t even cover it’s ending correctly.

If anybody wants my advice, read the book & avoid the series unless you’re looking to find a cure for insomnia.