You know from my review of Dean Koontz' Velocity that I really enjoyed reading his work. That was based on a sample of one. Now, on the basis of a sample of two, I should conclude that I am still a fan but The Innocent has a fascinating idea behind the plot but it's not as brilliant as Velocity. Still, buy and read The Innocent because it is worth it.

The story starts in rather a surreal way: Dr Jessup goes to Odd Thomas's house and takes him to a house where we find that Dr Jessup has been murdered. What? Say that again ... Odd is a psychic magnet. Psychic magnetism is the power to see ghosts who have yet to complete their crossing to their final resting place: ghosts who don't talk but who do try to communicate. That's how Dr Jessup was able to summon Odd to discover his own murder.

That's a pretty good start. Odd then meanders around the house, using his psychic powers and finds out that not only is Dr Jessup dead but his step son Danny is missing. Danny has brittle bone disease and any sudden movement can cause some or all of his bones to break. It also means that Danny can't walk very far ...

Odd is attacked in the house as he is making his recce.

The police are quickly at the scene and all is well with the world. Odd recovers from his attack and as he goes home he comes across the spirit of Elvis Presely who has taken up spiritual residence in the tiny US town of Pico Mundo (we find out why Elvis has yet to make his own final crossing right at the end of the book ... Elvis has, therefore, NOT yet left the building!).

Odd then sees the man who attacked him in Dr Jessup's house driving a white van around town and follows him. This is the start of Odd's quest.

Odd's psychic magnetism leads him to a burnt out casino/hotel complex where he feels that Danny is being held. At this stage there is a thumbs down part of this book: the description of how Odd gets to the casino is far too long and detailed. We are treated to tunnels and barriers and slutch and slime and the body of white van man! Too much information.

Once we get to the casino, the pace picks up again. There are more spirits for Odd to deal with and the story comes back to them after a while. After more effort, Odd finds Danny who is strapped to a chair that also has a bomb strapped to it. Danny believes that if he were to move off the chair the bomb would explode. Good news, Odd learns how to disarm the bomb by talking to the woman who had got in contact with him by phone on his journey to the casino. The woman, Datura, is a stunning beauty, 25 years old, with a sexy, slightly raspy voice. We learn that this woman has a fascinating past but she is now as nutty as a fruitcake and wants to use Odd to help her to see some ghosts.

Datura has two ape like body guards under her spell whom she uses as muscle and as sexual resources when the fancy takes her. They are apparently unthinking and blindly obedient. They are also built like concrete coal bunkers!

Datura makes Odd introduce her to the casino's ghosts and she disgraces herself by being offensive to one of them. That, however, has the benefit of stirring up the rage of one of the ghosts whom Odd believes is likely to be a poltergeist and not just an "ordinary" ghost. This leads to Odd being able to escape, dash back to Danny, use the information that Datura let slip and free the boy.

We are in the final stages now: Odd kills one bodyguard, a mountain lion kills and eats Datura (that bit's a bit incredible but it happened!) and then there's a fight to the death with the second bodyguard.

Who wins? Does the story have a happy ending? Does Odd live to magnetise some more ghosts another day? Buy the book and find out: or get someone to buy it for you as a gift, as happened to me. Apart from the extended descriptions that might also get on your nerves, you probably will enjoy this story if you like the genre.

Don't forget, you will learn about Elvis not yet having left the building at the end!

Duncan Williamson
28 December 2005