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17th out of 63 books
—
513 voters
The Good Guy
by
Dean Koontz
Timothy Carrier, having a beer after work at his friend’s tavern, enjoys drawing eccentric customers into amusing conversations. But the jittery man who sits next to him tonight has mistaken Tim for someone very different—and passes to him a manila envelope full of cash.
“Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she’s gone.”
The stranger walks out, leaving a photo of the pret...more
“Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she’s gone.”
The stranger walks out, leaving a photo of the pret...more
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published
May 29th 2007
by Bantam
(first published 2006)
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Sep 18, 2010
Maciek
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People who enjoy reading about psychopaths jerking off to undies
Recommended to Maciek by:
Don't matter. I threw this book at him and the monster swallowed him whole.
There's so much wrong with Dean Koontz's The Good Guy that one might wonder how the universe did not implode on the day of its publication. However one might realize that books by Koontz published after this one are even worse, so the universe would have to implode several times.
Or maybe the universe doesn't give a crap about Dean Koontz's latest turd. I wonder why I have read it. Maybe because he wrote books that entertained me in the past? Or maybe because I couldn't believe how lazy, idiotic...more
Or maybe the universe doesn't give a crap about Dean Koontz's latest turd. I wonder why I have read it. Maybe because he wrote books that entertained me in the past? Or maybe because I couldn't believe how lazy, idiotic...more
This is my first Koontz book and I liked it. I was kind of hoping for more suspense and there were times that I did feel anxious but not to the degree I was hoping for.
It was pretty clean for an adult novel. It gives me hope that when I'm an adult I can actually read novels that aren't too provocative. This is compared to some of the other adult books I've read. There are very slight innuendos and the bad guy pees on stuff he doesn't like which I thought was weird.
Maybe it’s because I'm not an...more
It was pretty clean for an adult novel. It gives me hope that when I'm an adult I can actually read novels that aren't too provocative. This is compared to some of the other adult books I've read. There are very slight innuendos and the bad guy pees on stuff he doesn't like which I thought was weird.
Maybe it’s because I'm not an...more
Keeping with the Koontz theme. I finished The Good Guy over the weekend. The cover (front and back) doesn’t tell you much. I didn’t read the inside part of the dust jacket. I just picked it up. I figured Koontz = Good read. I was right.
At this point in my Koontz reading extravaganza I’ve made a few generalizations about his books. Someone or something will have special powers. Meaning, if the lead character doesn’t have special powers, then that character has a pet (usually a dog) that does. Or...more
At this point in my Koontz reading extravaganza I’ve made a few generalizations about his books. Someone or something will have special powers. Meaning, if the lead character doesn’t have special powers, then that character has a pet (usually a dog) that does. Or...more
Timothy Carrier, having a beer after work at his friend’s tavern. But the jittery man who sits next to him tonight has mistaken Tim for someone very different—and passes to him a manila envelope full of cash.
“Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she’s gone.”
The stranger walks out, leaving a photo of the pretty woman marked for death, and her address. But things are about to get worse. In minutes another stranger sits next to Tim. This one is a cold-blooded killer who believes Tim is the man w...more
“Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she’s gone.”
The stranger walks out, leaving a photo of the pretty woman marked for death, and her address. But things are about to get worse. In minutes another stranger sits next to Tim. This one is a cold-blooded killer who believes Tim is the man w...more
This is your typical Koontz story - extremely bad guy chasing good guy(s)and in this one, the good guys don't know why they're being targeted for murder. The good guy, (hence the title), Tim, is mistaken for a hired killer in a bar and given an envelope with $10,000 and a picture of a woman whom he is supposed to kill. He then tries to save the woman, Linda, and gets caught up in the cat&mouse game. The bad guy is one of Koontz's worst, I think. He is remorseless & capable of unspeakable...more
Dean Koontz has a distinctive style in the thriller genre, and I have always liked it. I haven’t read a book by him in a while, and realized that it’s been long enough that a good half-dozen new ones are available. Of them all, this one sounded the most intriguing, so I tried it first, and I am very glad I did. This is trademark Dean Koontz — a page-turner from the very first paragraph. I could not put this book down, and read the whole thing in three days despite being on vacation and visiting...more
Oddly, this has pretty much the same basic plot as the last Koontz book I read, TICKTOCK. A young man and a young woman meet and get chased around by a viscious assassin who seems to be virtually unstoppable and who is easily able to track them down wherever they go. But, where the villian of TICKTOCK was magical in nature, the killer in THE GOOD GUY relies on technology to stay two steps ahead of his quarry. People die, secrets are revealed, and true love blossoms. Also, where TICKTOCK was an a...more
Tim Carrier is a stone mason, a man who likes a peaceful life, who likes order, a man who has earned the loyalty and respect of his friends. Being mistaken for an assassin, his courage and desire to protect lead him into adventure, a cat and mouse game and a partnership with a woman who shares his qualities.
There is a message in this novel and its the seed of true horror; could there come a time when society can be controlled by a hidden agency? Is it already possible for "someone" to monitor ou...more
There is a message in this novel and its the seed of true horror; could there come a time when society can be controlled by a hidden agency? Is it already possible for "someone" to monitor ou...more
Another great Koontz book!
Publisher's Summary
Timothy Carrier, having a beer after work at his friend's tavern, enjoys drawing eccentric customers into amusing conversations. But the jittery man who sits next to him tonight has mistaken Tim for someone very different and passes to him a manila envelope full of cash. Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she's gone.
The stranger walks out, leaving a photo of the pretty woman marked for death, and her address. But things are about to get worse. In...more
Publisher's Summary
Timothy Carrier, having a beer after work at his friend's tavern, enjoys drawing eccentric customers into amusing conversations. But the jittery man who sits next to him tonight has mistaken Tim for someone very different and passes to him a manila envelope full of cash. Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she's gone.
The stranger walks out, leaving a photo of the pretty woman marked for death, and her address. But things are about to get worse. In...more
As a writer, Koontz is improving. I found that this novel had very little rambling about his characters and scenes. His development of characters was amazing. I found that even though I despised the evil character, Krait, I was just as attached to him as I was the main characters, Tim and Linda.
This novel had a very interesting and scary plot. What made this Novel so intensely frightening was that it was a plausible situation. It is a plot that could very well be happening or could happen to any...more
This novel had a very interesting and scary plot. What made this Novel so intensely frightening was that it was a plausible situation. It is a plot that could very well be happening or could happen to any...more
In this book, a stonemason is accidentally mistaken for a professional hitman by someone who seriously wants a particular woman dead (and receives $10,000 for the job by the guy who took out the contract). When the 'true hitman' realises what's happen (the stonemason gives him the money not to do the hit), he goes after both the original target and the stonemason (who band together) to tie up loose ends and make sure he doesn't get caught. The book then becomes a game of cat and mouse between th...more
The ending is the weakest. Too much tom foolery for such a focused story. But....the journey is what its all about, right? That is a pretty good thing about this book. Its a good ride. Koontz comes up with the creepiest bad guys.
I finished this book late the other night. I would give it 5*. You knew from the beginning "who dun it" or actually who the bad guy was and what he was trying to do, murder the heroine, but the plot of the book was a cat and mouse game with the hero trying to keep the heroine alive - classic story, good vs. evil; hero, girl, & bad guy! Dean Koontz kept me reading trying to figure out the "why did someone want this girl dead" and how he was getting his information. And maybe the best part was...more
Listened to this on CD. A very gripping story with some unexpected twists. Tim Carrier is an average guy, a mason, who enjoys his quiet life. One day, when enjoying a beer at his favorite bar, he is approached by a nervous guy who hands him an envelope stuffed with cash and the picture of a woman. Tim is told that he will "get the rest when she's gone." This guy leaves, and a short time later, another guy comes in and sits next to Tim. Tim quickly figures out this guy, Krait, is the actual hired...more
Tim Carrier, a bricklayer, is having a beer after work at his friend's bar, when he is drawn into conversation by a man who then passes him an envelope with the line "Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she's gone." By the time Tim realizes he's been mistaken for a paid killer, the man is gone. Tim looks inside the envelope and finds the money and picture of a woman. The picture has her name and address on the back. When another stranger walks in and sees Tim with the envelop, he approaches,...more
I've had this book since... 2009 or 2010, I think. Just a random buy from my Dad because the book was cheap. BUT, once more, the younger me really couldn't read the rest of it. I'm a fantasy reader, so this isn't really what I'd read. (& that's me being honest.)
However, I did read it in segments during those few years and left 2011 to other YA novels.
I am disappointed in myself for doing that, especially now that I haven't really let myself read the books that I want to read. So, after pushi...more
However, I did read it in segments during those few years and left 2011 to other YA novels.
I am disappointed in myself for doing that, especially now that I haven't really let myself read the books that I want to read. So, after pushi...more
This book is a favorite of mine. I've read it over and over and every single time I do, I pick up another little nuance.
Dean Koontz is known for his realistic fantasy, taking ordinary people and putting them into extraordinary predicaments, usually with a touch of the supernatural for good measure. The supernatural is missing from this book, but in my opinion, it's what makes it so good. There's something so sparce and poetic about Koontz's writing, something about the way he reveals his charac...more
Dean Koontz is known for his realistic fantasy, taking ordinary people and putting them into extraordinary predicaments, usually with a touch of the supernatural for good measure. The supernatural is missing from this book, but in my opinion, it's what makes it so good. There's something so sparce and poetic about Koontz's writing, something about the way he reveals his charac...more
Timothy Carrier is minding his own business in a bar, when he is approached by another man and offered a packet containing $10,000 to kill someone. Soon thereafter, another man, the real killer enters and mistakes Tim for the client. Tim tries to buy off the killer with half of the money only to discover the hitman is a cop. He contacts the victim, an unusual lady, and the cat-and-mouse games begin.
Nothing supernatural in this book which is great because when I read anything with supernatural s...more
Nothing supernatural in this book which is great because when I read anything with supernatural s...more
It has been awhile since I picked up any of Dean Koontz's books. I can't remember which ones I read years ago, but I remember enjoying them. The Good Guy, however dissappointed me. It has a great premise, a man sitting alone in a bar gets mistaken first for a hit man and then for the man contracting the hit man. After that he's stuck in the middle of a planned murder and, of course, is in danger of losing his own life.
The book is filled with unbelievable scenes, even given the nature of the mach...more
The book is filled with unbelievable scenes, even given the nature of the mach...more
So let’s say you’re in a bar and a guy shows up, mistakes you for someone he was meeting, and you play along. Just for fun. You’ll let him know his mistake sooner or later. But then he slides a manila envelope to you and says, “Half of it is there. Ten thousand. You’ll get the rest when she’s gone.”
Would you say, “Sorry, dude. I’m not your hit man”? A woman’s life is on the line.
In Dean Koontz’s The Good Guy, Tim Carrier is too astonished to react. The man leaves. Carrier opens the envelope. The...more
Would you say, “Sorry, dude. I’m not your hit man”? A woman’s life is on the line.
In Dean Koontz’s The Good Guy, Tim Carrier is too astonished to react. The man leaves. Carrier opens the envelope. The...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Timothy Carrier is at a friend's bar, nursing a drink after work when a stranger sits next to him and strikes up a conversation. The man then slides Tim a manila envelope which proves to contain $10,000 in cash, and a woman's picture and address. "Ten thousand now," the stranger tells Tim. "You get the rest when she's gone."
And with that, this Koontz tale is off to the races. Mistaken for someone else, Tim makes a choice that takes the reader on a thrilling ride. I'd say this was the most readab...more
And with that, this Koontz tale is off to the races. Mistaken for someone else, Tim makes a choice that takes the reader on a thrilling ride. I'd say this was the most readab...more
The first three chapters or so held so much promise, with a tighter style than I'm used to seeing from Dean Koontz and some really nifty wordplay. I could almost describe it as Koontz channeling David Mamet or Aaron Sorkin. The remainder of the narrative, however, just didn't deliver. This is your usual Koontz, but too much so. A lot of it just felt old. It might have been more interesting if the hero had been just a regular guy, and if Koontz could have kept his over-romanticizing in check.
Being mistaken for a hit man at a bar and receiving $10,000 in a manila envelope seems good but when the actual killer shows up for the money do u give the money and let what happens happen? Tim Carrier chooses to give the money as a gift for not doing anything but the killer decides to carry on with the assassination anyway. So Tim decides to be the Good Guy and warn the pretty Linda Paquette. He convinces her to leave and they get away together for a while until the actual hit man follows the...more
Quand j'étais adolescente, je lisais régulièrement les romans de Dean Koontz. J'avais le sentiment d'avoir trouvé là un remède honnête à mon manque de Stephen King, quand j'avais tout lu de mon auteur préféré. Et puis, allez savoir pourquoi, nos chemins ont pris des directions diamétralement opposées, et ça faisait une éternité que je ne m'étais pas replongée dans une de ses histoires... Aussi, quand j'ai découvert Un type bien dans la liste des ouvrages proposés lors de la dernière opération ma...more
Terrible, absolutely lacking in intelligence and DEFINITELY not a thriller! Reads like a cheesy TV movie complete with cringe-worthy dialogue.
Some dimwitted idiot gets mistaken for a killer in a bar, waits around to meet the real killer and realizes bad guy is a cop (Picture here jaw dropping shock with suitable tense music).
Then Mr Good Guy goes into hero mode and tells his friends just enough that they know something is going on and can lavish attention on him.
The hero rushes off to find th...more
Some dimwitted idiot gets mistaken for a killer in a bar, waits around to meet the real killer and realizes bad guy is a cop (Picture here jaw dropping shock with suitable tense music).
Then Mr Good Guy goes into hero mode and tells his friends just enough that they know something is going on and can lavish attention on him.
The hero rushes off to find th...more
I liked this book much more than I expected to. It was an exciting read, of course, but I particularly enjoyed how the two main characters were able to rely so much on sang froid and courage to survive. Carrier was an extraordinary person, but almost all of his actions were successful not because of unelieveable powers but because of being able to quickly make the right decision. with the emphasis placed on decision making and outsmarting the enemy, I thought the story felt much like a chess mat...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
So, you’re just this ordinary working stiff dropping by his favorite watering hole after a hard day laying bricks. All you want is a little down time to chill with a nice cold bottle of your favorite brew and be left alone. Seriously, is that asking too much?
It’s all Tim Carrier, a brick mason, and the son of a brick mason had in mind when he addled up to the bar on what was just another ordinary night in the ordinary life of an ordinary working stiff.
But this wasn’t going to be just another ord...more
It’s all Tim Carrier, a brick mason, and the son of a brick mason had in mind when he addled up to the bar on what was just another ordinary night in the ordinary life of an ordinary working stiff.
But this wasn’t going to be just another ord...more
Well, Dean Koontz is a name that I’ve heard many times and very long ago but surprisingly, I’ve never read any of his books until now.
This book is about a man, Timothy Carrier, who is mistaken as a hit man and given ten thousand dollars and a woman’s picture to kill her. When the real killer arrives, Tim gives him the ten thousand as a no-kill fee and keeps the woman’s picture, saying that he changed his mind and didn’t want her killed.
Of course, the mistake is eventually, and too soon, discover...more
This book is about a man, Timothy Carrier, who is mistaken as a hit man and given ten thousand dollars and a woman’s picture to kill her. When the real killer arrives, Tim gives him the ten thousand as a no-kill fee and keeps the woman’s picture, saying that he changed his mind and didn’t want her killed.
Of course, the mistake is eventually, and too soon, discover...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good read | 7 | 42 | Nov 23, 2012 05:02pm | |
| What was the picture the killer tore down? | 2 | 27 | Nov 22, 2011 02:35pm | |
| advice | 2 | 33 | Jun 09, 2008 01:59pm | |
| The Good Guy | 0 | 25 | Aug 31, 2007 07:03am |
Acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.
Dean R. Koontz has also published under the na...more
More about Dean Koontz...
Dean R. Koontz has also published under the na...more
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“Even as a child, she had preferred night to day, had enjoyed sitting out in the yard after sunset, under the star-speckled sky listening to frogs and crickets. Darkness soothed. It softened the sharp edges of the world, toned down the too-harsh colors. With the coming of twilight, the sky seemed to recede; the universe expanded. The night was bigger than the day, and in its realm, life seemed to have more possibilities.”
—
61 people liked it
“In this world only the paranoid survive.”
—
59 people liked it
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You can still give it 5 stars if you think The Good Guy is Amazing :-) I gave The Good Guy 4 sta...more
Apr 28, 2013 10:01am
Apr 29, 2013 03:12am