#64 -- Brother Odd by Dean Koontz

From the Publisher
Loop me in, odd one. The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn, his lost love, and Stormy is dead, gone forever from this world. In the haunted halls of the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature

Through two New York Times bestselling novels Odd Thomas has established himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictional heroes of our time. Now, wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontz follows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make a fresh beginning—but where he will meet an adversary as old and inexorable as time itself.

St. Bartholomew’s Abbey sits in majestic solitude amid the wild peaks of California’s high Sierra, a haven for children otherwise abandoned, and a sanctuary for those seeking insight. Odd Thomas has come here to learn to live fully again, and among the eccentric monks, their other guests, and the nuns and young students of the attached convent school, he has begun to find his way. The silent spirits of the dead who visited him in his earlier life are mercifully absent, save for the bell-ringing Brother Constantine and Odd’s steady companion, the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

But trouble has a way of finding Odd Thomas, and it slinks back onto his path in the form of the sinister bodachs he has met previously, the black shades who herald death and disaster, and who come late one December night to hover above the abbey’s most precious charges. For Odd is about toface an enemy who eclipses any he has yet encountered, as he embarks on a journey of mystery, wonder, and sheer suspense that surpasses all that has come before.

My Opinion
I liked this story of Odd Thomas better than the last book. I really enjoy Odd's personality. He is a humble hero, with a wonderful, yet simple, sense of humor. I love the way he interacts with people as well as with the spirits of those who are attracted to him after death.

A lot of this book is about his interaction with the residents, the nuns, brothers, children, guests, and spirits at the Sanctuary where he has retreated after his horrible experiences in the last book. While he is trying to shelter in this out of reach world, he again encounters the horrible bodachs that always fortell of tragedy, suffering and death. He has to try to figure out what is coming and how to stop it. With the help of a few trusted and quite memorable characters, Odd find himself once again in the role of a savior and hero.

The ending of the book makes it quite clear that Koontz is not finished telling us about the adventures of Odd Thomas and I for one look forward to more of Odd's tales.