Having just gotten into reading Koontz earlier this year, this is about my tenth book of his and I consider it one of the better. I listened to this one on audio during a holiday road trip. It’s read by Dan John Miller and he does a decent job; he even does different voices for the characters which made it lively! I can honestly say I’d probably been more disappointed had I not listened to the audio version and had actually read the book. I’ll explain why in the rest of my review.

Ever heard the old writer’s expression, “Be careful or I’ll put you in my next book!”? Relentless is Koontz’s homage to authors receiving bad reviews, but in this case he sides with the reviewer taking out revenge when the author speaks up.

Relentless is the story of author Cullen (Cubby) Greenwich enjoying some success from his new book. He’s married to a lovely wife named Penny. They have a child prodigy son named Milo, and a peculiar dog named Lassie. When Greenwich lands his first bad review from literary writer Shearman Waxx, his curiosity gets the best of him despite Penny’s warnings to “let it go.” When Cubby encounters Waxx in a public restroom during lunch and their odd meeting actually turns humorous, Waxx warns Greenwich of impending doom.

At first, it seems Waxx is a serial killer with intentions of killing off bad authors. He shows up at Greenwich’s house and strange things start to happen. Just as things turn more serious, it seems Waxx almost has supernatural powers. A chase ensues as the family set out to escape Waxx and also uncover just what he’s up to.

By the end, I was a bit let down. I actually wish Waxx’s behavior would have had some supernatural elements to it, but Koontz let’s him off the hook. The book does still have its peculiar happenings, but those are linked more to Milo and Lassie – which ended up being a pleasant surprise in the end. Koontz offers bits of humor in minor characters like Cubby’s agent, Milo’s babsitter, and Penny’s parents – all which are presented cleverly in the audio when the dialogue is read by Miller.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read…I mean “listen.” Definitely one of the more enjoyable and original reads from Koontz this year for me with good suspense and a dash of humor, despite the downfall of the ending.