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The Good Guy | 
 enlarge | Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Bantam
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $2.98
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Avg. Customer Rating:  144 reviews
Sales Rank: 524
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 496
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0553589113
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780553589115
ASIN: 0553589113
Publication Date: April 29, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
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Product Description
Timothy Carrier, having a beer after work at his friend’s tavern, enjoys drawing eccentric customers into amusing conversations. But the jittery man who sits next to him tonight has mistaken Tim for someone very different—and passes to him a manila envelope full of cash.
“Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she’s gone.”
The stranger walks out, leaving a photo of the pretty woman marked for death, and her address. But things are about to get worse. In minutes another stranger sits next to Tim. This one is a cold-blooded killer who believes Tim is the man who has hired him.
Thinking fast, Tim says, “I’ve had a change of heart. You get ten thousand—for doing nothing. Call it a no-kill fee.” He keeps the photo and gives the money to the hired killer. And when Tim secretly follows the man out of the tavern, he gets a further shock: the hired killer is a cop.
Suddenly, Tim Carrier, an ordinary guy, is at the center of a mystery of extraordinary proportions, the one man who can save an innocent life and stop a killer far more powerful than any cop…and as relentless as evil incarnate. But first Tim must discover within himself the capacity for selflessness, endurance, and courage that can turn even an ordinary man into a hero, inner resources that will transform his idea of who he is and what it takes to be The Good Guy.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 139 more reviews...
 People in the wrong place at the wrong time May 15, 2008
An excellent novel by a master storyteller. This one kept me up late to finish the book - the sign of some very good writing.
Timothy Carrier just wanted to stop into a friend's bar for a quiet beer or two after a hard day on the job as a mason laying bricks. A case of mistaken identity pulls him into a conflict with a killer for hire. The case becomes a mystery because the intended victim does not have a clue as to why someone would want to kill her.
The case becomes tangled as events from the past are revealed, and an insidious plot involving high placed people comes to light. There is a lot of collateral damage as various innocent people just show up at the wrong time, but that is the nature of the story, i.e., being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I would note that, as s side issue, a psychopath wants to hunt down authors who write things displeasing to him - he will torture and kill them.
Decent not as good as some of his other stuff May 15, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Eh, not as great as some of his other stuff but it a catchy way of telling a story. Personally, I like Koontz more when he deals with more fantastic elements then the crime/thriller style of stories. He does them well, I just don't think he does them as well as his fantasy/horror.
Recommended.
 Another dissapointing "thriller" from once great Koontz May 14, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
First off, you people who rate this book 5 stars, what do you rate books like Odd Thomas or The Face? Or do you seriuosly compare the two as equals?
I am aware that every author has his good and bad days. This is not a good day for Koontz. This is a straight forward, utterly predictable action thriller filled with "seen this before"-moments. That is actually the sensation you have during the entire book. There is nothing innovative about this book and you will forget it 5 minutes after you read it. What baffels me the most though, is that he choose to put the ONLY plot twist (wich really isnt much of a twist) as a "post-it" on the cover - the clever reader (wich I suspect are few judging from the hight ratings) will put too and too together from page, well, 20.
Sometimes i feel its better if great authurs just take a break between inspiration..but i guess their contracts wont allow that.
 Not his best effort, but still entertains May 11, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
After having read multiple Koontz novels, I have come to expect a certain subtle wit and internal dialogue that keeps me laughing even through the most suspenseful of scenes. The Good Guy, while delivering on the action and thrill, failed to meet Koontz' usual standard of excellent writing style.
If you have read Koontz before, you will know that his novels are a metaphor for his vision of good and evil in the world. The protagonist is an idealized "good", while the villain is a shattered soul who embodies evil. Spiritual themes and social commentary are subtly interwoven to provide intellectual entertainment on another level, making Koontz more than just a throwaway beach read.
The Good Guy had a very satisfying protagonist, of the sort we have come to expect from Koontz. The villain, however, was a bit less well developed, and didn't really reveal the motivation behind his fallenness. The dialogue was a bit too much like tv series patter--you know, the kind where they all laugh at the end of the show over some inane remark.
All in all, this was a good page turner and served well as an antidote to an otherwise dull evening. Yes, I enjoyed it, but I'm glad I got it in paperback instead of hardcover. "Three stars"--could be better.
Sometimes Being the Good Guy Can Be Dangerous Work May 8, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Stone mason, bachelor Tim Carrier is sitting in a pal's bar having a beer when a man approaches him and gives him an envelope. Tim looks inside, finds ten grand and a photo. Not an idiot Tim, he figures out he's been mistaken for a hit man. That's bad enough, but shortly after the real hit man arrives. Tim, wanting to do the right thing, to be the good guy, takes out the intended victim's info, pretends to be the first guy, gives the bad guy the ten large and tells him the deal's off.
Of course, Kraut, the bad guy, doesn't buy it and now Tim, continuing to be the good guy, seeks out Laguna Beach writer Linda Paquette, the intended victim. After all, it's a good guy's job to save the beautiful girl from the bad guy. But saving her isn't going to be a piece of cake, because now the bad guy is hot on their trail.
There you have it, the setup for this book. It's not a horror story, but it's stuffed full of suspense, twists and turns and I liked it a lot. The characters were great, though I gotta admit I liked the bad guy the best. Dean Koontz just keeps churning out fast-paced, well thought out tales of suspense.
Jack Priest, author of Ragged Man, Gecko & Night Witch.
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