This is only the second book from Koontz that I've read (the first was "Servants of Twilight"), but wow! A very good book. The protagonist Odd Thomas (yep, that's his real name), much like the characters in "The Sixth Sense" and the Necroscope series, sees dead people. Although, as he says, "I see dead people. But then, by God, I do something about it." Unlike Lumley's Necroscope who could talk to the dead (but didn't really see them), Odd can see the dead but they can't/won't talk. One interesting addition that Koontz has put on the whole spiritual realm is the presence of "bodachs." What are they? I'm not telling--read the book! But it does add something to the story.

Some bits of wisdom from the book:

"Nothing is worse than being alone on the evening of the day when one's cow has exploded."

"Only once in a generation does anything as fresh as a vomiting detective come along."

"I just want to be a fry cook, but the world demands more from me than eggs and pancakes."