Velocity [Mass Market Paperback]

Dean Koontz (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 25, 2006

Dean Koontz’s unique talent for writing terrifying thrillers with a heart and soul is nowhere more evident than in this latest suspense masterpiece that pits one man against the ultimate deadline. If there were speed limits for the sheer pulse-racing excitement allowed in one novel, Velocity would break them all. Get ready for the ride of your life.

Velocity

Bill Wile is an easygoing, hardworking guy who leads a quiet, ordinary life. But that is about to change. One evening, after his usual eight-hour bartending shift, he finds a typewritten note under the windshield wiper of his car. If you don’t take this note to the police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher. If you do take this note to the police, I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have four hours to decide. The choice is yours.

It seems like a sick joke, and Bill’s friend on the police force, Lanny Olson, thinks so too. His advice to Bill is to go home and forget about it. Besides, what could they do even if they took the note seriously? No crime has actually been committed. But less than twenty-four hours later, a young blond schoolteacher is found murdered, and it’s Bill’s fault: he didn’t convince the police to get involved. Now he’s got another note, another deadline, another ultimatum…and two new lives hanging in the balance.

Suddenly Bill’s average, seemingly innocuous life takes on the dimensions and speed of an accelerating nightmare. Because the notes are coming faster, the deadlines growing tighter, and the killer becoming bolder and crueler with every communication—until Bill is isolated with the terrifying knowledge that he alone has the power of life and death over a psychopath’s innocent victims. Until the struggle between good and evil is intensely personal. Until the most chilling words of all are: The choice is yours.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. A diabolic killer plays a harrowing game of cat and mouse with a reclusive bartender in Koontz's latest gripping suspense thriller. Billy Wiles, a 30-something bartender and former writer, is content with his solitary Napa County existence listening to "beer-based psychoanalysis" from tavern regulars; visiting his hospitalized, comatose fiancée, Barbara; and carving wood sculptures. But the simple life gets mighty complicated when he finds a note with a deadly, time-sensitive ultimatum: he must choose between the death of a young schoolteacher or an elderly humanitarian in six hours. Reluctant local sheriff Lanny Olsen dismisses it as a joke until a comely teacher is found strangled and another threatening note appears—offering even less time for Billy to decide the fate of two more people. Who would have guessed that one of those people would be Olsen? After his friend's murder, Billy finds that the cunning killer has gained access to every aspect of his life as the ultimatums grow increasingly more personal. Suppressing horrific childhood memories, Billy scrambles to bury grisly incriminating evidence the murderer has deviously planted. More gruesome deaths and shaky suspicions trap Billy right in the demented killer's lair for just the beginning of Koontz's serpentine showdown. Graphic, fast-paced action, well-developed characters and relentless, nail-biting scenes show Koontz at the top of his game. (May 24)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–Bartender Billy Wiles's life spirals out of control after he finds a note on his windshield telling him that he has a choice: involve the police, and a lovely blonde schoolteacher dies. Do nothing, and an elderly woman active in charity work dies. His options only become harder once the killer targets people whom Billy knows and plants circumstantial evidence tying him to the crimes. His greatest fear is for his comatose fiancée, and he works frantically to find the murderer before Barbara is hurt. Koontz keeps the plot moving at an accelerating pace, and there are enough twists and turns to keep the story from being predictable. Billy isn't a hero in the traditional sense, but he is a sympathetic protagonist, an average man pushed to his limits by an implacable foe. Although there is a great deal of violence and an impressive body count, the worst of it occurs off-screen. The themes aren't subtle, but they are worth considering--the importance of connection and community, the enduring power of love, and the validity of modern art. Velocity is a fast, entertaining read.–Susan Salpini, TASIS–The American School in England
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (April 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553588257
• ISBN-13: 978-0553588255
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 1.1 x 7.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (335 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #700,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and raised in Pennsylvania where I graduated from Shippensburg State College (now Shippensburg University). When I was a senior in college, I won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition and have been writing ever since. My first job after graduation was with the Appalachian Poverty Program, where I was expected to counsel and tutor underprivileged children on a one-to-one basis. During my first day on the job, I discovered that the previous occupier of my position had been beaten up by the very kids he had been trying to help and had landed in the hospital for several weeks. The following year was filled with challenge but also tension, and I was more highly motivated than ever to build a career as a writer. I wrote nights and weekends, which I continued to do after leaving the poverty program and going to work as an English teacher in a suburban school district outside Harrisburg. After a year and a half in that position, my wife, Gerda, made me an offer I couldn't refuse: "I'll support you for five years," she said, "and if you can't make it as a writer in that time, you'll never make it." By the end of those five years, Gerda had quit her job to run the business end of my writing career. Gerda and I, along with our dog, Trixie, live in southern California.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#79 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#2 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#14 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#15 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#16 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#20 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#2 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#14 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#15 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#16 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#20 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A THRILLING PAGE TURNER... January 29, 2006

By Lawyeraau HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Once I started this book, the plot grabbed me right from the beginning and would not let go. Even though it is a plot driven book, the main character is well developed, even though others, perhaps, are not. It makes no difference, however, as it is the intricate, tightly constructed plot that will grab the reader. This is quintessential Koontz at his best, producing a riveting page-turner, once again.

Billy Wiles is a formerly promising writer turned barkeep. He has experienced a goodly amount of tragedy in his life. Orphaned at fourteen, he is haunted by the unusual circumstances surrounding the death of his parents. He is also devoted to his fiancee, Barbara, who lies in a comatose state in a nursing home, the victim of the fickle finger of fate. She has been given little hope of recovery. While Billy appears to be an easygoing, hardworking regular Joe, he goes through life with despair etched in the very way that he lives.

One night, however, a pivotal event occurs that will forever change Billy's life. A note is left under the windshield wipers of his car. The note gives him a most unusual ultimatum. It tells him that if he does not take the note to the police, securing their involvement, "a lovely blonde schoolteacher from the Napa Valley" will be murdered. The note also conversely tells Billy that if he does take the note to the police, "an elderly woman active in charity work" will, instead, be murdered. These are the two choices for which Billy has been given six hours to decide.

What Billy chooses to do and what follows are the stuff of which nightmares are made. Suddenly, Billy's formerly quiet, prosaic life takes on a new dimension, one in which reality is suspended, as the first note is followed by a series of them. Each note ups the ante, leaving Billy with having to make choices no human being should have to make. The ingenious plot takes the reader on a thrill ride of terror and suspense.

This was a book that I could not put down, so intriguing, original, and mesmerizing was the plot. Fans of the author, as well as those of Stephen King, should find much to like about this brilliantly plotted, fast-paced book, which puts a new spin on the age old struggle between good and evil. Written by a master storyteller at the top of his game, the book should keep the enthralled reader turning the pages, until the very last one has been turned. This is, without a doubt, one of the author's best books.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A PAGE-TURNER... September 11, 2005

By Lawyeraau HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Once I started this book, the plot grabbed me right from the beginning and would not let go. Even though it is a plot driven book, the main character is well developed, even though others, perhaps, are not. It makes no difference, however, as it is the intricate, tightly constructed plot that will grab the reader. This is quintessential Koontz at his best, producing a riveting page-turner, once again.

Billy Wiles is a formerly promising writer turned barkeep. He has experienced a goodly amount of tragedy in his life. Orphaned at fourteen, he is haunted by the unusual circumstances surrounding the death of his parents. He is also devoted to his fiancee, Barbara, who lies in a comatose state in a nursing home, the victim of the fickle finger of fate. She has been given little hope of recovery. While Billy appears to be an easygoing, hardworking regular Joe, he goes through life with despair etched in the very way that he lives.

One night, however, a pivotal event occurs that will forever change Billy's life. A note is left under the windshield wipers of his car. The note gives him a most unusual ultimatum. It tells him that if he does not take the note to the police, securing their involvement, "a lovely blonde schoolteacher from the Napa Valley" will be murdered. The note also conversely tells Billy that if he does take the note to the police, "an elderly woman active in charity work" will, instead, be murdered. These are the two choices for which Billy has been given six hours to decide.

What Billy chooses to do and what follows are the stuff of which nightmares are made. Suddenly, Billy's formerly quiet, prosaic life takes on a new dimension, one in which reality is suspended, as the first note is followed by a series of them. Each note ups the ante, leaving Billy with having to make choices no human being should have to make. The ingenious plot takes the reader on a thrill ride of terror and suspense.

This was a book that I could not put down, so intriguing, original, and mesmerizing was the plot. Fans of the author, as well as those of Stephen King, should find much to like about this brilliantly plotted, fast-paced book, which puts a new spin on the age old struggle between good and evil. Written by a master storyteller at the top of his game, the book should keep the enthralled reader turning the pages, until the very last one has been turned. This is, without a doubt, one of the author's best books.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast-moving (plenty of Velocity) May 26, 2006

By mrliteral TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

At the very beginning of Velocity, there is a list of books that Dean Koontz has written; I did a quick count and figured that I've read over forty books by Koontz. I think that Koontz is a good writer; beyond that, he is also a reliable one. When I pick up a Koontz book, I know it will be good: most Koontz books I would rate four stars; there are few three or five star works, and none at all at the one or two star level. Velocity is no exception: it is another four star novel.

Velocity follows Billy Wiles, a bartender in a small Napa Valley community. Billy is something of a loner, deeply affected by his fiancee Barbara slipping into a coma four years earlier; the impact of her condition has kept him from getting really close to anyone else. He is detached from life as well; other than visiting Barbara, he just works and does little else. This detachment ceases when he finds a note on his truck: the unsigned message informs him that the writer intends to kill someone: either an old woman or a young one, depending on whether or not he contacts the police. Billy discusses this with a cop buddy, who advises that it appears to be a practical joke; the next day, however, a young woman is killed and another note appears.

Billy soon realizes he's the pawn of a cunning serial killer who seems to relish the way Billy is manipulated. With the killer - who Billy thinks of as the "freak" - always a couple steps ahead, Billy is hard-pressed to even have time to think. Most of the messages Billy gets forces him into painful dilemmas that makes him choose which of two people to kill; even inaction results in a death. As for who the freak is, Billy really only has one possible suspect, but as fans of the genre are well-aware, the most likely suspect is in reality the least likely to be the real culprit.

This is not a perfect book, with the ending a little weaker than it should be. Nonetheless, this is a good book overall. In a way, it is a mistitled book: it should be called Acceleration as it moves faster and faster the further you go. For thrillers, you can't go really wrong with Koontz as this book once again proves.