Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz (Book Review)

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book-

From #1 bestselling author Dean Koontz—the must-read thriller of the year, for readers of dark psychological suspense and modern classics of mystery and adventure.
 
The girl who said no to death.
 
Bibi Blair is a fierce, funny, dauntless young woman—whose doctor says she has one year to live.

She replies, “We'll see.”

Her sudden recovery astonishes medical science.

An enigmatic woman convinces Bibi that she escaped death so that she can save someone else. Someone named Ashley Bell.

But save her from what, from whom? And who is Ashley Bell? Where is she?

Bibi's obsession with finding Ashley sends her on the run from threats both mystical and worldly, including a rich and charismatic cult leader with terrifying ambitions.

Here is an eloquent, riveting, brilliantly paced story with an exhilarating heroine and a twisting, ingenious plot filled with staggering surprises. Ashley Bell is a new milestone in literary suspense from the long-acclaimed master.

My thoughts-

In my younger days, I read suspense and mystery pretty exclusively but these days it has to be a pretty interesting plot to catch my eye and pry me away from my preferred genres of the moment (historical fiction, contemporary fiction, ya, classics). Ashley Bell sounded like an interesting plot and I remember liking some of Koontz's other works so I was excited to dive in. I thought the novel started off a bit slow, but midway through I had an innate need to know what was happening in this book and it became a page turner for me. Upon reflection of the slow start, I realized it was just great character development that paid off later in the book. I enjoy books that keep me guessing and have new or rarely used plot points and I think Ashley Bell definitely met both of those expectations. Although I did find it to start slow, I enjoyed the pay off of those little details adding to the characters or of it adding a new dimension to  the loose ends as they were resolved at the end of the book. I would recommend Ashley Bell to anyone who enjoys suspense stories with twists and turns you may not be expecting!

Connect with Dean Koontz on Facebook
Connect with Dean Koontz on Twitter
www.deankoontz.com