"In each little life we can see great truth and beauty, and in each little life we glimpse the way of all things in the universe." DEAN KOONTZ thought he had everything he needed. A successful novelist with more than twenty #1 New York Times bestsellers to his credit, Dean had forged a career out of industry and imagination. He had been married to his high school sweetheart, Gerda, since the age of twenty, and together they had made a happy life for themselves in their Southern California home. It was the picture of peace and contentment. Then along came Trixie. Dean had always wanted a dog-had even written several books in which dogs were featured. But not until Trixie was he truly open to the change that such a beautiful creature could bring about in him. Trixie had intelligence, a lack of vanity, and an uncanny knack for living in the present. And because she was joyful and direct as all dogs are, she put her heart into everything-from chasing tennis balls, to playing practical jokes, to protecting those she loved. A retired service dog with Canine Companions for Independence, Trixie became an assistance dog of another kind. She taught Dean to trust his instincts, persuaded him to cut down to a fifty-hour work week, and, perhaps most important, renewed in him a sense of wonder that will remain with him for the rest of his life. She mended him in many ways. Trixie weighed only sixty-something pounds, Dean occasionally called her Short Stuff, and she lived less than twelve years. In this big world, she was a little thing, but in all the ways that mattered, including the effect she had on those who loved her, she lived a big life

Sam was an android. His flesh was the ultimate miracle of science, artificially created and completely self sustaining. And he had the unusual power to heal others. In fact, Sam was too good to live."

The Hunter was born to hunt, as his prey was born to be brought down at his desire. Sara Laramie moved through the iron castings in the foundry yard, keeping low so that she was at all times concealed from view. The Hunter Relemar was in pursuit of her. She did not know that he was a Hunter; it was obvious, however, that he was different from other naoli. Deep scream, lovely scream, wanting out.… She reached the thousand gallon storage tank in which she now made her home. She pulled open the entry plate (it squeaked; Relemar listened for squeaks) and went inside. Behind her, there was a scraping noise… Rats, she thought, lighting the glow lamp. The tank brightened to a warm yellow. "Hello," said Relemar the Hunter. He was trying to smile. This time, she did not suppress the scream

Four men waited on the narrow mountain road for the Cadillac carrying 341,890, the biweekly taking of a Mafia cell. Four men who had never failed in a heist before, on their fourteenth operation in three years: Shirillo, watching in the long grass; Pete Harris with a submachine gun; Bachman in the getaway car; and Mike Tucker, art dealer and professional thief; the perfectionist. As the big Cadillac slewed round the bend, none of them realized that this time Tucker had made a fatal miscalcuation that would plunge them all into a blood war against the Mafia

Aus einem Labor für Gentechnologie entläuft ein Hund. Der Eigenbrötler Travis Cornell nimmt den streunenden Golden Retriever bei sich auf. Aber schon bald müssen die beiden feststellen, dass sich nicht nur rivalisierende Geheimdienste, sondern auch ein mysteriöses Wesen an ihre Fersen geheftet haben. Endlich wird klar, dass es sich bei dem Verfolger um ein gentechnisch perfektioniertes Mordtier handelt, das dem Laboratorium gleichfalls entwichen ist und auf die Vernichtung des Hunds programmiert zu sein scheint. Titel der Originalausgabe WATCHERS Aus dem Amerikanischen übersetzt von Heinz Nagel

Grady Adams lives a simple, solitary life deep in the Colorado mountains. Here the thirty-five-year-old carpenter works out of a converted barn, crafting exquisite one-of-a-kind furniture. There's little about this strong yet gentle man to suggest the experiences that have alienated him from the contemporary world. But that is about to change. One day, while hiking, Grady spots a pair of stunningly beautiful furred animals unlike anything he's ever seen. They flee the instant they detect his presence, but the mystery of that brief encounter remains. In the days ahead, Grady will approach the creatures again, gaining their trust but coming no closer to solving their mystery. For this he enlists the help of an old friend, veterinarian Camellia 'Cammy' Rivers, who, in turn, is stunned – and enchanted – by Grady's new 'pets.' But while Grady and Cammy carefully observe these enigmatic animals for clues to their origin, they, too, are being watched. Soon Grady's home and hundreds of square miles of surrounding wilderness will be placed under quarantine by Homeland Security. And Grady, Cammy, and the two creatures they've come to feel they must protect at all costs find themselves virtual prisoners – and the unwilling focus of an army of biologists, naturalists, and research scientists. But it's a stunning event no one could have foreseen that convinces Grady and Cammy to do the unthinkable: to escape with the two creatures on a riveting race for freedom

No one could have imagined Odd Thomas ever leaving the perfect quirky comfort of Pico Mundo, least of all Odd himself. The little desert town that nurtured Odd all his life is the locus of everything he holds dear-his loyal friends, his ghostly confidants, and the place where he loved and lost his soul mate, the irreplaceable Stormy Llewellyn. Yet leave it he has, to embrace the solitude and peace of an isolated monastery high in the western mountains as he tries to find a way to live fully again. But Odd has a knack for finding himself in the path of trouble no matter where he goes-even among the eccentric monks in their sanctuary and with the King of Rock 'n' Roll at his side. For a killer is stalking the ancient holy halls, and Odd is about to encounter an enemy who eclipses any he has yet encountered…

Dean Koontz has surpassed his longtime reputation as "America's most popular suspense novelist"(Rolling Stone) to become one of the most celebrated and successful writers of our time. Reviewers hail his boundless originality, his art, his unparalleled ability to create highly textured, riveting drama, at once viscerally familiar and utterly unique. Author of one #1 New York Times bestseller after another, Koontz is at the pinnacle of his powers, spinning mysteries and miracles, enthralling tales that speak directly to today's readers, balm for the heart and fire for the mind. In this stunning new novel, he delivers a tour de force of dark suspense and brilliant revelation that has all the Koontz trademarks: adventure, chills, riddles, humor, heartbreak, an unforgettable cast of characters, and a climax that will leave you clamoring for more. Dylan O'Connor is a gifted young artist just trying to do the right thing in life. He's on his way to an arts festival in Santa Fe when he stops to get a room for himself and his twenty-year-old autistic brother, Shep. But in a nightmarish instant, Dylan is attacked by a mysterious "doctor," injected with a strange substance, and told that he is now a carrier of something that will either kill him...or transform his life in the most remarkable way. Then he is told that he must flee--before the doctor's enemies hunt him down for the secret circulating through his body. No one can help him, the doctor says, not even the police. Stunned, disbelieving, Dylan is turned loose to run for his life...and straight into an adventure that will turn the next twenty-four hours into an odyssey of terror, mystery--and wondrous discovery. It is a journey that begins when Dylan and Shep's path intersects with that of Jillian Jackson. Before that evening Jilly was a beautiful comedian whose biggest worry was whether she would ever find a decent man. Now she too is a carrier. And even as Dylan tries to convince her that they'll be safer sticking together, cold-eyed men in a threatening pack of black Suburbans approach, only seconds before Jilly's classic Coupe DeVille explodes into thin air. Now the three are on the run together, but with no idea whom they're running from--or why. Meanwhile Shep has begun exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior. And whatever it is that's coursing through their bodies seems to have plunged them into one waking nightmare after another. Seized by sinister premonitions, they find themselves inexplicably drawn to crime scenes--just minutes before the crimes take place. What this unfathomable power is, how they can use it to stop the evil erupting all around them, and why they have been chosen are only parts of a puzzle that reaches back into the tragic past and the dark secrets they all share: secrets of madness, pain, and untimely death. Perhaps the answer lies in the eerie, enigmatic messages that Shep, with precious time running out, begins to repeat, about an entity who does his work "by the light of the moon." By the Light of the Moon is a novel of heart-stopping suspense and transcendent beauty, of how evil can destroy us and love can redeem us--a masterwork of the imagination in which the surprises come page after page and the spell of sublime storytelling triumphs throughout

They are stronger, heal better, and think faster than any humans ever created — and they must be destroyed. But not even Victor Helios — once Frankenstein — can stop the engineered killers he’s set loose on a reign of terror through modern-day New Orleans. Now the only hope rests in a one-time “monster” and his all-too-human partners, Detectives Carson O’Connor and Michael Maddison. Deucalion’s centuries-old history began as Victor’s first and failed attempt to build the perfect human — and it is fated to end in the ultimate confrontation between a damned creature and his mad creator. But first Deucalion must destroy a monstrosity not even Victor’s malignant mind could have imagined — an indestructible entity that steps out of humankind’s collective nightmare with one purpose: to replace us

In Portland, he saved a young boy from a drunk driver. In Boston, he rescued a child from an underground explosion. In Houston, he disarmed a man who was trying to shoot his own wife. Reporter Holly Thorne was intrigued by this strange quiet savior named Jim Ironheart. She was even falling in love with him. But what power compelled an ordinary man to save twelve lives in three months? What visions haunted his dreams? And why did he whisper in his sleep: There is an Enemy. It is coming. It’ll kill us all…?

Blessed shalt though be in the city, and blessed shalt though be in the field. Thou shalt be blessed above all. Our holy empire of the Alliance of mankind has fulfilled our destiny. Remember the many heroic humans who have died in conquering the stars for you. Therefore, do not let misguided sympathy toward inferior and conquered animals deter you from your inherent title of divine rulers of the universe. Do not lose this birthright by succumbing to the "attractions" of any alien creature. Remember the penalties imposed by the Supremacy of Man party for this transgression. Our blessings be with you as you follow in the paths of your brothers and sisters. We have faith in mankind and we have faith in you. But, however, should you falter from the paths of righteousness, we have many willing hands eager to show you the error of your ways…

In the privacy of her own home, and against her will, Susan Harris will experience an inconceivable act of terror. She will become the object of the ultimate computer’s consuming obsession: to learn everything there is to know about human flesh

DAS BUCH Laura Shane ist ein besonders hübsches, charmantes und intelligentes Kind. Doch das ist nicht das einzig Außergewöhnliche an ihr: Laura hat einen Schutzengel, allerdings nicht im herkömmlichen Sinn. Ihr Schutzengel ist ein Mensch. Schon bei Lauras schwieriger Geburt, an deren Folgen ihre Mutter stirbt, greift er aktiv ein und verhindert, daß ein volltrunkener Arzt die Operation leitet. Um Laura zu retten, nimmt der mysteriöse Fremde später sogar in Kauf, einen Menschen zu töten. Aber woher weiß er, wann Laura in Gefahr ist? Woher kommt er? Und wer ist er? Fast 20 Jahre hat die Schriftstellerin Laura ihren Schutzengel nun nicht mehr gesehen, und fast glaubt sie schon, der schöne blonde Mann mit den stahlblauen Augen sei ein Produkt ihrer kindlichen Phantasie gewesen. Doch dann liegt er eines Abends mit einer schweren Schußwunde vor ihrer Haustür. Nun muß sie ihrem einstigen Retter helfen. Laura und ihr kleiner Sohn Chris werden in einen gefährlichen Kampf mit den dunklen Mächten der Vergangenheit hineingezogen. DER AUTOR Dean R. Koontz, geb. 1945 in Pennsylvania, gewann bereits mit 20 Jahren den ersten Literaturpreis und hat seither eine steile Karriere als Autor von Spannungsromanen gemacht. Seine in alle Weltsprachen übersetzten Bücher haben eine Gesamtauflage von über 45 Millionen Exemplaren erreicht. Bei Ullstein erscheint ebenfalls »Ort des Grauens«. Originaltitel: Lightning

The Committee, a group of powerful CIA fanatics, has friends in the Mafia, the Congress, in every important department of government up to and including the President's Oval Office. They are funded by a reclusive billionaire, and they have always gotten what they wanted. Now they want everything. This timely and chilling thriller, in the tradition of The Manchurian Candidate, is edge-of-the-chair suspense fiction…with the future of the world hanging in the balance. Enraged by the Chinese-American detente, the Committee conceives a sinister plot to destroy vital portions of the Chinese population. Their weapon is a Chinese youth (code name: Dragonfly) who had been surgically implanted with a deadly virus. He has no memory of what has been done to him, yet he walks around, a human time bomb, set to explode at the right moment, and release the plague within him, killing hundreds of thousands of his countrymen. He must be found. Thus begins a bizarre and violent odyssey, shifting from Washington to Peking and back. A poignant love story provides the counterpoint to a fast-paced and spectacular plot; the combination makes Dragonfly a book readers will not be able to put down. NOTE: K.R. Dwyer is actually a pen name for Dean Koontz (the initials, KRD, are Koontz's initials backwards)

Melanie porwano od matki, kiedy miała zaledwie trzy latka. Po sześciu latach odnaleziono chorą psychicznie dziewczynkę, wędrującą nago nocą po ulicach miasta. Melanie nie mówi, prawie nie reaguje na bodźce, zamknięta w swoim własnym wewnętrznym świecie. Policja znalazła w domu, gdzie ją przetrzymywano, potwornie zmasakrowane zwłoki naukowców, którzy dokonywali, w tajemniczym szarym pokoju, eksperymentów na dziewczynce. Nawet poddana regresji hipnotycznej Melanie nie potrafi wyjaśnić, co z nią zrobiono, powtarza tylko: drzwi do grudnia… Tymczasem giną kolejne osoby związane z eksperymentem w szarym pokoju, wszystkie zamordowane w ten sam brutalny sposób. Porucznik Haldane, prowadzący śledztwo, stopniowo odkrywa straszliwą prawdę o tych zbrodniach… Oryginalna, trzymająca w napięciu, znakomita lektura. Dean Koontz w najlepszej formie!

Frank Pollard despierta en un callejón sin saber más que su nombre y que una oscura fuerza diabólica lo persigue para darle muerte. Abocado a una amnesia impenetrable acude al matrimonio de detectives Dakota para que investiguen su pasado. Bobbie y Julie se enfrentarán al caso más extraño de su carrera para acabar descubriendo que en el mundo de los vivos hay lugares más horrorosos que en el reino de los muertos. Cuando Frank Pollard despierta en un oscuro callejón apenas sabe más que su nombre y que algo, indefinible y horroroso, lo persigue para darle muerte. Tras huir y encontrar refugio en un motel se vuelve a sumergir en un sueño del que despierta con las manos bañadas de sangre. Aterrorizado por albergar tras su consciencia una realidad tan misteriosa como abominable intenta mantener su frágil vigilia, pero el cansancio y la desesperación acaban por hacerle acudir a los Dakota, un joven y extrovertido matrimonio de detectives californianos. Bobby y Julie impresionados por la extraña dimensión del caso, deciden vigilar a Frank durante sus inexplicables fugas amnésicas para desentrañar el origen de su incomprensible perturbación. Al penetrar en un mundo vedado a la lógica y tránsido de una maldad insoportable, descubrirán la trama fatal de una familia que maduró en su seno la crueldad más abominable para redimir al mundo con una estirpe de desquiciados redentores

It’s a fear more paralyzing than falling. More terrifying than absolute darkness. More horrifying than anything you can imagine. It’s the one fear you cannot escape, no matter where you run… no matter where you hide. It’s the fear of yourself. It’s real. It can happen to you. And facing it can be deadly. Fear for your mind

Every so often a character so captures the hearts and imaginations of readers that he seems to take on a life of his own long after the final page is turned. For such a character, one book is not enough-readers must know what happens next. Now Dean Koontz returns with the novel his fans have been demanding. With the emotional power and sheer storytelling artistry that are his trademarks, Koontz takes up once more the story of a unique young hero and an eccentric little town in a tale that is equal parts suspense and terror, adventure and mystery-and altogether irresistibly odd. We're all a little odd beneath the surface. He's the most unlikely hero you'll ever meet-an ordinary guy with a modest job you might never look at twice. But there's so much more to any of us than meets the eye-and that goes triple for Odd Thomas. For Odd lives always between two worlds in the small desert town of Pico Mundo, where the heroic and the harrowing are everyday events. Odd never asked to communicate with the dead-it's something that just happened. But as the unofficial goodwill ambassador between our world and theirs, he's got a duty to do the right thing. That's the way Odd sees it and that's why he's won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death. A childhood friend of Odd's has disappeared. The worst is feared. But as Odd applies his unique talents to the task of finding the missing person, he discovers something worse than a dead body, encounters an enemy of exceptional cunning, and spirals into a vortex of terror. Once again Odd will stand against our worst fears. Around him will gather new allies and old, some living and some not. For in the battle to come, there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope. Whether you're meeting Odd Thomas for the first time or he's already an old friend, you'll be led on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror, wonder and delight-to a revelation that can change your life. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas

Bartholomew Lampion is born on a day of tragedy and terror that will mark his family forever. All agree that his unusual eyes are the most beautiful they have ever seen. On this same day, a thousand miles away, a ruthless man learns that he has a mortal enemy named Bartholomew. He embarks on a relentless search to find this enemy, a search that will consume his life. And a girl is born from a brutal rape, her destiny mysteriously linked to Barty and the man who stalks him. At the age of three, Barty Lampion is blinded when surgeons remove his eyes to save him from a fast-spreading cancer. As he copes with his blindness and proves to be a prodigy, his mother counsels him that all things happen for a reason and that every person’s life has an effect on every other person’s, in often unknowable ways. At thirteen, Bartholomew regains his sight. How he regains it, why he regains it, and what happens as his amazing life unfolds and entwines with others results in a breathtaking journey of courage, heart-stopping suspense, and high adventure

GROM… …uderza po raz pierwszy. Laura Shane przychodzi na świat. Odtąd potężne siły będą rządzić jej losem. GROM… …uderza po raz drugi, przynosząc ze sobą zniszczenie. Groza wdziera się coraz głębiej w jej życie. Tajemnicze fatum zmienia jej przeznaczenie. GROM… …uderza raz jeszcze, druzgocząc straszliwie dotychczasowy świat. Otwiera się przed nią nowe życie, pełne niebezpieczeństw i nieznanej grozy. Ale to dopiero początek…

Alex i Courtney wzięli ślub i pragną przeprowadzić się do San Francisco, by tam rozpocząć nowe życie w przepieknym domu na przedmieściu. Niestety, Alexa trzymają jeszcze w Filadelfii interesy, obiecuje więc żonie, że przyjedzie do Kaliforni razem z jej bratem, Colinem tak szybko, jak to będzie mozliwe. Musi pokonac trzy tysiące mil. Nie wie jednak, że droga ta zamieni się w piekło. Ktoś podąża bowiem jego tropem. Ktoś, kto wie o nim wszystko, zna nawet jego przeznaczenie – opętany nienawiścią, psychopatyczny morderca. Zaczyna się przerażający wyścig…

Czternastoletni Colin Jacobs znajduje przyjaciela w podziwianym przez rówieśników Royu Bordenie. Chłopiec jest słaby i zakompleksiony. Jego idol – silny i pewny siebie. Łączy ich jednak zamiłowanie do okrutnych opowieści. Dla Colina są one wytworem wyobraźni; nie podejrzewa więc nawet, że dla Roya mogą być relacją z rzeczywistością…

He lives in solitude beneath the city, an exile from society, which will destroy him if he is ever seen. She dwells in seclusion, a fugitive from enemies who will do her harm if she is ever found. But the bond between them runs deeper than the tragedies that have scarred their lives. Something more than chance—and nothing less than destiny—has brought them together in a world whose hour of reckoning is fast approaching. In Innocence, #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz blends mystery, suspense, and acute insight into the human soul in a masterfully told tale that will resonate with readers forever

Past midnight, Chyna Shepherd, twenty-six, gazed out a moonlit window, unable to sleep on her first night in the Napa Valley home of her best friend’s family. Instinct proves reliable. A murderous sociopath, Edgler Forman Vess, has entered the house, intent on killing everyone inside. A self-proclaimed “homicidal adventurer,” Vess lives only to satisfy all appetites as they arise, to immerse himself in sensation, to live without fear, remorse or limits, to live with intensity. Chyna is trapped in his deadly orbit. Chyna is a survivor, toughened by a lifelong struggle for safety and self-respect. Now she will be tested as never before. At first her sole aim is to get out alive-until, by chance, she learns the identity of Vess’s next intended victim, a faraway innocent only she can save. Driven by a newly discovered thirst for meaning beyond mere self-preservation, Chyna musters every inner resource she has to save an endangered girl — as moment by moment, the terrifying threat of Edgler Foreman Vess intensifies

In una tempestosa notte di gennaio Laura Shane viene miracolosamente alla luce grazie all’intervento di uno sconosciuto che annuncia il proprio arrivo con un lampo. Il destino però ha in serbo per lei ben più terrificanti pericoli che supererà con l’aiuto del misterioso personaggio. Ma chi è l’enigmatico protettore? Nel giorno del suo tredicesimo compleanno per Laura è pronta un’agghiacciante rivelazione…

A storm struck on the night Laura Shane was born, and there was a strangeness about the weather that people would remember for years. But even more mysterious was the blond-haired stranger who appeared out of nowhere — the man who saved Laura from a fatal delivery. Years later — another bolt of lightning — and the stranger returned, again to save Laura from tragedy. Was he the guardian angel he seemed? The devil in disguise? Or the master of a haunting destiny beyond time and space?

1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz brings his fertile imagination and unparalleled storytelling abilities to one of the most timeless – and terrifying – creations in all of fiction: the legend of Frankenstein. In Lost Souls, Koontz puts a singular twist on this classic tale of ambition and science gone wrong, and forges a new legend uniquely suited to our times – a story of revenge, redemption, and the razor thin line that separates humanity from inhumanity as we consider a new invitation to apocalypse. The work of creation has begun again. Only now things will be different. Victor Leben, once Frankenstein, has not only seen the future – he's ready to populate it. Using stem-cells, 'organic' silicon circuitry, and nanotechnology, he will engender a race of superhumans – the perfect melding of flesh and machine. With a powerful, enigmatic backer eager to see his dream come to fruition and a secret location where the enemies of progress can't find him, Victor is certain that this time nothing and no one can stop him. It is up to five people to prove him wrong. In their hands rests nothing less than the survival of humanity itself. They are drawn together in different ways, by omens sinister and wondrous, to the same shattering conclusion: Two years after they saw him die, the man they knew as Victor Helios lives on. Detectives Carson O'Connor and Michael Maddison; Victor's engineered wife, Erika 5, and her companion Jocko; and the original Victor's first creation, the tormented Deucalion, have all arrived at a small Montana town where their old alliance will be renewed – and tested – by forces from within and without, and where the dangers they face will eclipse any they have yet encountered. Yet in the midst of their peril, love will blossom, and joy, and they will discover sources of strength and perseverance they could not have imagined. They will need all these resources, and more. For a monumental battle is about to commence that will require all their ingenuity and courage, as it defines what we are to be… and if we are to be at all

Carol i Paul Tracy są ludźmi sukcesu: ona jest cenionym specjalistą w dziedzinie psychiatrii dziecięcej, on robi karierę jako nauczyciel akademicki i pisarz. Do pełni małżeńskiego szczęścia brakuje im tylko dziecka, a ponieważ Carol jest bezpłodna, decydują się na adopcję. Realizację ich planów utrudnia cały szereg pozornie przypadkowych wypadków i katastrof. Pewnego dnia Carol niechcący potrąca samochodem nieznajomą nastolatkę. Chociaż dziewczynka nie odnosi poważniejszej szkody, okazuje się, że kompletnie nic o sobie nie wie i niczego nie pamięta. W trakcie seansu hipnotycznego, jakiemu poddana zostaje Jane, wychodzi na jaw przerażająca prawda. Jej ciało zamieszkuje nie jedna, ale kilka różnych osobowości. Wszystkie one należały do żyjących przed laty dziewcząt, które zmarły tragicznie w przeddzień swoich szesnastych urodzin. Najbardziej przerażający jest jednak fakt, że przed śmiercią każda z nich zdradzała objawy morderczej furii skierowanej przeciwko najbliższym

Nie war das Grauen bedrohlicher … Tessa Lockland kann den angeblichen Selbstmord ihrer Schwester nicht glauben. Deshalb macht sie sich auf den Weg nach Moonlight Cove, der kalifornischen Kleinstadt, in der ihre Schwester zuletzt gelebt hat. Auch ein FBI-Agent trifft dort ein, um eine Reihe seltsamer Todesfälle zu klären. Der an den Rollstuhl gefesselte Vietnam-Veteran Harry Talbot hat ihn verständigt, da auch er schon länger seltsame Ereignisse beobachtet. Und schließlich ist da noch das Mädchen Chrissie Foster, deren Eltern sich zu unheimlichen Wesen verwandeln. Alle Fäden scheinen bei der geheimnisvollen Computerfirma New Wave zusammenzulaufen, die ein wahnwitziges Experiment mit den Bürgern der Stadt plant ... Titel der Originalausgabe MIDNIGHT. Aus dem Amerikanischen übersetzt von Joachim Körber Scanned by Doc Gonzo

Pewnego dnia w Santa Ana w Kalifornii ginie w wypadku samochodowym Eric Leben, błyskotliwy naukowiec zajmujący się eksperymentami genetycznymi, prezes dynamicznej firmy, której badaniami niezwykle interesuje się Pentagon. Kiedy kilkanaście godzin później zwłoki mężczyzny w niewyjaśnionych okolicznościach znikają z kostnicy, jego żona Rachael nie kryje lęku. Doskonale wie, do czego posunął się Eric w swej obsesyjnej chęci zachowania młodości i obawie przed śmiercią. Tymczasem tego samego wieczoru w brutalny sposób zostają zamordowane dwie młode kobiety. Policja rozpoczyna śledztwo, którego rezultaty wskazują, że obie sprawy mają ze sobą związek. Ta doskonała, trzymająca w napięciu powieść klasyka gatunku została wydana w Polsce w 1993 r. pod tytułem „Nieśmiertelny”

Designed by top scientists and unleashed in a monstrous conspiracy, night chills are seizing the men and women of Black River — driving them to acts of rape and murder. The nightmare is real. And death is the only cure…

Christopher Snow conoce la noche como nadie, pues la extraña enfermedad cutánea que padece lo hace peligrosamente vulnerable a la luz solar y lo ha condenado a vivir veintiocho años en perpetua oscuridad. No es, sin embargo, de noche cuando avisan a Chris de que su padre está agonizando, aunque sí suceden durante la oscuridad todos los acontecimientos que se precipitan con su muerte: el descubrimiento casual por parte de Chris de que el cadáver de su padre ha sido cambiado por otro, las asombrosas revelaciones de una enfermera sobre experimentos genéticos en los que estaría implicada la difunta madre de Chris, la aparición de extraños seres tan inteligentes como agresivos, que rondan en la noche. Un mal oscuro impregna la sociedad, y Chris sólo cuenta con su novia, Sasha, y su amigo Bob para hacerle frente… Nocturno, crónica de una noche de premoniciones, descubrimientos y revelaciones demasiado espantosas, es a la vez un thriller, una fantástica aventura, un canto a la amistad y una conmovedora historia del triunfo sobre las propias limitaciones. Una novela inquietante y oscura, matizada por una poderosa intriga y un irresistible sentido del humor

Only a handful of fictional characters are recognized by first name alone. Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas is one of those rare literary heroes who have come alive in readers' imaginations as he explores the greatest mysteries of this world and the next with his inimitable wit, heart, and quiet gallantry. Now Koontz follows Odd as he is irresistibly drawn onward to a destiny he cannot imagine and to undreamed of places where the perils he will face and the stakes for which he fights will eclipse all that he has known. The legend began in the obscure little town of Pico Mundo. A fry cook named Odd was rumored to have the extraordinary ability to communicate with the dead. Through tragedy and triumph, exhilaration and heartbreak, word of Odd Thomas's gifts filtered far beyond Pico Mundo, attracting unforgettable new friends-and enemies of implacable evil. With great gifts comes the responsibility to meet great challenges. But no mere human being was ever meant to face the darkness that now stalks the world-not even one as oddly special as Odd Thomas. After grappling with the very essence of reality itself, after finding the veil that separates him from his soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, tantalizingly thin yet impenetrable, Odd longed only to return to a life of quiet anonymity with his two otherworldly sidekicks-his dog Boo and a new companion, one of the few who might rival his old pal Elvis. But a true hero, however humble, must persevere. Haunted by dreams of an all-encompassing red tide, Odd is pulled inexorably to the sea, to a small California coastal town where nothing is as it seems. Now the forces arrayed against him have both official sanction and an infinitely more sinister authority…and in this dark night of the soul dawn will come only after the most shattering revelations of all. Burnishing Dean Koontz's stature as a master of suspense and one of our most innovative and gifted storytellers, Odd Hours illuminates a legacy of mystery and hope that will shine on long after the final page

"The dead don't talk. I don't know why." But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary guy, if possessed of a certain measure of talent at the Pico Mundo Grill and rapturously in love with the most beautiful girl in the world, Stormy Llewellyn. Maybe he has a gift, maybe it's a curse, Odd has never been sure, but he tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd's otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's sympathetic police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different. A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd's deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15. Today is August 14. In less than twenty-four hours, Pico Mundo will awaken to a day of catastrophe. As evil coils under the searing desert sun, Odd travels through the shifting prisms of his world, struggling to avert a looming cataclysm with the aid of his soul mate and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock 'n' Roll. His account of two shattering days when past and present, fate and destiny converge is the stuff of our worst nightmares-and a testament by which to live: sanely if not safely, with courage, humor, and a full heart that even in the darkness must persevere

Wydaje się rzeczą niemożliwą, by wszyscy mieszkańcy spokojnego kalifornijskiego miasteczka zniknęli niemal w jednej sekundzie podczas wykonywania codziennych zajęć. A jednak kiedy pewnego wrześniowego wieczoru Jenny Paige i jej młodsza siostra przyjeżdżają do Snowfield, w tej dopiero co tętniącej życiem miejscowości nie ma nikogo. Właściwie należałoby powiedzieć: nie ma żywego człowieka, bo oprócz nielicznych ludzkich zwłok, na których trudno dopatrzyć się śladów gwałtownej śmierci, jest tu ktoś jeszcze – niewidzialny, mądry i okrutny, rozkoszujący się własną potęgą. Odwieczny wróg ludzkości, pragnący dla niej tylko śmierci i zatracenia…

In a dusty trailer park on the far edge of the California dream, Michelina Bellsong contemplates the choices she has made. At twenty-eight, she wants to change the direction of her troubled life but can’t find her way — until a new family settles into the rental trailer next door and she meets the young girl who will lead her on a remarkable quest that will change Micky herself and everything she knows — or thinks she knows — forever. Despite the brace she must wear on her deformed left leg, and her withered left hand, nine-year-old Leilani Klonk radiates a buoyant and indomitable spirit that inspires Micky. Beneath Leilani’s effervescence, however, Micky comes to sense a quiet desperation that the girl dares not express. Leilani’s mother is little more than a child herself. And the girl’s stepfather, Preston Maddoc, is educated but threatening. He has moved the family from place to place as he fanatically investigates UFO sightings, striving to make contact, claiming to have had a vision that by Leilani’s tenth birthday aliens will either heal her or take her away to a better life on their world. Slowly, ever more troubling details emerge in Leilani’s conversations with Micky. Most chilling is Micky’s discovery that Leilani had an older brother, also disabled, who vanished after Maddoc took him into the woods one night and is now “gone to the stars.” Leilani’s tenth birthday is approaching. Micky is convinced the girl will be dead by that day. While the child-protection bureaucracy gives Micky the runaround, the Maddoc family slips away into the night. Micky sets out across America to track and find them, alone and afraid but for the first time living for something bigger than herself. She finds herself pitted against an adversary, Preston Maddoc, as fearsome as he is cunning. The passion and disregard for danger with which Micky pursues her quest bring to her side a burned-out detective who joins her on a journey of incredible peril and startling discoveries, a journey through terrible darkness to unexpected light

When Jenny returns to her medical practice in Snowfield after attending the death of her mother, she finds the shock of her young life. Everyone in the town is either horribly dead or missing. She does not know what or who has killed everyone or whether it will allow her and her fourteen-year-old sister to either leave safely or call for help. Extremely riveting supernatural thriller

Spokojny, żyjący w harmonii ze światem malarz, Dylan O'Conner, pewnego wieczoru zostaje napadnięty przez zagadkowego człowieka, który w pokoju motelowym aplikuje mu tajemniczy zastrzyk. Wkrótce dowiaduje się, że grozi mu śmiertelne niebezpieczeństwo – musi uciekać przed bezwzględnymi mordercami, którzy nie cofną się przed niczym, by wyeliminować każdego, kogo obłąkany "doktor" dostał w swoje ręce. Towarzyszy mu młodszy brat cierpiący na autyzm oraz Jilly, dziewczyna próbująca swoich sił jako komik na estradach Południowego Zachodu, której również wstrzyknięto tajemniczą substancję. Muszą stawić czoło nie tylko pościgowi, ale także dziwnym, niepojętym zmianom, jakie zaczynają w nich zachodzić pod wpływem zastrzyku. Wbrew własnej woli stają się uczestnikami wydarzeń, które na pozór nie mają żadnego związku z grożącym im niebezpieczeństwem. Wydaje się, że chory Shepherd będzie im utrudniał ucieczkę… ale czy rzeczywiście?

Moonliht Cove, nadmorskie miasteczko w północnej części Kalifornii, boryka się z szalejącą plaga tajemniczych zgonów. Ofiary Gina w niewyjaśnionych okolicznościach, a ich ciała są pośpiesznie kremowane, by zapobiec autopsji. Do zbadania sprawy zostaje oddelegowany doświadczony agent FBI Sam Booker, który przybywa na miejsce incognito. Przyjdzie mu zmierzyć się z koszmarem wykraczającym daleko poza granice pojmowania. Thomas Shaddack, szalony wizjoner, właściciel potężnej firmy informatycznej New Wave Microtechnology, pragnie stworzyć zupełnie nową rasę istot odpornych na wszelkie ludzkie odczucia i odruchy. Odcięty od świata senny kurort staje się areną walki między samotnym stróżem prawa, a potworami rodem z najgłębszych otchłani szaleństwa?

A catastrophic, unexplainable plane crash leaves three hundred and thirty dead — no survivors. Among the victims are the wife and two daughters of Joe Carpenter, a Los Angeles Post crime reporter. A year after the crash, still gripped by an almost paralyzing grief, Joe encounters a woman named Rose, who claims to have survived the crash. She holds out the possibility of a secret that will bring Joe peace of mind. But before he can ask any questions, she slips away. Driven now by rage (have the authorities withheld information?) and a hope almost as unbearable as his grief (if there is one survivor, are there others?), Joe sets out to find the mysterious woman. His search immediately leads him into the path of a powerful and shadowy organization hell-bent on stopping Rose before she can reveal what she knows about the crash

You are about to travel along the strange highways of human experience: the adventures and terrors and failures and triumphs that we know as we make our way from birth to death, along the routes that we choose for ourselves and along others onto which we are detoured by fate. It is a journey down wrong roads that can lead to unexpectedly and stunningly right destinations…into subterranean depths where the darkness of the human soul breeds in every conceivable form…over unfamiliar terrain populated by the denizens of hell. It is a world of unlikely heroes, haunted thieves, fearsome predators, vengeful children, and suspiciously humanlike robots

The second fast-moving thriller by Brian Coffey featuring Mike Tucker, art dealer, heir to a vast unobtainable fortune and highly successful professional thief. He is persuaded to lead Meyers and Bates in the robbery of an exclusive California shopping mall containing a bank crammed with cash, an expensive jewellers and eighteen other shops catering for super-extravagant tastes. The job is expected to take little more than an hour and is seemingly a walkover. But something is bugging Tucker: something Meyers has not told him. The operation has hardly begun when an alarm is sounded — too soon. They are surrounded. There is no way out. Yet when the police finally break in the three men have vanished with the loot into thin air

A ventinove anni, dopo un’infanzia e un’adolescenza difficili, la bella e intelligente Hilary Thomas è arrivata al successo. Ma quando viene aggredita nella sua lussuosa villa di Beverly Hills da un maniaco omicida, i peggiori incubi del passato sembrano rimaterializzarsi nei bagliori della lama acuminata del suo aggressore. Non basterà fuggire, non basterà lottare, non basterà nemmeno ucciderlo: lui tornerà, più forte della morte, a ossessionarla, costringendola a scavare disperatamente nei segreti sepolti per scoprire una realtà allucinante. Da Hollywood a Napa Valley, dalle piscine soleggiate delle dimore dei divi alla penombra umida di morte dell’obitorio, il ritmo tranquillo della vita quotidiana in California viene sconvolto da eventi ben più spaventosi e dirompenti dei terremoti ai quali la gente è ormai abituata. Esistono forze, nella mente umana, al confronto delle quali le scosse telluriche sono carezze e le urla di morte soltanto sussurri

Piękna hollywoodzka scenarzystka uśmierca napastnika, który wdarł się do jej domu. Niebawem zaczyna ją prześladować nieznajomy, łudząco podobny do zabitego. Tymczasem z ręki szaleńca padają kolejne ofiary

With each of his #1 New York Times bestsellers, Dean Koontz has displayed an unparalleled ability to entertain and enlighten readers with novels that capture the essence of our times even as they bring us to the edge of our seats. Now he delivers a heart-gripping tour de force he's been waiting years to write, at once a love story, a thrilling adventure, and a masterwork of suspense that redefines the boundaries of primal fear – and of enduring devotion. Amy Redwing has dedicated her life to the southern California organization she founded to rescue abandoned and endangered golden retrievers. Among dog lovers, she's a legend for the risks she'll take to save an animal from abuse. Among her friends, Amy's heedless devotion is often cause for concern. To widower Brian McCarthy, whose commitment she can't allow herself to return, Amy's behavior is far more puzzling and hides a shattering secret. No one is surprised when Amy risks her life to save Nickie, nor when she takes the female golden into her home. The bond between Amy and Nickie is immediate and uncanny. Even her two other goldens, Fred and Ethel, recognize Nickie as special, a natural alpha. But the instant joy Nickie brings is shadowed by a series of eerie incidents. An ominous stranger. A mysterious home invasion. And the unmistakable sense that someone is watching Amy's every move and that, whoever it is, he's not alone. Someone has come back to turn Amy into the desperate, hunted creature she's always been there to save. But now there's no one to save Amy and those she loves. From its breathtaking opening scene to its shocking climax, The Darkest Evening of the Year is Dean Koontz at his finest, a transcendent thriller certain to have readers turning pages until dawn

Novel of a mother who must save her daughter from a threat she can hardly understand. What happened to nine-year-old Melanie during the six years she was subjected to terrifying experiments? And what is the unstoppable power that she can unleash from behind the “Door to December”?

A beautiful young girl appears out of nowhere. A teenager with no past, no family — no memories. Carol and Paul were drawn to her. She was the child they’d never had. Most mothers would die for such a darling little angel. And that’s what frightened Carol most of all…

Twelve-year-old Crispin has lived on the streets since he was nine — with only his wits and his daring to sustain him, and only his silent dog, Harley, to call his friend. He is always on the move, never lingering in any one place long enough to risk being discovered. Still, there are certain places he returns to. In the midst of the tumultuous city, they are havens of solitude: like the hushed environs of St. Mary Salome Cemetery, a place where Crispin can feel at peace — safe, at least for a while, from the fearsome memories that plague him… and seep into his darkest nightmares. But not only his dreams are haunted. The city he roams with Harley has secrets and mysteries, things unexplainable and maybe unimaginable. Crispin has seen ghosts in the dead of night, and sensed dimensions beyond reason in broad daylight. Hints of things disturbing and strange nibble at the edges of his existence, even as dangers wholly natural and earthbound cast their shadows across his path. Alone, drifting, and scavenging to survive is no life for a boy. But the life Crispin has left behind, and is still running scared from, is an unspeakable alternative… that may yet catch up with him

A wretched hag who is head of a crack pot religious cult targets Christine's six-year-old son, Joey, as the anti-Christ. Every member of the cult then sets out to destroy the boy and the only person Christine can find to really help her is a private detective. Grace (the cult leader) seems to be able to locate them with her psychic powers no matter what they do or where they go. Lots of violence and a little explicit sex. Excellent supernatural thriller from a master storyteller

On the morning that marks the end of the world they have known, Molly and Neil Sloan awaken to the drumbeat of rain on their roof. A luminous silvery downpour is drenching their small California mountain town. It has haunted their sleep, invaded their dreams, and now, in the moody purple dawn, the young couple cannot shake the sense of something terribly wrong. As the hours pass, Molly and Neil listen to disturbing news of extreme weather phenomena across the globe. By nightfall, their little town loses all contact with the outside world. A thick fog transforms the once-friendly village into a ghostly labyrinth. And soon the Sloans and their neighbors will be forced to draw on reserves of courage and humanity they never knew they had. For within the misty gloom they will encounter something that reveals in a shattering instant what is happening to their world-something that is hunting them with ruthless efficiency

The voice of the night can transform childhood fantasy into terrifying reality. If you listen to the voice, you may never see the dawn again! Colin Jacobs is a shy, awkward, bookish fourteen-year-old. His only real companions are those from the science fiction stories he loves. But his life changes when Roy Borden, the most popular kid in town, becomes his 'blood brother'. There's only one problem. Roy has a secret — a secret so terrible that Colin can hardly imagine it. By the time he comes to face the truth, it's almost too late. His own life is in danger — and no one will believe him…

Tommy Phan is a successful detective novelist, living the American Dream in southern California. One evening he comes home to find a small rag doll on his doorstep. It’s a simple doll, covered entirely in white cloth, with crossed black stitches for the eyes and mouth, and another pair forming an X over the heart. Curious, he brings it inside. That night, Tommy hears an odd popping sound and looks up to see the stitches breaking over the doll’s heart. And in minutes the fabric of Tommy Phan’s reality will be torn apart. Something terrifying emerges from the pristine white cloth, something that will follow Tommy wherever he goes. Something that he can’t destroy. It wants Tommy’s life and he doesn’t know why. He has only one ally, a beautiful, strangely intuitive waitress he meets by chance—or by a design far beyond his comprehension. He has too many questions, no answers, and very little time. Because the vicious and demonically clever doll has left this warning on Tommy’s computer screen: The deadline is dawn. TICK TOCK. Time is running out

From a top secret government laboratory come two genetically altered life forms. One is a magnificent dog of astonishing intelligence. The other, a hybrid monster of a brutally violent nature. Both are on the loose…

1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In the late summer of a long-ago year, Alton Turner Blackwood brutally murdered four families. His savage spree ended only when he himself was killed by the last survivor of the last family, a fourteen-year-old boy. Half a continent away and two decades later, someone is murdering families again, re-creating in detail Blackwood's crimes. Homicide detective John Calvino is certain that his own family--his wife and three children--will be targets, just as his parents and sisters were victims on that distant night when he was fourteen and killed their slayer. As a detective, John is a man of reason who deals in cold facts. But an extraordinary experience convinces him that sometimes death is not a one-way journey, that sometimes the dead return. Includes the bonus novellaDarkness Under the Sun!