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A review by alockey
The Bone Farm by Dean Koontz
dark
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I’ve only ever read one other book by this author and it stuck with me. Twenty years later and I still get the chills at the creep factor. The Bone Farm was not that book. I listened to this short story hoping to find a good mystery/thriller that would lead me to a series. This was not that book. This one was terrible.
I think this was supposed to be a psychological thriller, but failed miserably and ended up being cliché. As someone who has studied psychology and is intrigued by the psychological aspect of serial killers, I had a few expectations & Koontz didn’t disappoint, it was just done in a very cliché manner. The guy had mommy issues & the reason why was like watching an episode of Mind Hunters where they’re interviewing characters based off of actual serial killers. It was also reminiscent of an episode of Bones where the mother smothers the guy.
He did his (minimal) research, I’ll give him that. The twin thing was unusual and it looks like he may have researched that. Studies have shown that twins separated at birth so show the same proclivities in their day-to-day lives. Koontz took that and ran with it.
Now for the detective. I expect even a short story to have depth of character, even if only an introduction. Depth of character should not be thought of as facts about a character. I learned a bit about the detective, her past, but it lacked emotion.
I found the inclusion of the Voodoo lady from New Orleans to be problematic. I realize that this was Koontz way of injecting magical thinking into the storyline, but the way she is mentioned isn’t out of respect for her and a real culture and belief system. It seemed disrespectful to use Voodoo in this way. I hate the demonization of all things non-Christian.
Overall, this one short story may keep me from ever reading another Koontz book again. I’m going to rethink the other one I read too.
I think this was supposed to be a psychological thriller, but failed miserably and ended up being cliché. As someone who has studied psychology and is intrigued by the psychological aspect of serial killers, I had a few expectations & Koontz didn’t disappoint, it was just done in a very cliché manner. The guy had mommy issues & the reason why was like watching an episode of Mind Hunters where they’re interviewing characters based off of actual serial killers. It was also reminiscent of an episode of Bones where the mother smothers the guy.
He did his (minimal) research, I’ll give him that.
Now for the detective. I expect even a short story to have depth of character, even if only an introduction. Depth of character should not be thought of as facts about a character. I learned a bit about the detective, her past, but it lacked emotion.
I found the inclusion of the Voodoo lady from New Orleans to be problematic. I realize that this was Koontz way of injecting magical thinking into the storyline, but the way she is mentioned isn’t out of respect for her and a real culture and belief system. It seemed disrespectful to use Voodoo in this way. I hate the demonization of all things non-Christian.
Overall, this one short story may keep me from ever reading another Koontz book again. I’m going to rethink the other one I read too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: Racism and Cultural appropriation