Darkness Comes

Title: Darkness Comes

Author: Dean Koontz

Published in: 1984

Date read: 4th July 2006

Score: 4/5

Genre: Thriller, Psychological, Crime, Horror

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"Darkness Comes" by Dean Koontz (also published as "The Face of Fear") is a psychological thriller that pits an agoraphobic woman against a relentless and sadistic killer.

The story centres on Holly Thorne, a successful graphic designer living in Los Angeles. Holly suffers from severe agoraphobia, a debilitating anxiety disorder that traps her within the confines of her apartment, making any venture outside a terrifying ordeal. Her home has become both her sanctuary and her prison.

Her carefully constructed, isolated world is shattered when she inadvertently witnesses a brutal murder from her window. The killer, a meticulous and terrifying psychopath, sees her. Realising she is a witness, he quickly identifies her apartment building.

The novel then becomes a terrifying cat-and-mouse game within the confined space of Holly's apartment building. The killer, whose identity and motives are initially mysterious, begins to systematically hunt her. He is a master of psychological torture, deriving pleasure from terrorising his victims before he kills them. He infiltrates the building, cutting off utilities, destroying communication lines, and slowly closing in on Holly.

Holly is forced to confront not only the external threat of the killer but also her own paralysing fear. Trapped and unable to escape outside, she must use her intelligence, courage, and desperate will to survive against an enemy who revels in her terror. The story is a relentless escalation of suspense, as Holly, despite her debilitating phobia, finds reservoirs of strength she never knew she possessed to fight back against the darkness that has come for her. The novel explores themes of fear, survival, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming terror.

Comments:
I enjoyed it, scored it very well, but now, 19 years later, I am struggling to remember much about it.

Books that we've read by Dean Koontz (27):
Demon Seed (1973), Icebound (1976), The Voice of the Night (1980), Phantoms (1983), Darkness Comes (1984), Watchers (1987), Dragon Tears (1993), Mr. Murder (1993), Tick Tock (1996), False Memory (1999), The Face (2003), Odd Thomas (Odd Thomas, #1) (2003), The Taking (2004), Forever Odd (Odd Thomas, #2) (2005), Velocity (2005), Life Expectancy (2005), Brother Odd (Odd Thomas, #3) (2006), The Husband (2006), Odd Hours (Odd Thomas, #4) (2008), Breathless (2009), Relentless (2009), The Silent Corner (Jane Hawk, #1) (2017), The Whispering Room (Jane Hawk, #2) (2017), The Crooked Staircase (Jane Hawk, #3) (2018), The Forbidden Door (Jane Hawk, #4) (2018), The Night Window (Jane Hawk #5) (2019), The Other Emily (2021)