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The Good Guy by Dean Koontz

Publisher: Bantam ISBN-10: 0553589113

Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader

Timothy Carrier, a mason like his father, prefers to live his life as simply as possible; one or two beers after work at his best friend's tavern after a hard day's work is all he seems to need.  But his life will never be the same when one day while sitting at his favorite bar stool he's handed an envelope full of money and a picture of a woman by a complete stranger, the stranger's last words leaving no doubt in his mind that he wants the woman dead and thinks Tim is the man he's hired to do the deed.  And when next the assassin himself sits next to Tim, thinking Tim is the buyer of the hired hit, Tim attempts to stop it all by handing over the cash and professing to have changed his mind.  The end?  Oh no, not by a long shot, because Tim is not only one of the good guys, he's also a smart guy who knows he has to find the woman before the bad guys figure out their mistake. 

In this brilliant tale of "what if," Koontz once again transcends your everyday thriller, supplying the reader with a story that is simply astonishing, overwhelmingly mesmerizing, and surprisingly stirring.  Much like his last winner, Mr. Husband, Koontz again provides poignant insights into the everyday guy who really is far from everyday when push comes to shove.  And by slowly revealing not only what makes this character tick, but the others as well, he makes this adventurous ride not only wildly exciting but also intelligently perceptive as to what can lie beneath the surface of even the seemingly most ordinary of souls.  Koontz, as when he started, continues to thrill and amaze, only now he's doing it even better than ever.

Deadly Errors By Allen Wyler

Publisher: Tor Books   ISBN: 0-765-351676

Reviewed by Jamie Engle, New Mystery Reader

Patients are dying at Maynard Medical Center, not at the hands of doctors,
but something much more sinister: a rogue computer bug in a new system being tested by the Center. When Dr. Tyler Mathew loses one of his patients, he becomes suspicious. The more he looks into it, the more mysterious things he finds: patient records changing at will, people with information going
missing - nothing is what it appears to be. Millions of dollars are riding
on the project being tested, more than enough incentive to cover up facts
and bury bodies.

Tyler tries to follow protocol and tell Administration, but no one will listen to him - he has a checkered past and a reputation for causing trouble. On one side, the FBI is using his past to hold him hostage and force him to help solve the case. On the other side, the killers are using his past to frame Tyler for the deaths. Tyler's not sure who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. When his ex-wife is kidnapped, one thing Tyler does know: he will do whatever it takes to get her back.

While a good premise, the majority of the novel is uneven. The characters
don't quite come to life and the plot doesn't flow from point to point. For
example, the point about making a CD backup is explained more than once.
Dialogue is awkward, such as the initial conversation between Tyler and the
FBI agent when discussing the case. Tyler has a convincing internal dialogue
about all the reasons why he shouldn't trust one of the Administrative
people, Jill Richardson, then turns around and tells her everything. Author
Wyler is a brain surgeon, and to be sure, his description of brain surgery
made me queasy - description is Wyler's strength.

One can see the potential in Wyler's writing, but it needs more polish.

Shoot Him If He Runs by Stuart Woods

Publisher: Signet  ISBN 0451223608

Reviewed by Don Crouch, New Mystery Reader

When we join the protagonists of Stuart Woods' latest trifle, they are eating dinner and having cocktails at Elaine's.

STOP THE PRESSES!!

As long-time Woods readers will no doubt recall, most of Stone Barrington's adventures begin this way. Marlowe and Spenser have an office, Barrington has a table at Elaine's. Ok, fine. But the simple device carries much more weight as a symptom of the malaise the series has developed.

Stone and his pal Dino Bachetti eat dinner. They encounter glamorous, intelligent, near-craven women. They somehow find themselves in the middle of events of import far greater than their own.

Don't get us wrong, Woods writes wildly entertaining stories, writes them well, and this is no exception. To the contrary, each adventure is, well, wilder than its predecessor, and that's part of the problem. Since Woods really doesn't write about anything, the plots have to be both tail and dog.

With Shoot Him If He Runs, Woods adds President Lee, his CIA Director-wife Kate, Agency Honcho Lance Cabot and Special Guest Star CIA Special Agent Holly Barker into the mix as everyone, yet again, joins the hunt for the ever-elusive Teddy Fay.

Yeah, THAT Teddy Fay. Woods' very own Big Bad. He's Lecter-elusive, but affable. After a couple of attempts, the heroes just can't seem to bring him to ground. Be it a mid-air explosion, or a Manhattan implosion, Teddy remains in the wind. The problem is, while Teddy does bad things, he does them to bad people, and we just can't work up any real antipathy towards the guy. He just rolls along killin' them what need killin'.

Stone and Dino are recruited, along with Holly, by President Will travel undercover to St. Marks, a Caribbean playground, and try to lasso Teddy, who is believed to be operating there. We already know that Stone and Holly are friends with benefits, and as Dino brings his current flame, Genevieve James, we then know that we are in for an adventure of intrigue and tropical passion. Woods does not disappoint on these levels, but again, it all seems amped up for commerce, not art.

Woods does a nice job creating the tropical world of St. Marks, populating it with imperious government types, scary local law-enforcement types, and expatriate types as well.

Tropical intrigue does, in fact, ensue as Stone and Holly spearhead the search for Teddy, while maintaining their various covers, and Teddy does his thing in a seemingly parallel fashion, until the inevitable conclusion.

Woods keeps things moving at a brisk clip, and fans of the series won't be disappointed by events, by any means. Shoot Him If He Runs finds Woods in "cruise control", and while enjoyable, reminds us that he is capable of much more layered work, and makes us hope he delivers it soon.

New Mystery Reader Magazine  editor@newmysteryreader.com