Monday, June 23, 2008

In Odd We Trust

Created by Dean Koontz, Written by Queenie Chan and Dean Koontz with Illustrations by Queenie Chan
Published by Del Rey Manga


Slugline: Not that odd

Odd Thomas is a fry cook specializing in pancakes and the ability to see ghosts. Well, seeing ghosts is not usually a skill required in most diners, but it sometimes is useful when there has been a murder. In the California town of Pico Mundo there has been a child murder, and considering Odd's previous assistance to the town's police, he is asked to see if there is anything he can do with new case. Odd would have probably helped anyways, if for no other reason that the housekeeper that discovered the child's body is a childhood friend of Stormy, his girlfriend. But Sherry, Stormy's friend, has a deeper connection to the killer than just being unfortunate enough to find the killer's first victim.

Dean Koontz has written four novels featuring Odd Thomas, but I am not sure exactly where this falls into the series. Maybe this story does not show off the character of Odd Thomas to the fullest, but it did not impress me very much. Odd Thomas seems like so many other psychic detectives that I read or seen on TV before. Plus, it seems that the central mystery of the volume is just not very mysterious or challenging. Maybe that is reflective of the series and the fact when you have a real psychic whose answers to their questions just come to them, it is hard to maintain a sense of suspense. Still it felt flat. Even the art at times felt stiff. This feels more for the fans of the Odd Thomas series than anything else.



In Odd We Trust is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

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