Cheap Whispers (Book) (Dean Koontz) Price

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Customer Reviews of Whispers

The plot itself is simple. A beautiful screenwriter, Hilary Thomas, is confronted in her own home by an intruder named Bruno Frye. It seems that Mr. Frye has been stalking Ms. Thomas in the belief that Ms. Thomas is his long deceased mother, Katherine, who has ostensibly come back from the dead in order to kill him. He feels that he must kill her, before she kills him.

Of course, Ms. Thomas has no clue as to why Frye has singled her out. She is aware only of his murderous intent, and she is afraid, very afraid. On Frye's first go around with Ms. Thomas, she survives. On the second go around, Frye does not. Thinking herself to be safe, as Frye has seemingly gone to his maker, she is shocked when he, yet again, confronts her with deadly intent.

Why this is happening and how, will certainly keep the reader turning the pages. Some of it is predictable, but it, nonetheless, makes for an absorbing, easy read. This is one of the author's better, early efforts. Readers who enjoy suspenseful novels will not be disappointed.

Violent and satisfying
This is the first book by Dean Koontz that I read, and even after finishing INTENSITY, MR. MURDER, HIDEAWAY, and THE EYES OF DARKNESS, it still ranks as my favorite. I am a bit of a skeptic when I read book reviews raving that the book is "chilling" or "spine-tingling," but I can honestly claim that WHISPERS was both those things and more.

The reason I appreciated WHISPERS so much is because of the incredibly well-crafted plot. As a mystery fan, I really enjoy reading a book that gives you an impossibly baffling plot twist and finally wraps up the entire story at the very end, tying up all the loose ends. Koontz shows himself to be not only a master storyteller but a super plotter. At first glance, this book may seem like another cheap, come-back-from-the-dead serial killer novel, but at the end, everything is explained logically and realistically, which makes it all the more shocking. But it isn't just the plot; there are genuinely horrifying moments and the climax is both suspenseful and disturbing. One of those books that makes you sit back after reading the last sentence and say, "Wow."

Awkward, but not bad.
I can't lie--I found this book very enjoyable and interesting. It's an unique plotline: Hilary Thomas, a screenwriter living in L.A. is attacked in her Westwood home by a wealthy Napa valley landowner named Bruno Frye. She fends him off once, and kills him a second time...but to her horror, the supposedly dead and buried serial killer shows up in her home once more. In accordance with the Supreme Law of Thriller Novels, she naturally sets off on a quest to find out who Bruno Frye really is, and why he's (possibly) come back from the dead to kill her. The villian is the most complex character of the novel, and the characters' discovery of his childhood secrets is as suspenseful and entertaining as the action in the novel. Now for the bad part: Apart from the general plot, this novel is a painful cliche. The main character, Hilary Thomas, seems just too perfect. She's extremely rich, extremely succesful, and even an oscar-nominated screenwriter, and in addition to this she's breathtakingly beautiful, has a perfect body, is tough, witty, and naturally amazingly nice and down to earth. Her troubled background only adds an element of cheese to the story rather than giving her character depth, and her love interest, a handsome cop, is equally two-dimensional. In their investigation of Bruno Frye, they seem to get information way too easily and conveniently (for instance, they run into Frye's executor who just so happens to completely believe their story, and have a private jet which he of course can fly then around California with) and throughout the story they exchange enough witty dialogue to kill any too-serious reader. The biggest problem I had with this otherwise fine book was the sex. (...) Despite this, the book managed to hold enough of my interest to earn a 3 star rating.
Bottom Line: Read it if you have some time to kill and would enjoy a good thriller, but don't waste your time otherwise. NOT FOR THE YOUNG OR THE SQUEAMISH.