GENERAL INFORMATION
TITLE: THE MOONLIT MIND
AUTHOR: DEAN KOONTZ
PAGES: 102
PUBLISHER: HARPER
YEAR: 2011
GENRE: SUSPENSE FICTION
I bought this e-book from www.kbo.com.
BLURB FROM THE COVER
In this chilling original stand-alone novella, available exclusively as an eBook, Dean Koontz offers a taste of what’s to come in his novel, 77 Shadow Street, with a mesmerizing tale of a homeless boy at large in a city fraught with threats … both human and otherwise. Includes the first chapter of 77 Shadow Street.
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, 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 are his dreams haunted. Crispin has seen ghosts in the dead of night, and sensed dimensions beyond reason in broad daylight.
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.
There is more to Crispin’s world, and its darkest corners have yet to be encountered, in this eBook’s special bonus: a spine-tingling excerpt from Dean Koontz’s forthcoming novel, 77 Shadow Street.
EXTRACT
Crispin lives wild in the city, a feral boy of twelve, and he has no friend but Harley, though Harley never speaks.
REVIEW
The Moonlit Mind is a prelude to Koontz’s novel, 77 Shadow Street. Unlike, Wilderness this novella can be read stand alone.
I like the structure used in The Moonlit Mind. The novella moves back and forth in time. In the present, Crispin, a boy on the run from very nasty people and his sole companion, a dog named after his murdered brother live on the streets. They move constantly so the people hunting them lost their trail. The flashbacks reveal, with mounting suspense just how they ended up in this predicament. This structure built tension and compelled me to read on.
The Moonlit Mind is packed with suspense and tension. I loved the sinister and disturbing hints revealed in flashbacks. Koontz piles on unease, creepiness and suspense until it’s almost unbearable. I had chills all the way through.
Crispin befriends a sixteen year old girl, also on the run since she fled the house where her parents were slaughtered. I thought she was a fascinating character like Annamaria in the Odd Thomas books. I liked the relationship between them. I want to read 77 Shadow Street. I hope Crispin and the mysterious girl both make an appearance.
I loved the ending of The Moonlit Mind. Koontz packs a punch with this one. I need to read 77 Shadow Street now to see where Crispin’s story fits in. Damn you Dean Koontz for giving me more books to add to my already long list. I loved The Moonlit Mind. Great title as well.
RATING
