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Title: In Odd We Trust

Author: Dean Koontz & Queenie Chan

Art: Queenie Chan

Publisher:  Del Rey

ISBN: 9780345499660

May Contain Spoilers

Odd Thomas is your average nineteen year-old pancake griddle cook with one exception – he can see the spirits of dead people.  When his girlfriend’s best buddy is stalked by a murderous perv, his ability to see ghosts comes in handy.  Will he be able to catch the killer before he strikes again?

I will admit that I have avoided reading this because I’m not a huge Dean Koontz fan.  Whenever I think of his name, I think horror books, and that is about the only genre that I truly dislike.  I am a huge chicken, and I just couldn’t overcome my lack of enthusiasm every time I saw his name in big letters on the cover of the this graphic novel.  Huge misconception on my part.  This was an engaging read with charismatic characters and a fairly engrossing mystery.  The dialog is smart and sassy, and helped to quickly define the characters’ relationships to each other.  Odd and his girlfriend Stormy are clever and their back and forth banter was the most enjoyable aspect of the book.

Odd is exactly as his name indicates, and the poor kid has spent his life seeing spirits of the lingering dead.  He lives in a small town in the middle of a desert, he works at the local grill and he’s known for flipping a pretty mean pancake.  Nothing much interesting ever goes on in town, and life is quiet and uneventful.  That is, until a young boy is brutally murdered.  When Odd sees the boy’s ghost wandering around town, he is compelled to help find his killer.  The need to catch the creep grows even more urgent when threatening letters are sent to families with other young children.

While Odd uses his unconventional abilities to track down the killer, his girlfriend provides much needed backup.  She’s one feisty young woman, and she doesn’t hesitate to jump into danger with Odd.  What she is really looking for is a chance to bring her pistol into play, and she bemoans every lost opportunity to shoot at something.  She and Odd make a great couple, enhancing each others strengths and picking up slack for weaknesses. 

While I thought the dialog was fresh and sparkled with personality, I wasn’t totally charmed by the art.  Since this is a mystery, the emphasis is on tension and heightened emotions.  Queenie Chan nails the facial expressions, making it very clear how everyone is feeling, but I didn’t care for the character designs.  I thought they were very generic and not very visually appealing. 

In Odd We Trust dishes up an interesting tale of mystery and murder, featuring a very quirky and likeable cast of characters. 

Grade: B

Review copy provided by Del Rey