A review by barbtrek
One Door Away from Heaven by Dean Koontz

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I love to share that I discovered Dean Koontz after I read all the Stephen King books at my local library. Koontz was next in line alphabetically, so there you go. Today, I can’t stomach King books anymore but am still enjoying Koontz. 

Anyway, I picked up this particular book because one of the main characters, Leilani, was mentioned in the book The House at the end of the world. Clever marketing there Mr. Koontz! But I’m glad I picked this book up because I really enjoyed it!

This was definitely a 5 star read for me, but I still have a few nitpicks. I don’t want to give any spoilers so I’m going to be vague. There is a moment near the climax of the story where the good guys do something, or rather, fail to do something, and I was ready to scream. I guess the story must move along but it could’ve been handled in a more believable manor. 

Another small nitpick, the character’s voices. Leilani and Curtis both spoke almost exactly like Odd in the Odd Thomas books. This wasn’t a big deal really. But the fact that Curtis and Leilani sounded so alike kind of was. It didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the story but I noticed it so I guess it threw me off a bit. 

Still, I really enjoyed this book. Dog lovers would especially like this.