Product Description

A stunning new thriller in the vein of 'Velocity' and 'The Husband' from one of the world's bestselling authors. After a day's work hefting brick and stone, Tim Carrier slakes his thirst at The Lamplighter Tavern. Nothing heavy happens there. It's a friendly workingman's bar run by his good friend Rooney, who enjoys gathering eccentric customers. Working his deadpan humour on strangers is, for Tim, all part of the entertainment. But how could Tim have imagined that the stranger who sits down next to him one evening is about to unmake his world and enmesh him in a web of murder and deceit? The man has come there to meet someone and he thinks it's Tim. Tim's wayward sense of humour lets the misconception stand for a moment and that's all it takes: the stranger hands Tim a fat manila envelope, saying, 'Half of it's there; the rest when she's gone,' and then he's out the door. In the envelope Tim finds the photograph of a woman, her name and address written on the back; and several thick packets of hundred-dollar bills. When an intense-looking man sits down where the first stranger sat and glances at the manila envelope, Tim knows he's the one who was supposed to get it. Shaken, thinking fast, Tim says he's had a change of heart. He removes the picture of the woman and then hands the envelope to the stranger. 'Half what we agreed,' he says. 'For doing nothing. Call it a no-kill fee.' Tim is left holding a photo of a pretty woman, but his sense of fun has led him into a very dangerous world from which there is no way back. The company of strangers has cost him his peace of mind, and possibly his life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107984 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Review
Praise for Dean Koontz: 'There's surprise after surprise, including a killer finale ... a read-in-one-go novel.' Independent on Sunday on Velocity 'Velocity hits its pace from the first page and races through to a suitably climactic ending.' Sydney Sunday Telegraph 'Dean Koontz is not just a master of our darkest dreams, but also a literary juggler.' The Times 'Psychologically complex, masterly and satisfying.' The New York Times 'A modern Swift ! a master satirist.' Entertainment Weekly 'If Stephen King is the Rolling Stones of novels, Koontz is the Beatles.' Playboy 'Dean Koontz writes page-turners, middle-of-the-night sneak-up-behind-you suspense thrillers. He touches our hearts and tingles our spines.' Washington Post Book World 'Tumbling, hallucinogenic prose. Serious writers might do well to study his technique.' New York Times Book Review 'Fast-paced and dark ! Koontz knows we live in a world where evil delights in justifying itself ! Classic literature that deserves a place on the bookshelf beside Orwell's 1984 and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.' California Literary Review 'Koontz is writing right where popular culture swells into something larger, just as it did for Homer, Shakespeare, and Dickens. He's got the gift.' Australian 'Koontz is a superb plotter and wordsmith. He chronicles the hopes and fears of our time in broad strokes and fine detail, using popular fiction to explore the human condition.' USA Today 'Inspires both chills and serious thought ! has the power to scare the daylights out of us.' People 'The poet laureate of paranoid pop fiction.' Denver Post 'Koontz achieves a literary miracle ! stunning physical description, unique turns of phrase.' Boston Globe 'Near Dickensian powers of description.' Los Angeles Times

Another likable thriller by Koontz (Brother Odd, 2006) pits a decent guy against the arbitrary forces of evil. Relaxing after work in his favorite bar, L.A.'s Lamplighter Tavern, 30-year-old bricklayer Tim Carrier is mistaken for a hit man hired to kill someone named Linda Paquette. Handed $10,000 as down payment before he can say no, Tim tries to fend off the real killer (who turns up a few minutes later) by handing him the money but calling off the hit. Professional gunman Krait soon learns of the mix-up, however, and comes after Tim. The bricklayer at first considers going to the police, but quickly recognizes that this dapper, resolute bad guy has high connections and may even be a cop himself. So our honorable protagonist heads to Linda's home in Laguna Beach, where he finds an attractive, enigmatic pulp novelist who has no idea why anyone would want her dead. Eluding Krait, Tim and Linda get into one scrape after the other; eventually, the two lonely outsiders fall in love. What prompted Linda's death sentence? Was it a visit to a coffee shop frequented by a senator making shady deals? Fans of Koontz will recognize and relish his trademark, gently ironic dialogue and firmly fleshed characterizations. Especially notable is the portrait of Krait, a vicious killer who also happens to be a person of good taste, fond of inhabiting other people's houses while they're gone and using their environmentally friendly products. Other true-to-life figures include Tim's barman buddy Liam Rooney, his good-as-gold wife Michelle, cop Pete Santo and a shy dog named Zoey. Even Tim's devoted mother makes an appearance.Dark suspense leavened by just enough sentiment. (Kirkus Reviews)

Guardian
"A terrific pursuit story ... clever, up-to-the-minute, and riveting'

Synopsis
A stunning new thriller in the vein of 'Velocity' and 'The Husband' from one of the world's bestselling authors. After a day's work hefting brick and stone, Tim Carrier slakes his thirst at The Lamplighter Tavern. Nothing heavy happens there. It's a friendly workingman's bar run by his good friend Rooney, who enjoys gathering eccentric customers. Working his deadpan humour on strangers is, for Tim, all part of the entertainment. But how could Tim have imagined that the stranger who sits down next to him one evening is about to unmake his world and enmesh him in a web of murder and deceit? The man has come there to meet someone and he thinks it's Tim. Tim's wayward sense of humour lets the misconception stand for a moment and that's all it takes: the stranger hands Tim a fat manila envelope, saying, 'Half of it's there; the rest when she's gone,' and then he's out the door. In the envelope Tim finds the photograph of a woman, her name and address written on the back; and several thick packets of hundred-dollar bills. When an intense-looking man sits down where the first stranger sat and glances at the manila envelope, Tim knows he's the one who was supposed to get it.

Shaken, thinking fast, Tim says he's had a change of heart. He removes the picture of the woman and then hands the envelope to the stranger. 'Half what we agreed,' he says. 'For doing nothing. Call it a no-kill fee.' Tim is left holding a photo of a pretty woman, but his sense of fun has led him into a very dangerous world from which there is no way back. The company of strangers has cost him his peace of mind, and possibly his life.

Customer Reviews

The most stupid book ever written
Thankfully I did not pay to read this book. I found it left behind at a hotel and decided to read it...and I know why someone left it behind.

Dean Koontz is apparently the new york times number 1 best seller...but this book is so far fetched with such a ridiculous plot that I cannot see who thinks he is a good author.

The story is basically about this 'good guy' Tim Carrier who is mistaken for a hit man whilst having a beer in his local bar. Rather then admit he is not the hit man, he decides to go out of his way to save the life of a perfect stranger.

The dialogue is annoying, the story is stupid and the ending is so very pathetic that it made me even more angry that I wasted my time finishing the book.

Please do not buy or read this book.

The (80%) Good Guy
The Good Guy is not a bad book. Over the years ive read alot of Koontz books, but this one is the worst. However, Koontz is truly a master at what he does, so compared to other stories, this one is still engaging despite its finale.

The good: The plot has a number of intersting twists, there is tension in the pace, the characters are moody, the imagery is engaging and its fun to hate Krait as he orgasms at his own (supposedly) god-like status.

The bad: However, the ending is awful, this book is like a dessert followed by a starter. The sweet mouth watering delights (that you usually look forward to at the end) can be found at the start. Then, when you excitedly get to the end you are met with a bowl of cold asinine pea soup, resembling snot.

I disagree strongly with the pedant who tried to joke about mentions of 'wind'. It is not noticeable, quietly adds atmosphere, sets the tone in certain scenes and conveys wider meaning. Its just the writing style of Koontz.

I agree with the other reviewers that the ending is rushed. It is out of place, ludicrous, clumsy, and unemotional. You are left thinking 'i dont really care' about the characters. Koontz could have written that God came down and fixed everything, it would have been more believable and infinitely better than the actual ending.

Overall The Good Guy is a good book, up to around 50 pages before the ending.

To Portland and back seated between a mason and a psycho killer
When I infrequently turn to a Dean Koontz thriller for entertainment, I usually discover some psycho that's evolved from a bad childhood. It makes one wonder what crowd the author ran with as a kid.

Here, stonemason Tim Carrier, minding his own business on a barstool, finds himself mistaken for a hit man by one who abruptly gives him an envelope of money and the note: "Half of its there. Ten thousand. The rest when she's gone." The "she" is author Linda Paquette.

Then, when hired killer Krait shows up at the same barstool, Tim endeavors to pass himself off as the one ordering the hit, but with a change of mind. He gives Krait the 10K to not carry out the pre-arranged contract. Krait is unmoved.

On flights from Burbank to Oakland to Portland to Las Vegas to Burbank, THE GOOD GUY was a book I couldn't put down. I barely noticed the packaged peanuts or, on the leg to Vegas, the young woman with the showgirl body and plunging neckline in the seat across the aisle. The read is that good.

As Carrier takes it upon himself to single-handedly save Linda's life, the hook of the plot is obviously to discover if he succeeds or if they both end up as corpses. Krait is one twisted and relentless dude in his pursuit of the fleeing pair. Then, there are the anticipated answers to the questions that the reader asks. What was Carrier before he started laying brick that enables him to keep himself and Paquette out of harm's way? You or I would be dead in a heartbeat, so don't try this at home. And why has Linda been targeted? Even she hasn't a clue.

Except for its diversionary potential, THE GOOD GUY has no redeeming value whatsoever; it's pure trash. But, for a plane ride from Burbank to Oakland to Portland to Las Vegas to Burbank, it was absolutely perfect. Even if I did pass on the opportunity to ogle the showgirl.