"Odd Thomas" by Dean Koontz is the first book in his “Odd” series. This novel probably inspired the television series Medium. There are several similarities between them, including the ability of the main character to speak with the dead and use information gleaned to solve crimes. Both also involve lots of action and some romance.

Odd Thomas is the protagonist and narrator of the novel. He is a 20 year old short-order cook at the local grill in a small desert town. He is surrounded by several quirky people. Odd surreptitiously provides clues for solving crimes to police chief Wyatt Porter, who acts as his surrogate father. Odd is in love with the beautiful and sexually stunted Stormy. His best friend, the obese Little Ozzie, is a successful mystery writer who lives with a cat named Terrible Chester. Odd also has a sixth sense through which the dead communicate with him and has a built-in “GPS,” other-worldly creatures he calls bodachs, or evil ghosts, enabling him to track them. Bodachs hover around anything or anybody associated with violence and death. Sometimes dead victims of crimes use Odd as a conduit through which information passes to solve the crimes.

One day a suspicious stranger comes into the grill where Odd works. Odd nicknames him “Fungus Man.” He is alarmed because this stranger is followed by a large swarm of bodachs and undoubtedly will be connected with an impending epic disaster. Odd uses his internal GPS to locate the stranger’s apartment where he finds a mysterious dark room full of bodachs. He is sure this is a portal into hell. He also finds a filing cabinet full of information about the world’s most famous and gruesome killers, including a file on Fungus Man containing only a calendar page for August 15, the next day. To Odd, this means that a cataclysm will occur in the next 24 hours, involving him a race against time.

As in any good horror novel, the atmosphere is creepy, eerie and surreal. Descriptions of events are somewhat gruesome and gory. Sometimes I became confused about events, such as the scene involving the portal into hell. For a skeptic like me, this plot seemed pretty far-fetched and the protagonist appeared too heroic and Christ-like in his fight against evil. However, the horror is offset by lots of action, a fast pace, humorous and witty dialog, romance, and eccentric characters, including an occasional visit from Elvis.

READ-ALIKES –
Manhattan Hunt Club and Black Creek by John Saul
The Resort and The Walking by Bentley Little
Endless Night by Richard Laymon
Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson