"Whispers" by Dean Koontz

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Shakespeare

Chilling thriller that only on surface deals with standard stalker/victim issue but as the story unfolds it sharply focuses on scars of childhood and how it takes a lifetime for them to heal (or, in some cases, they don't heal at all). Both stalker and the victim here are adults imprisoned in their nightmares, while along the lines Koontz also deals with love, friendships, understanding, new beginnings and loneliness. 

What I really enjoy about Koontz is how he psychologically describes his characters, even though it would have been easier to just go on with the action - he needs reader to understand why such a beautiful and successful woman as Hilary Thomas is unable to relax and enjoy her life or how detective Tony Clemenza is acutely aware of emptiness of his life ("He realized that he was building the kind of life that, when complete, might well be a hollow temple of loneliness.") Sentences like these startle me, because they come unexpected and I savour them, surprised with depth,  poignancy and understanding how the human psyche works. You don't find these things in Stephen King novels that, gripping as they are, hardly ever probe into layers behind people's minds. (Talking about King, Koontz actually affectionately mentions him here: "He did a little filing, then just sat and listened to the radio for a while, then did a bit more filing, then read a few chapters of a really good Stephen King novel about vampires on the loose in New England.") "Whispers" is a gripping read that gradually rises to a fever pitch and there are some genuinely frightening, gruesome passages so be warned, this is not for squeamish readers.

What I particularly enjoyed was description of how understanding eventually develops between two policemen who are forced to work together against their initial reserve. Clemenza and his colleague Frank Howard couldn't be more different but as work colleagues often do, they come to mutual understanding and gradually even warm up to each other. On the other hand, grouchy and curmudgeonly attorney Joshua Rhinehart is a delight, someone I would feel kinship in a real life. I have just discovered Koontz recently and carried away with enthusiasm read three of his novels in a row, but despite curiosity, at this point I feel that it would be wise to take a break before I start finding faults and similarities between his books.