Tommy Phan was having a bad evening. During a rain-soaked joyride in his new 'Vette, his mom had guilted him into feeling badly that he wasn't a doctor (he's a mystery novelist), he didn't come home to dinner (he ate burgers and fries and flirted with the waitress) and he hadn't married a Vietnamese girl (he liked blondes). Arriving at home, he finds a rag doll on his doorstep. Taking it inside, he soon finds himself being terrorized by a small demon (hidden inside the doll) intent upon devouring Tommy. Fleeing the house, he races through town and tumbles the 'Vette as he finds the demon dismembering his car. Arriving to help him is his flirting waitress, Del(iverance) Payne. Now the fun really starts.

Ticktock is a throwback to the screwball comedies crossed with the wily adventures of The X-Files has become one of my favourite Dean Koontz books. His skill in crafting a non-stop adventure, his chortle-'til-your-sides-hurt humour, his eerie tone of the supernatural and his smart handling of obvious co-incidences all contribute to make it a must-read for those of us who like our fiction with a dash a suspension of disbelief.

Rodger has read a lot of science fiction and fantasy in forty years. He can only shake his head and say, "So many books, so little time."