Odd is back!

I've read the entire series and loved every book.

Odd is a little different. He's a fry cook by trade, but hasn't had the chance to cook for quite a while. He comes from Pico Mundo, a fictional desert town in California. The place where he lost the love of his life--Stormy Llewellyn.

His name, Odd, is a mistake. His mother thought she put Todd on his birth certificate, but someone made a mistake and Todd became Odd.He's okay with his name. It fits him well.

Odd sees ghosts. They don't talk to him so he communicates by hand gestures somewhat like the game Charades. He also has psychic-magnetism. When he needs something or someone, he concentrates on it and his feet lead him to his quarry.

Odd is once again paired off with Annamaria, the Lady of the Bell. Odd met her in the last book and she comes packaged with an aura of supernatural dignity. She's pregnant--seven months--and she claims she'll be pregnant for quite some time. Odd is aware that his future is tied to hers, but she baffles him as he can never quite understand her.

Annamaria has a way with people. She can get them to do what she wants. Not out of fear, but out of respect, curiosity, and in some strange way, she touches their hearts. They give her clothes, food, money, and places to stay. All free of charge.

At this juncture, Annamaria and Odd are visiting the Roseland estate, invited by the hedge fund manager, Noah Wolflaw. Roseland is a beautiful mansion (think Hearst Castle), fortified with iron bars on the windows, strange copper wire threaded through the house, the guest quarters, the stable, and even the sturdy rock wall that surrounds Roseland.

Odd and Annamaria are warned to only come out during the day. At night they must bolt-lock the doors and never venture outside.

The second day of their visit, Odd witnesses an apparition of a female riding a black horse. The woman is dressed in her nightgown, blood trickling down the front, shotgun wounds to her chest. As they communicate by hand, Odd discovers that the woman is worried about her son, and this boy is the one Odd must save.

From Nikola Tesla, to newspaper moguls, freaks, and twisted servant girls, Dean Koontz is at it again. He weaves a tale of an Odd man out, wise before his time, grief hovering like shadows threatening to destroy him. Odd faces a world that is not what it seems. Time no longer acts as it should, people don't age, and a small boy is locked in his room for decades.

I hesitate to say more for fear of spoilers. If you like Dean Koontz and the Odd books, you'll love this one.

Disclaimer: Advanced Readers Copy