Velocity

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: Michael Hayden

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.…

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.

©2005 Dean Koontz (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Graphic, fast-paced action, well-developed characters and relentless, nail-biting scenes show Koontz at the top of his game."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Genuinely terrific."—Booklist

“Just in time for summer, Dean Koontz again delivers a top-notch thriller full of well-drawn characters and anxiety-spiked sequences.”—Chicago Tribune

The suspense & chills of choice

Dean Koontz and his secret formula work again to captivate the reader and keep you reading to the end. The plot and the continuous suspense are original and the chills are deadly. It’s a story about a struggling author whom is a bartender in a small town and begins to receive notes, where he must decide the death of others. He quickly realizes they are no hoax. The notes begin to increase and he learns they are leading to his entrapment of the killings. Therefore he must outsmart and stop the killers next move. This book is full of suspense, chills, and bravery. I recommend this book, but I notice this author truly uses the same prescription in most books. Thus, if you have read his work it’s as good as his others.

Had me guessing at ever turn.

Would you listen to Velocity again? Why?

This book is a head trip. Half the book you think you have it figured out but then the next second you have no idea. There are so many twist and turns and when you finally get to the end and think that it is all over BOOM! another plot twist!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Velocity?

When a certain character was part of it the whole time!

Have you listened to any of Michael Hayden’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not but he read this book fantastically!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book Shocked me and kept me on the edge of my seat. At the end I was reeling and all I could say was... WHAT!

The title FITS!!

Dean Koontz titled this book right. Almost from the beginning the story takes off and doesn't let up. Surprises around every corner!

Typical Koontz Plot Twists

I found the story to be a little slow and frustrating at first - not typical Koontz. Then the plot twists and turns and the bizarre story unfolds in classic Koontz fashion. A very enjoyable book that left me with a good feeling when it was done. The narrator was not the best, but he was adequate.

more of a mystery

Although we still have the typical Koontz battle between good and evil, this book does not deal with people with extrordinary powers or the supernatural. It is almost like a good old fashion murder mystery. As usual, his character development is the strength of book, yet the book moves very fast. Of all of his books, except Odd Thomas,this was the hardest to put down. Very enjoyable.

Maybe worth a read, but not a listen

I too am a longtime Koontz fan, and look forward to the next one every time. This one promised a lot, but I feel I was let down. I have a feeling, though, that it might have been a better read in-hand instead of listening. The narrator never brought across the natural sense of urgency at times, and I found myself wanting to get through this just so I could get back to listening to podcasts.
But when I opened the book at night before bed, I realized how short the chapters were, and the urgency of the unfolding story captured me.
As for the story itself, I found myself not really caring about the main character well into the story, and I had doubts as to whether Koontz could tie it together in a believable way. I thought he (Koontz) led us all into a trap that's been used too many times in novels and movies, but I was happily surprised he didn't (avoiding a spoiler here, so that was purposefully vague). It's worth taking it through to the end, simply because that is where the story wraps and the morality is exposed.
Koontz could have made this book another 50 pages to really let us get to know the few characters and tie up some other loose ends, and it would have been very much worth it. Maybe the publisher pushed for a summer beach read? Not sure.

A very wild ride

Koontz never fails to please. This was a very wild ride and I wasn't sure where it was going half of the time. But, it was very exciting and I enjoyed having Billy trying not to go crazy figuring out how to keep Barbara alive.

Sure moved slow to be called "velocity"

gotta say. the ending seemed rushed. I love Dean Koontz books and I can honestly say that I enjoyed this more when I read it in paperback. the narrator did a fine job. I just digested it a bit differently here. it wasn't as good as remembered...

A Classic Koontz thriller I couldn’t put it down

Another great read. This is a more mature more realistic thriller than most of this very talented author’s work. 5 stars!

Not Koontz?s Best Work

You know the horror movies where you want to yell at the dumb kids not to go anyplace alone, not to explore, not to do anything dumb? Well that is how I felt about Billy and his friend in the beginning of this book. I wanted to yell at them both for being soooo stupid!

At the half-way point I actually considered giving it up, but having an insatiably curious nature I had to find out what happened. I'm glad I did.

It was not at ALL like I expected. Why Billy behaves the way he does becomes clear as you understand his past. An understanding of childhood horrors explains why he is the unemotional person that he is.

Be forewarned, this is a very cerebral novel in many ways -- with true horrors. NOT for the faint of heart.

While Velocity was clearly NOT Koontz's best work (and I have read well over 35 books of his) it was an interesting ride.