Right Person; Right Time

I enjoyed this very exciting thriller. There is absolutely no hint of the supernatural in this book as in most of Koontz’s other books.

This story reminded me a little of The Last Breed by Louis L’Amour. In both stories there is a hunt; the bad guy is the predator tracking down the good one or the prey. Both the bad and the good guys are equally smart so it’s a battle of the intellect. The challenge is for the good guy to keep one step ahead to prevent being trapped and killed. The bad guy, Krait, in this story is more dangerous because he has a very sophisticated tech support team behind him that facilitates his tracking, his multiple identities, and his access to transportation.

The plot is basically about a case of mistaken identity. Some unknown person enters the Lamplighter Tavern and spots the big imposing man, Tim Carrier and assumes that he is a hired killer waiting to receive his $10,000 payment. He hands over money and photo of the attractive target, Linda Paquette. The real hired killer enters shortly after and assumes that Tim is there to handover his money. Tim hands over the money but tries to prevent the murder by telling the killer he has changed his mind and is paying him not to continue with the assignment. When that fails, he seeks out Linda to warn and protect her himself.

I see a few similarities with Koontz’s two recent books. The message of this story was similar in my opinion to The Husband: In the midst of extreme evil there is extreme goodness.

In The Husbandthe simple landscaper had no clue why anyone would want to kidnap his wife and demand such a high ransom. Love for his wife makes him courageous as he finds a way to save her. In The Good Guy Linda is a simple writer and has no clue why anyone would want her dead. It turns out in the end that for Linda’s survival, the very ordinary mason Tim was extraordinarily brave and smart. His police officer friend, Pete, hinted that Linda was in good hands. Tim was apparently the right person in the right place at the right time to be mistaken for the wrong person.

Koontz seems to have an interest in parenting and the effects on the adult child. In The Husband, the main character had weird parents and a dysfunctional childhood. In this story Tim’s mother is a minor character and she is portrayed as smart and brave like her son. Krait no doubt had a dysfunctional childhood because he can’t remember any of it. Linda had a troubled childhood that left her angry.

I liked the tone of the story. It was filled with sarcasm and humor especially when Tim interacted with his friends. I liked the hint of romance that developed between Linda and Tim. I liked the cover of the book that I read; all black with an intriguing note saying, Kill me instead.

This is a good read. I think it is a hit and lovers of thrillers and suspense novels will enjoy this.