20 Best Dean Koontz Books

Dean Koontz is a well-respected horror and suspense novelist, with over 400 novels published in 40 different languages. He was born on July 9th, 1945 in Everett, Pennsylvania. His father was an itinerant worker who traveled to jobs along the East Coast of the United States during most of Dean’s childhood.

He attended school at Shippensburg University for one year before transferring to Bloomsburg University where he graduated summa cum laude in English literature and psychology (1967).

He has been recognized as a best-selling author several times over the years, but his first true recognition was in 1986  when his novel, “Whispers” hit the New York Times bestseller list. Since then, he has had numerous novels on the NYT bestseller list including “What the Night Knows” (1992), “Odd Thomas” (2011), and many others.

He is also known as a bestselling mystery author and Thomas is arguably Koontz’s breakout character. He is one of the few popular authors who made a huge impact in the genres of fiction and thrill. 

List of Top 10 Best Books of Dean Koontz :

We have picked out some of the best Dean Koontz books for you. Check them out below:

This is one of the best Dean Koontz novels. The Jane Hawk series is a thrilling new addition to the pantheon of great suspense novels by Dean Koontz. As the protagonist, Jane Hawk continues her fight against nefarious forces with terrifying connections to both an earlier case that ended tragically and to her own family’s past—and intensifies it as they strike  back by taking her husband, leaving her traumatized and alone with a damaged little boy to raise.

The intro to the novel is a two-year-old girl who is kidnapped and murdered. Jane Hawk, an FBI agent, has set out to find the killer and find the girl. What she doesn’t know is that her search will lead her down a path that will hijack her life and change everything she thought she knew about herself and the world around her.

In Watchers, a group of scientists is tasked with watching the stars for any changes that might indicate life. The novel is set in Colorado, and it’s about a team of scientists who are watching the heavens for signs of extraterrestrial life.  One day, they begin to notice strange behavior in the animals around them.

There are reports of dogs that have gone wild and savage, killing their masters. Some think it’s all just a coincidence while others believe there is something sinister at work here.

From New York Times, bestselling author Dean Koontz comes a sequence of unforgettable, pulse-pounding novels featuring female protagonist Jane Hawk. This is one of the best Dean Koontz books.  

After his wife died in a mysterious accident, Evan Casher moves with his young son to the small town of Lobo’s Nod, where he accepts a job as the night watchman of an abandoned prison.

Evan soon begins to see visions of a dead inmate, and he becomes obsessed with figuring out how she died. But his investigations put him in the crosshairs of malevolent government forces that will do anything to keep their secrets buried.

The sixth book in the Odd series.  A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with Odd to stop the ancient prophecy of the Queen of Eternal Night from being fulfilled. Ranging from Southern California to Las Vegas, this comic adventure also includes cameos by Elvis Presley and the ghost of Liberace.

6. Zero In (Nameless: Season Two Book 6)

Zero In is a suspenseful novel by Dean Koontz. It is the sixth book of his Nameless series. The protagonist of this novel is a mysterious man who escapes from a maximum-security prison, and he takes it upon him

The first name of the protagonist is a secret. He lives by himself on a dead-end road in a small wooded town on Florida’s Gulf Coast. One day, he wakes to find that his house has been broken into and everything inside has been stolen.

The thieves have also stolen his new truck, but they left behind one thing self to stop a dangerous plan from being executed. This plan involves an attempt to kill thousands of people with a virus that will be released at a football game in northern California.

He brings along a friend who happens to be a 16-year-old named Bridger who has been trained as an elite mercenary. Together, the two have to stop the plans from being carried out before it’s too late.

If you’re a fan of mystery and suspense, Dean Koontz is an author that should be on your must-read list. When it comes to the thriller and horror genre, Dean Koontz is the master. He has over 100 million copies of his books sold and more than 20 New York Times bestsellers to his name.

7. Brother Odd: An Odd Thomas Novel

Brother Odd: An Odd Series Novel is a novel that has been written by Dean Koontz and published in 2009. The novel is the ninth and latest book in the “Odd Thomas” series. This is one of the most famous Dean Koontz books of the decade. 

In this  Dean Koontz book, Odd tries to find out who tried to kill him and who poisoned his girlfriend, Stormy Llewellyn. In the course of his investigation, he learns about a new deadly force that wants to rise from among the living and rule forever.

8. From the Corner of His Eye: A Novel

From the Corner of His Eye is a novel that’s been written by Dean Koontz. It’s about the story of Graham Harris, who one day, wakes up to find himself in an unknown place with no recollection of how he got there.

He learns that he has been hypnotized and drugged to this place by an elaborate criminal plan. He realizes that he’s needed for a deadly task-to commit mass murder at one location and then allow himself to be killed at another. Some clues lead him back to his hometown-but only one man knows the truth about what happened there.

9. A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog Named Trixie

A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog Named Trixie is a memoir about the life of Atkinson’s dog, Trixie. The book includes stories from his childhood to the present day with the dog.

This book made me want to become more active with my dogs, like how he took her on walks and let her sniff around the gardens. I got motivation to take him for walks and go outside more often.

Trixie is still alive and well! She had cancer but it was taken care of before it could do any damage. Her personality didn’t change at all–she’s still spunky and feisty while also being kind and mischievous!

10. Frankenstein: City of Night: A Novel

Frankenstein: City of Night is a novel that has been written by Dean Koontz. The story is of a woman who has been alone for four years after being abandoned by her husband and left to raise her three children.

One day, she gets the chance at a new life when she meets a man who may become her new love-except she doesn’t know if he’s after something else. As the story progresses, the woman learns more about herself and what it means to be human as she tries to save those close to her from their own dark secrets. 

11. Odd Thomas: An Odd Thomas Novel

The main character in this book is Odd Thomas. In this novel, he has to solve the mystery of who stole his truck and killed his girlfriend. The line between life and death is thin and the future is never written, but it does have a habit of being pretty odd.

Odd Thomas has an incredible talent for seeing dead people, but he never wanted the responsibility of saving the living. Now he must face his destiny and try to save a woman that can’t be saved-no matter how hard he tries.

12. Memories of Tomorrow (Nameless: Season One Book 6)

Do you remember how much fun it was to have something new to read?

Memories of Tomorrow is the sixth book in the “Nameless” series. The main character is a young girl named Audrey Rose Wadsworth. She’s not aware of her own identity, but she knows that she’s different from others because she can’t seem to feel anything. This makes her withdraw into herself each day, but when she meets the people in her new school, she notices that they are just as lonely as she is.

13. Saint Odd: An Odd Thomas Novel

This novel is about Odd Thomas, a peace officer in a small California town. His job is to protect the citizens from preternatural forces like ghosts and zombies. This story is about his adventures with the five magic diamonds. There’s also a secondary story that follows an old woman who seeks revenge on her family’s enemies for wrongs that were done to her generations before.

14. The Crooked Staircase: A Jane Hawk Novel

The Crooked Staircase is an exciting, fast-paced crime thriller that is the third installment in the Jane Hawk series. The novel features everything the readers love about this series: a female protagonist who can handle herself, post-apocalyptic thrillers, and dark conspiracy theories.

The novel begins with Jane Hawk fighting for her life after she’s shot while she was out on patrol. She wakes up in hospital to find that two years have passed since she was attacked, but it’s still unclear what happened to her during those two years.

As Jane tries to piece together her memories while staying under surveillance by both her enemies and friends, she will be forced into making some difficult decisions while solving mysteries set in motion back when she was still a Federal agent.

15. Deeply Odd: An Odd Thomas Novel

Deeply Odd is an Odd Thomas novel. The story begins when a young man, Tommy Scoriatti, who has been a friend of Odd’s for a long time, reaches out to him for some help.

Tommy found some diamonds that had been hidden by a hold-up man and he can’t resist returning them to their rightful owner. That would be the robbers except it doesn’t take Odd very long before he realizes that there is no robber and someone needs his help.

So with an old friend in tow, they travel from California to Washington to unravel the mystery of who is behind this robbery and why they wanted Tommy to find the diamonds. Along the way, Odd learns more about himself while discovering secrets  that have been hidden for decades.

16. Lightning

Lightning is a book written by great Dean Koontz. It is composed of nine stories and it contains deep, dark secrets as well as sadness and heartache. The story begins with the death of an mailman and his dog, Sparky. As fate would have, the local police officer who investigated this incident also died two weeks later in a freak accident.

The town seemed to be cursed and it didn’t help that there was a storm brewing and people were dying left and right. After another death occurs, the protagonist starts investigating. As days pass, he slowly discovers that there might be something more going on than just mere coincidences.

This book weaves together suspenseful tales about love, desire, despair-and the power of lightning.

17. Life Expectancy

This book written by Dean Koontz is about a man who is convicted of a crime he did not commit and sentenced to death row. In his cell, he meets a prisoner with connections to the outside world, who informs him about the new developments in the world outside prison walls.

The book is composed of nine stories, all of which are gruesome and full of darkness. These stories involve deep secrets that will leave readers shocked and saddened.

18. Odd Hours: An Odd Thomas Novel

Odd hours is the third book of the Odd series and one of the best dean koontz books to read. It follows Odd as he searches for five magical stones that will grant their bearer one wish. The novel also continues with his adventures returning those who have been taken from this world to their rightful place.

This story begins when a man who was a friend of Odd’s, reaches out to him for some help. His helper turns out to be a witch with a vendetta against her family who believed she was going senile and had her sent off to live at a nursing home. She wants revenge on her family’s enemies for wrongs that were done to her long ago. To find these people, she needs information from the police about unsolved murders that happened in the California town where she used to live.

19. The Good Guy: A Novel

The Good Guy: A Novel is a book written by Dean Koontz, and is the first book in the Good Guy series. It tells the story of Walter Lloyd, a decent man who lives an extraordinary life and whose only flaw is that he’s a bit of a pushover.

Walter has always done as he was told and never questioned anyone about what they wanted him to do. He loves his wife and kids but has no big plans for himself or them. Then one day, Walter is approached by an attractive woman who wants him to kill her abusive husband–a man with many enemies. At first, Walter goes along with it because she’s beautiful and tells him exactly what he wants to hear. But as the time to do the deed draws near, Walter starts to have second thoughts.

In this book, readers will discover how an average man turns from a good guy into a monster who has Big plans for himself and his family.

20. Frankenstein: The Dead To Frankenstein

This book is classified as a mystery, but it is science fiction more of a horror story. The town of Glenrock, North Dakota is isolated due to its lack of population and access to highways, but it soon becomes the destination of many people looking for peace.

The town welcomes changes that are needed, but some residents are resistant to change. One night, the entire town gathers for an election where they vote on whether or not to build new housing units. After everyone leaves the room, someone destroys the ballots by pouring gasoline on them and lighting them on fire. This begins a series of changes in small events that bring about fear and death within the community.

This book is the best Dean Koontz book to read by horror fans and those who would enjoy a good mystery and suspenseful story with lots of twists and turns.

Conclusion:

Dean Koontz is a master of horror, suspense, and mystery. His books have been an American bestseller for decades and in this article, we’ve given you the rundown on some of his most popular ones. 

Whether you’re looking to read something spooky or just want a good old-fashioned thriller, Dean’s got it all!

In this article we tried to come up with a list of the best Dean Koontz books, we searched many Dean Koontz books and wrote about the best of all. 

If you think we missed any of Dean Koontz’s best books that are worth sharing, please leave a comment and we will include that in our list. 

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