To my thinking, a good book is one that draws you in early and keeps you thumbing through the pages long after your eyes have told you to give up the ghost and go to bed.  Brother Odd, the latest in the line of Odd Thomas offerings by author Dean Koontz is just such a book.  I think it took me all of two days to read this book and I know any fan of Koontz' writings or anyone who enjoys suspense mixed with humor, and goth laced with fantastic fiction will enjoy this book as well.

If you're not familiar with Koontz' first two books in this line, Odd Thomas and Forever Odd, it's okay because you don't have to read either or both of them to enjoy Brother Odd – but it helps.  Koontz does take some license throughout the early part of the book to reminisce about Odd's earlier adventures, to flesh him out for the new readers, but this story can stand alone. 

California’s high Sierra Mountains guard the Abbey/convent school that is St. Bartholomew’s – a residence/care facility for children abandoned for a myriad of reasons including severe physical, mental and social challenges.  It also is a sanctuary for men/monks seeking solace and insight. It is to this environment that Odd Thomas left his not-so-sleepy hometown of Pico Mundo for peace of mind and to escape, he hopes, those things that do go bump in the night in Odd's world.  Alas, for poor Odd and the other residents of this mountain retreat, peace is the last thing that'll be found – or should I say that finds Odd?

That which finds Odd and lurks over the children late one December night is foreshadowed by the appearance of the (all-to-familiar-to-Odd) ominous bodachs, black smoke-like apparitions that while not directly causing anything do herald impending disaster.  So, what form will this disaster take and how much time until all hell breaks loose?  As it turns out, Odd alone does not have much time to decipher all the signs he comes across and just what is coming and how Odd  can address it is a mystery.  With the help of Boo, the Abbey's resident (and as it turns out clairvoyant) dog, Odd's paranormal companion-of-sorts the spirit of Elvis Presley (who just doesn't seem to want to “leave the building” that is this earth), and a cast of real-life residents who may not be all that they seem or pretend to be, Odd  races to prevent what he knows all-too-well could be catastrophic consequences for everyone on the mountain top.

My favorite character in this mystery struggle is Brother “Knuckles” Salvatore.  Brother Knuckles is a former Mafia hit-man who retains just enough of his former self to be helpful and persuasive, but whose heart is changed from the old days and who befriends Odd most closely.  Others whom Odd enlists or who volunteer to combat Odd's premonition include the Mother Superior of the convent/school, Sister Angela, who appears grandmotherly, but don't be fooled by appearances as she is a formidable and determined woman; and Rodion Romanovich a Russian librarian from Indianapolis, we're told, who came to the Abbey for peace and solitude and bakes wonderful desserts, but may have additional reasons to be at St. Bart's.  Then there is Jacob Calvino, an adult student/resident of the school who draws pictures of his dead mother and speaks in his own cryptic tones of the “Neverwas.”   Jacob is somehow ground-zero in the impending attack on the school – but why?

Behind all this is the mystery is the reclusive Brother John Heineman, an internationally known former physicist who experimented with reality.  He is somehow connected to everything happening at the Abbey/school.  Without giving away more about this book or the fate of Odd Thomas, let me just end by saying it's hard to count an Odd man out. 

Roger Crimmins has lived in Mason City for eleven years.  He is involved in independent television production of sports events.  He has reviewed this series for Write A Review in the past.