Every so often a character so captures the hearts and imaginations of readers that he seems to take on a life of his own long after the final page is turned. For such a character, one book is not enough — readers must know what happens next. Now Dean Koontz returns with the novel his fans have been demanding. With the emotional power and sheer storytelling artistry that are his trademarks, Koontz takes up once more the story of a unique young hero and an eccentric little town in a tale that is equal parts suspense and terror, adventure and mystery — and altogether irresistibly odd.

We're all a little odd beneath the surface...

He's the most unlikely hero you'll ever meet — an ordinary guy with a modest job you might never look at twice. But there's so much more to any of us than meets the eye — and that goes triple for Odd Thomas. For Odd lives always between two worlds in the small desert town of Pico Mundo, where the heroic and the harrowing are everyday events. Odd never asked to communicate with the dead — it's something that just happened. But as the unofficial goodwill ambassador between our world and theirs, he's got a duty to do the right thing. That's the way Odd sees it and that's why he's won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death.

A childhood friend of Odd's has disappeared. The worst is feared. But as Odd applies his unique talents to the task of finding the missing person, he discovers something worse than a dead body, encounters an enemy of exceptional cunning, and spirals into a vortex of terror. Once again Odd will stand against our worst fears. Around him will gather new allies and old, some living and some not. For in the battle to come, there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope. Whether you're meeting Odd Thomas for the first time or he's already an old friend, you'll be led on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror, wonder and delight — to a revelation that can change your life. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas.

"Besides having an unusual moniker, 21-year-old Odd Thomas (whom readers first met in Koontz's 2003 novel of the same name) has some very unusual powers, chief among them his ability to see the dead. He can see, feel and talk to them, too (though they don't talk back: 'Perhaps they know things about death that the living are not permitted to learn from them'). These days Odd is still hosting the ghost of a morose Elvis Presley, still grieving for his dead girlfriend, Stormy, and still worrying about his very fat friend P. Oswald Boone, whose cat, Terrible Chester, likes to pee on his shoes. Late one night, Odd is summoned by the ghost of Dr. Wilbur Jessup to the Jessup home, the site of a gruesome murder. Dr. Jessup is the father of Odd's best friend, Danny, who is afflicted with osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bones. Odd finds Dr. Jessup's body, but Danny is missing. Since Odd has what he describes as 'psychic magnetism,' he can follow an invisible mental trail, which in this case leads him to his endangered friend. After he finds Danny in a spooky, burned-out Indian casino, it is Odd who becomes the quarry. The beautiful and stunningly evil Datura, aided by two frightening minions, wants to use Odd for his supernatural abilities — and then kill him. Odd's strange gifts, coupled with his intelligence and self-effacing humor, make him one of the most quietly authoritative characters in recent popular fiction." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Forever Odd is a fast and exciting read....[The climactic scenes are] fraught with tension." Rocky Mountain News

"The nice young fry cook with the occult powers is [Koontz's] most likable creation....[C]andid, upright, amusing and sometimes withering, especially when thinking about the state of contemporary popular culture." Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"[T]he tale's stranglehold suspense allows for less of the offbeat humor that lightened Odd Thomas....Not to complain, though. This is only slightly less than top-drawer Koontz." Booklist

"Forever Odd is the crème de le crème of Koontz's offerings. It has unusual characters, auctorial rants...lots of dead folks and a suspense factor that will leave even the most steely-eyed armchair detective sweating bullets during the last 100 pages." Denver Post

"The problem with Forever Odd isn't its philosophy but its execution. The writing is crisp, and Odd has his charms, but his first-person narrative is a mess." The Washington Post Book World

"[A] quick and enjoyable read — just scary enough for winter fireside reading but not scary enough to keep you awake at night. More character-driven than many horror novels, it is a fun and unique approach to ghost stories and creepy tales." BookReporter.com

Koontz returns to the unique world of Pico Mundo, and to his unforgettable hero who lives "always between two doors, between a life with the living and a life with the dead, between transcendence and terror." Evil is coming to Pico Mundo, and there can be no innocent bystanders.

When he was a senior in college, Dean Koontz won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition. He has been writing ever since. His books are published in 38 languages; worldwide sales are over 300 million copies.

Ten of his novels have risen to number one on the New York Times hardcover best-seller list (The Husband, One Door Away From Heaven, From The Corner Of His Eye, Midnight, Cold Fire, Hideaway, Dragon Tears, The Bad Place, Intensity, and Sole Survivor). Thirteen of his books have risen to the number one position in paperback.

Several of his books have been adapted into feature films and TV miniseries, including the highly rated Intensity on the Fox Network. The Husband is currently in development as a major motion picture by Focus Features/Random House Films.

Dean and Gerda Koontz live in southern California.