Best books by Dean Koontz

Discover the best books by Dean Koontz and everything there is to know about the best-selling author.

Dean Koontz is a New York Times bestselling author known for his suspense thriller novels, to which he incorporates influences from different genres, including mystery, fantasy, science fiction, and more.

To date, he’s authored over one hundred novels. We’ll look into some of Dean Koontz’s best books.

Who is Dean Koontz?

Dean Koontz was born in 1945 in Pennsylvania. He started his writing career as a college senior after winning the Atlantic Monthly fiction competition.

While writing his first novels, he worked as an English teacher at a high school. He also spent some spare time working at the Appalachian Poverty Program, which left a strong negative impression on him.

Koontz converted to Christianity while in college, citing his experience in an abusive family setting and religion providing answers for some existential questions.

His wife Gerda supported him for five years so he could make it as a writer. By the end of those five years, Koots was a bestselling author.

He published many novels under multiple pennames during his career. Servants of Twilight was initially published under the pseudonym Leigh Nichols. For Prison of Ice, he used the penname Brian Coffey. He also used the names David Axton and Deanna Dwyer in several novels.

David Koontz is among the few authors to have had fourteen novels in the number one position of the New York Times bestseller list. In 2019, he began publishing with Amazon Publishing.

He and his wife have no children, but they share an undying love for golden retrievers.

During his research on guide dogs for his novel Midnight, the author got involved with the non-profit organization Canine Companions for Independence.

This led to the adoption of this and his wife’s first golden retriever, Trixie. Upon her death in 2007, he wrote a novel in her honor named A Big Little Life: The Memoir of a Joyful Dog.

They adopted Anna after Trixie’s death, and later Elsa. The author and his wife currently live in Southern California.

Best Dean Koontz books

During his career, Dean Koontz has made over one hundred publications, including novellas and short stories, which were sold in paperback and hardcover novel forms. Here you’ll find some of the author’s best books.

Star Quest

Star Quest is Koontz’s debut novel, set in a universe devastated by years of interplanetary war between the Romaghins and the Setessins.

Now there seems to be one thing that can bring the massive destruction to an end. The right catalyst could be the individualist rebel, Thom, who was forcibly turned into an armored instrument named the man-tank Jumbo Ten.

Night Chills

This mystery novel, published in 1976, involves an unknown evil force attacking innocent people. These entities compel Black River citizens to attack and murder their friends and family.

Paul Annendale and his children arrive at Black River, unknowingly of the danger that awaits them. They soon realize the only way to stop the town’s havoc is to take down the man behind it.

Phantoms

As one of Koontz’s recurring motifs, Phantoms involves a mysterious force attacking a small town. This unknown entity has vanished almost the entire population from Snowfield, California.

Dr. Jennifer Paige and her sister will require the Biological Investigations Unit’s help to determine the cause of the mass disappearances.

Strangers

Strangers is primarily written as the character study for the book protagonists: Dominick, Ginger, Ernie, and Brendan. The four suffer from different disorders, all related to sleep and unconsciousness.

A series of polaroids leads them all to the Tranquility Motel, located in Nevada, where they will uncover the connection between them and their disorders.

Sole Survivor

Joe’s whole family died in a terrible plane crash. It was informed there were no survivors. However, Joe finds Rose a year later, a woman who claims to be a survivor of that plane crash.

Before he could get more information, she disappeared. Joe’s desperate search for this mysterious woman leads him to the path of a powerful organization, trying to stop Rose from revealing secret information about the crash.

The House at the End of the World

Katie lives alone in a house in Jacob’s Ladder, unaware of the secret government facility on the neighboring island.

When two strangers arrive at Jacob’s Ladder looking for someone, Kate finds herself battling a mysterious enemy.

The Silent Corner

The Silent Corner was the first installment of what would become known as the Jane Hawk series.

Jane Hawk is a tenacious FBI agent and the widow of a man with everything to live for. However, he took his own life. In this suspenseful story, Jane Hawk will uncover the truth of what happened.

The first installment had four sequels The Whispering Room, The Night Window, The Crooked Staircase, and The Forbidden Door.

Frankenstein

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein is a series of five mystery novels with influences of horror and fantasy. The series features a modern update to Mary Shelley’s work, but only loosely references the original.

The first novel Prodigal Son follows detective Carlson and his partner on the hunt for a serial killer known as “the surgeon.” The number of murders calls the attention of Deucalion, who believes his maker Dr. Victor Frankenstein could be involved.

When Carlson encounters Deucalion, the detectives realize they are involved in a 200-year-old mystery.

The Eyes of Darkness

This thriller novel focuses on Tina Evans, a grieving mother who starts receiving paranormal signals insinuating his son is still alive.

She plans to exhume her son’s body, but before she can do it, she and her boyfriend become the target of hired assassins. This convinces her that her son must be alive somewhere. She needs to rescue him.

Watchers

Travis Cornell is a retired soldier with little to do with his life. One day near his home, he finds two genetically-modified creatures. One is a golden retriever, and the other is a creature known as the Outsider.

Travis saves the dog from being the prey of the Outsider and takes him home. When Travis discovers the dog is highly intelligent, he names him Einstein. The two rescue Nora Devon who joins them on the run from the Outsider and professional assassins hired to retrieve the laboratory escapees.

Midnight

Midnight was Koontz’s first hardcover novel on the New York City bestsellers list.

Janice and Chrissie got to Moonlight Cove in California, looking for answers to a series of savage murders. They soon become prey to harrowing beats.

The Bad Place

Frank Pollard wakes up on the street with blood in his hand, strange items in his pockets, and no memory of what happened the night before.

Pollard requests the help of two detectives to discover what happened to him. They are soon dragged into a dark dimension where a mysterious figure puts all their lives in danger.

Mr. Murder

Martin Stillwater’s vivid imagination allows him to write successful mystery novels and entertain his wife and children. However, he sometimes wonders if his imagination is a little too vivid.

One day a man arrives at his house, claiming to be the real Martin Stillwater and accusing him of stealing his family. When the stranger threatens to take what’s his, Martin and his family have no choice but to run for their lives.

Odd Thomas

Odd Thomas is a young man from Pico Alto, California, with a unique ability. He can see dead people who often seek him out, looking for justice.

In this novel, Odd Thomas encounters a strange man followed by shadowy spirit creatures named bodachs. His investigation of this strange man leads him to discover evil forces about to be unleashed in Palo Alto. He’ll have to use all his abilities to prevent a massacre from happening.

Odd Thomas is one of Dean Koontz’s most famous book series. The original installment has six novel sequels and two smaller additions, including Brother Odd, Forever Odd, and Odd Apocalypse.

The Big Dark Sky

The Big Dark Sky follows a group of strangers converging on a remote ranch in Montana. While looking for the reason that entwined their lives, they discover they might be the only chance for humankind’s survival.

Now they all have to join forces to defeat a madman lurking on the outskirts of Rustling Willows. He believes that the only way to save the future is through mass murder.

Life Expectancy

Before Jimmy Tock is born, his dying grandfather prophesies five dates in his grandson’s life that will see him experience great malice, violence, and terror.

Now Jimmy has to be ready for these dates and the dangers he will face. Each of these dreadful days will make him understand more about good and evil.

From the Corner of His Eye

From the Corner of His Eye begins with three stories of different characters.

Bartholomew Lampion is a child prodigy who loses sight at age three and miraculously recovers it at thirteen. Enoch Cain Jr. is a ruthless serial killer. Angel White is a girl born from a cruel rape.

How their stories entwine will be a path full of mystery and adventure.

The Darkest Evening of the Year

Amy Redwings uses her inherited money to run a group that rescues abused and abandoned golden retrievers.

When one thrilling rescue brings Nickie into her care, she has no idea of the dangers that await her, her boyfriend Brian, and her beloved dogs.

A group of murderers is after them, and they will kill anyone who gets in the way.

The Face of Fear

The Face of Fear follows the story of a former mountain climber named Graham Harris. A terrible accident left him with a limping leg, a fear of heights, and a terrifying psychic ability.

He can see young women being murdered by a vicious serial killer that will eventually go after him and his girlfriend. They have no choice but to run for their lives or confront the killer.

The Good Guy

A stranger confuses Timothy Carrier for someone else in a bar and passes him the instructions to kill an innocent young woman.

Timothy must decide between running or facing terrible danger to help an innocent from being murdered.

The Book of Counted Sorrows

The Book of Counted Sorrows is a fictional book presented as the source of the epigraphs in many Dean Koontz novels.

The House of Thunder

Susan Thorton’s boyfriend died in terrible college hazing, and the four responsible men also suffered a violent death.

Twelve years later, Susan wakes up from a terrible accident with amnesia. However, she remembers a few things, one of which is that the four men taking care of her are responsible for her boyfriend’s death.

Now she must figure out if she has gone mad or if the murderers were always alive.

Fear Nothing

Christopher Snow has a severe disease that makes him extremely sensitive to light. Therefore, his parents decided to move to Moonlight Bay so he could roam freely during the night.

His mother died two years prior in a car crash, and upon his father’s death due to cancer, he uncovers a conspiracy his parents had tried to protect him from. Now he has to be brave enough to find this conspiracy and the role of his parent in it.

Dark Rivers of the Heart

Spencer Grant doesn’t know what led him to that bar with the red door. He couldn’t have guessed he would have to escape a SWAT attack that would leave him a wanted man.

Now he has to escape from a ruthless man hunting him down and from a past he can barely remember.

Cold Fire

Jim Ironheart has saved twelve lives in three months. Reporter Holly Thorne is looking for information on this quiet stranger who saves innocent people’s lives wherever he goes.

Her quest will lead her through a road of mystery and suspense when she finds out about the visions that hunt Jim Ironheart at night.

Listen to audiobooks by Dean Koontz on Speechify

If you enjoy thrilling stories full of mystery and adventure, you’ll find countless titles in Speechify library, including The Silent Corner and The Whispering Room.

Speechify Audiobooks is an easy-to-navigate platform with thousands of titles available for streaming. You can choose the books you’d like to enjoy and purchase them one by one or acquire a monthly membership.

Visit Speechify Audiobooks and start enjoying the best thriller novels of all time.

FAQ

What is Dean Koontz’s best-selling book?

Dean Koontz’s best-selling book is Odd Thomas.

Is Dean Koontz Stephen King?

No. Dean Koontz and Stephen King are not the same person.

Has Dean Koontz sold more books than Stephen King?

According to the Washington Post, Dean Koontz has sold more books than Stephen King.

Who is Dean Koontz's wife?

Dean Koontz’s wife is Gerda Ann Cerra Koontz.