Thrilling Listen

Finished September 9
The Good Guy by Dean Koontz, read by Richard Ferrone
Tim Carrier, a bricklayer, is having a beer after work at his friend's bar, when he is drawn into conversation by a man who then passes him an envelope with the line "Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she's gone." By the time Tim realizes he's been mistaken for a paid killer, the man is gone. Tim looks inside the envelope and finds the money and picture of a woman. The picture has her name and address on the back. When another stranger walks in and sees Tim with the envelop, he approaches, and Tim knows he is dealing with the killer. He gives him the money, but keeps the picture and says the job is off. When the stranger leaves, Tim follows him out, only to discover that he is a cop. Not feeling like it is a good idea to call the police on this now, Tim instead goes to the woman and the chase begins.
Tim is the "good guy" of the title and the woman has no idea who is after her, so the two take off, staying one step ahead of the killer. As the story progresses, the scenes move back and forth between the killer and his prey and we see into the dark mind of a man who kills for a living, and lives to kill. We also see the calculated actions of a man who cares about people and wants to thwart the killer and those who hired him. Tim draws on all his skills and past experiences to outwit the killer. As we see the two men, their differences stand out more and more, and right down to the end we see the different focus the two have on life.
This was my first book by Koontz, but I found the writing well done, and the plot just realistic enough to be very scary.