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    Velocity: A Novel
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    Velocity: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Velocity: A Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    Velocity: A Novel

    Written by Dean Koontz

    Narrated by Michael Hayden

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Dean Koontz's unique talent for writing terrifying thrillers with a heart and soul is nowhere more evident than in this latest suspense masterpiece that pits one man against the ultimate deadline. If there were speed limits for the sheer pulse-racing excitement allowed in one novel, Velocity would break them all. Get ready for the ride of your life...

    Bill Wile is an easygoing, hardworking guy who leads a quiet, ordinary life. But that is about to change. One evening, after his usual eight-hour bartending shift, he finds a typewritten note under the windshield wiper of his car. If you don't take this note to the police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher. If you do take this note to the police, I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have four hours to decide. The choice is yours.

    It seems like a sick joke, and Bill's friend on the police force, Lanny Olson, thinks so too. His advice to Bill is to go home and forget about it. Besides, what could they do even if they took the note seriously? No crime has actually been committed. But less than twenty-four hours later, a young blond schoolteacher is found murdered, and it's Bill's fault: he didn't convince the police to get involved. Now he's got another note, another deadline, another ultimatum…and two new lives hanging in the balance.

    Suddenly Bill's average, seemingly innocuous life takes on the dimensions and speed of an accelerating nightmare. Because the notes are coming faster, the deadlines growing tighter, and the killer becoming bolder and crueler with every communication-until Bill is isolated with the terrifying knowledge that he alone has the power of life and death over a psychopath's innocent victims. Until the struggle between good and evil is intensely personal. Until the most chilling words of all are: The choice is yours.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 24, 2005
    ISBN9780739315576
    Unavailable
    Velocity: A Novel
    Author

    Dean Koontz

    Dean Koontz is the author of more than a dozen New York Times No. 1 bestsellers. His books have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, and his work is published in 38 languages. He was born and raised in Pennsylvania and lives with his wife Gerda and their dog Anna in southern California.

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    Reviews for Velocity

    3.5/5

    988 ratings53 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Amazing book, really makes you think about the world and that there are twisted psychotic freaks like this in real life like me,im sucha freak, its nto even funny, look at me and my hairim sucha toolthe guy in this book, gets laid a couple times,just like myself, and my experience.But what can I say im pretty hot, and so is he.I noticed this guy gets really horny in this novel, i could relate this to myself, like i like to jack fof every morning.Parm deep. S.
    • 3/5
      mmmm trashy!
    • 4/5
      I didn't LOVE this book, but I did enjoy it, and it was a fast read, a nice break from reading slow-going classics.
      There were some details I found a bit distracting, like the fact that keeping a body rolled in plastic for a full day, when the weather is warm enough to make air conditioning desirable, would definitely make the house smell like there is a corpse inside. Mostly this story was well thought out though, and while I had worked out who the bad guys were (and weren't) before the MC figured it out, it took me long enough that I was not just waiting for him to catch up for half the book. As suspense novels go, this one was fairly good.
      Don't expect finely crafted characters, but if you want fast-reading suspense, this is a decent option.

    • 4/5
      I'm torn about this book. It was extremely "grippy". I haven't had a book that has pushed me from page to page in a really long time so that was a fun experience. I have never read a Dean Koontz novel before so I didn't really know what to expect. While I love the fast pace - I didn't love the really graphic depictions of violence - I think I was expecting (hoping) for something a little less gory - it always makes me pretty uncomfortable to read books like this. That being said - the short coming had to do more with my preferences than the book itself.
    • 3/5
      An interesting story, it's a nicely-paced thriller, with a little horror thrown in, intrigue, suspense, all-around a good book. I think I would have liked to see a few more interactions, or other elements to it, but I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, it didn't grip me nearly as much as his other books, and that was the main disappointment. If I hadn't read any of his others, I would probably rate this higher.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book. My second time through, really enjoyed it. Lives up to its name!
    • 4/5
      This book hits the ground running and kept me on the edge of my seat. Liked the character twist at the end and the overall plot. I definitely recommend!
    • 2/5
      for a book titled velocity..... this book loses steam consistently..... and lulls to a boring and rushed ending.
    • 4/5
      great book, keeps you reading and a page turner
    • 5/5
      He feels the need ... The need ... For speed.

      Velocity, the terrifying novel by Dean Koontz?one of my favorite authors in the genres of horror and suspense?will require of the reader just that. Speed.

      In this fast-paced (pun intended), gut-wrenching masterpiece, the plot centers around a writer named Billy Wiles, who has pretty much become an introverted recluse since his wife fell victim to a coma only a few years before. Billy lives a low-key lifestyle, working as a bartender with only a few friends, yadda, yadda. Until the day he discovers a note on the windshield of his car giving him an ultimatum: If you don't take this note to the police...I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher. ...If you do, I will kill an elderly woman active in charity work... Believing the note to be a sick prank, Billy disregards it ... Until a blond schoolteacher is murdered, and Billy receives a second note...

      Velocity is a heart-pounding tale of sheer terror that the reader will find very hard to put down. The plot unfolds at breakneck speed, and the reader will feel as if he or she is on a rollercoaster ride, gradually building up to a significant height, then suddenly plunging downward into the depths of utter fear.

      Koontz does not disappoint with Velocity. It is well-written, with a highly intensified plot that details excellent character development and a feature of T. S. Eliot quotes. It quickly grabs its reader from the first few pages, and never turns them loose until the final one. Definitely a book I would highly recommend, as I, myself, enjoyed it tremendously.
    • 5/5
      This is one of the better books by Dean Koontz in my opinion. It holds you early and throughout the story. I thoroughly enjoyed it...
    • 4/5
      25 years ago, I was a huge Dean Koontz fan who couldn't read his work fast enough. Novels like Strangers, Watchers, Phantoms, Twilight Eyes, and Whispers were as good as thrillers got in my opinion. Then, sometime in the mid-90's, Koontz lost his appeal to me because the stories seemed to be less fleshed-out and too repetitive. I lost interest. That interest has returned with "Velocity".This book is old-school Koontz. The protagonist is a normal Joe (like you and me) who gets thrust into a situation that he can neither control or figure out. Billy Wiles is that average guy who has had more than a few of life's curveballs thrown his way. Loyal to his comatose fiancé and a quiet friend to all in his job as bartender, Billy soon finds himself caught in a web of murder that he doesn't commit, but is in control of because of how he is being manipulated by an unknown person that he refers to as the "freak". Koontz does a great job peeling back layers of Billy's character while making him both like-able and sympathetic. Nobody writes this type of character better than Koontz.If you're a fan of desperate people caught in desperate situations, then "Velocity" will capture both your interest and imagination. There are plenty of strategic plot twists and backstory that keep this fine novel moving to a satisfying ending. Highly recommended!
    • 4/5
      Billy ist ein ganz normaler Barkeeper, bis er eines Tages an der Frontscheibe seines Wagens eine Nachricht findet. Wenn er zur Polizei geht, stirbt eine alte Frau. Tut er es nicht, stirbt eine blonde hübsche Lehrerin.Billys Freund und Polizist nimmt die Nachricht allerdings nicht ernst, bis zu der Nacht in der eine Lehrerin tot aufgefunden wird. Doch bevor er eine Chance hat, etwas zu veranlassen, wird er selbst getötet. Billy erhält weitere Nachrichten, doch merkt er schnell, dass ihm eigentlich keine Wahl mehr bleibt, denn der Irre hat alles so arrangiert, dass jede Spur zu Billy führt. Dem Barkeeper bleibt nichts anderes übrig, als selbst Ermittlungen anzustellen und Wunden zu erleiden. Denn alles, was er will, ist seine Freundin Barbara beschützen, die nach einem Unfall im Koma liegt.Irrsinn hält, was der Titel verspricht. So wie Billy muss man auch als Leser feststellen, dass die eigentliche Wahl keine ist. Auch nach stundenlangem Nachdenken gibt es einfach keinen Ausweg. Und Billy bleiben nicht einmal Stunden. Sein Leben wird von heute auf morgen komplett auf den Kopf gestellt. Jahrelang hat er sich vor seiner Umwelt versteckt und isoliert, doch jetzt muss er handeln. Denn nicht nur andere Menschen, die der Irre auserkoren hat, sondern auch sein Leben und seine Freiheit stehen auf dem Spiel.Das Buch ist mitreißend, lässt einen Dinge glauben, führt einen auf die falsche Fährte und bringt einen doch wieder zurück. Das Ende ist hervorragend und passend zum restlichen Inhalt des Romans. Ein Thriller, der keinen geläuterten CIA Agenten braucht und auch so eine gute Geschichten erzählt. Der Irrsinn ist förmlich spürbar.
    • 4/5
      Loved it. First novel i have read from the author, definitely wont be the last. Lets hope they are all this good
    • 2/5
      Koontz is a likeable author in my book (my figurative book of authors whom I approve of, that is)...but this book is probably the first Koontz book I ever thought about not finishing. The plot wasn't all the inventive, and the characters weren't fully developed enough to connect to (or believe that they would make the choices they did).

      At first, I thought that this might have been one of Koontz's older books--which would be forgiveable since that would mean he has had time to improve (to the books I love so much). But...this book is only a few years old, something that distresses me greatly. (If this is Koontz's new writing style, I'll stick to the oldies.)
    • 2/5
      It was an interesting premise, but Dean Koontz was telling the story. It seemed more focused than some of his I have read, but he just manages to suck all the allure out of the story and just makes you impatient to be finished with it. I want to know what happens, but I don't enjoy getting there.
    • 4/5
      I have to say, I guessed straight off whodunnit. But even knowing, you still don't know. As is usual for Koontz, we have a fast-paced thriller/mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat, but this one actually goes a little deeper in some ways. The whole "who would you choose," how do you weigh one life against another, aspect. It was very well done.
    • 4/5
      Billy Wiles is a quiet man, a bar keeper by trade and a virtual hermit between shifts. He keeps himself to himself behind the bar, and spends his spare time wood carving and listening to zydeco music. When he finds a note on his car windscreen outside the tavern one night, offering him a horrendous choice - go to the police and an elderly woman dies, or don't go to the police and a schoolteacher dies - he believes it to be a hoax, a nasty prank. The next day, a schoolteacher is found dead, and another note appears on Billy's windshield with a second choice to be made. As the body count goes up, the messages become more personal, more theatrical and more devastating, until Billy can do nothing but play the game and hope to get himself and the woman he loves out alive...This was my first Dean Koontz novel, and although I'd heard good things and he's popular amongst our customers, I didn't really know what to expect. What I got was an emotionally complex thriller sprinkled with lovely little nuggets of prose that made me wish I'd written them! The killer was deliciously twisted and terrifying in his calm enigma, and I didn't work out the truth behind the murders until Koontz's big reveal - though I'd had some suspicions, I just hadn't quite tied everything together! I hate it when the reveal comes completely out of the blue, with no clues having been dropped anywhere to exclaim over in retrospect, so I enjoyed nodding and flicking back through the book and picking up on the hints I'd missed. The big climax was exciting and gruesome and perfectly fitting, though it seemed to be over rather quickly. Overall I really enjoyed it, and I'll be looking out for more Koontz next time I need an easy but compelling read!Favourite part: The way Koontz manipulates the reader so that you catch yourself playing along, casually killing off characters in your head. For example, would you choose to condemn an unmarried man or a young mother of two? It's a no brainer, right? And then you stop and find yourself thinking, "I just decided whether one person's life was worth more than another. What am I doing?!" Billy has to do the same thing, and it allows us some sharp insight into his predicament.Least favourite part: Ummmm... Nothing really springs to mind, actually! It wasn't the best book I've ever read, and it wasn't so breathlessly thrilling that I couldn't leave it alone, but there was nothing that stuck out as a 'least favourite' element.
    • 5/5
      This is a very good book and so worth the read. I would recommend this book to anyone.
    • 3/5
      I was spellbound right up to the end. And then there were those weird bird references...
    • 4/5
      I am a Dean Koontz fan. His books are often dark and disturbing, but I love the psychological fiction stuff. With his books, the storyline is believable, in that the story could actually happen which I think is why they are often so disturbing.Billy Wiles, a local bartender, finishes his shift only to find a note on the windshield of his car that gives him an ultimatum: involve the police and a lovely, young, blonde schoolteacher dies, or do nothing and an elderly woman active in charity work dies; he has six hours to decide. And so it goes on.I was totally caught up in the storyline, as I often am in Koontz novels. This book did not disappoint me! It was a fast read and very suspenseful.The narrator, Michael Hayden, was very good. He was a pleasure to listen to!
    • 4/5
      This book was a thrill from beginning to end with plenty of twists and turns. It was puzzling enough to keep the brain occupied while at the same time remaining light enough to allow the reader to just veg.I enjoyed this book very much. It is definitely worth reading.
    • 1/5
      strange violent fishooks in forehead? strange notes and stalker
    • 1/5
      I hated this book, in fact I didn't even finish it. I usually like Dean Koontz, but.... My basic problem is the main character is an idiot. He is supposed to be an Average Joe, but he doesn't go to the police? I can handle this when the main character is supposed to some James Bond sort, but I just couldn't suspend belief for it. I don't often think the main character of a book is a moron, but he annoyed me so much I stopped reading somewhere around chapter 12. Don't waste your time, Dean Koontz has plenty of great books, this just isn't one of them.
    • 4/5
      Fast paced, on the edge of your seat, can't put it down thriller. Typical Koontz.
    • 2/5
      The book I read had a different cover which showed the note, 'If you don't take this note to the police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blonde schoolteacher. If you do take this note to the police, I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have four hours to decide. The choice is yours.'That had me hooked, as I will read crime/thriller novels if the psychology intrigues me enough. This book was enjoyable, fast-paced and interesting - for the most part. Yes, we had an intriguing and psychological plot, a main character with a terrible secret past and a killer on the loose. All you need, right?The identification of the killer just ruined what had been building up throughout the rest of the book. It's no fun if the killer is some character you've never been introduced to before! I wanted scandal. Crime authors writing "whodunnits" (now don't get me wrong most are brilliant and I couldn't think up half of what they do) need to realise that we don't want the 'baddy' to be the sinister-looking guy with the scar and the trenchcoat because it's more fun if it turns that the lovely elderly vicar's wife is the axe-wielding maniac! Overall, good idea, shame about the ending. Half-hearted.
    • 3/5
      Your typical Dean Koontz story: Ordinary Man finds ordinary life turned upside down out of nowhere by Pure Evil, in an event that is usually inexplicable and/or random. Most of book involves Ordinary Man being chased by Pure Evil. Along the way he finds or confirms his True Love. In the end, Pure Evil is destroyed, Ordinary Man is (re)united with his True Love, and everything ends happily.In Velocity, reclusive bartender Billy Wiles is minding his own business when he gets a note telling him that if he goes to the police, an old woman will be killed. But if he doesn't go to the police, a young woman will be killed. At first Bill thinks it's a joke, which of course it isn't. It goes on like that, with the deadlines getting progressively shorter and the choices more horrifying as Billy tries desperately to discover the identity of his tormentor while trying to protect his comatose fiancee. I figured out the identity of the killer pretty early on, but it was still a decent story. Makes me want to read more T.S. Eliot.
    • 5/5
      1st Koontz read, I had always heard this man was a King rip-off. Not sure why I was looking through Koontz, probably looking for a good thriller, read the back flap and knew this was a must read. Flew through this book in a matter of days. This book will make a Koontz fan out of any reader of thrillers.
    • 4/5
      I bought this book when it came out and have read it three or four times already. I'm reading it again now. The story draws me in inexorably; it's like an obsession. I mull it over in my mind when I'm not reading it; then I am driven to read it again.
    • 4/5
      Once again we're back in Koontz's psychopath territory. No bad thing, since it's an original page turning premise. The plot is fast moving, mostly unpredictable and at times shocking. More so than any other Koontz book of late, this dark tale has the feeling that it's almost a screenplay. The scenes of horror and the quality of the cliffhangers would transpose very well to the silver screen (fingers crossed). The synopsis above is detailed and therefore no further explanation is needed, just buy the book and enjoy the read. Good stuff once again Mr. Koontz.