Written by Dean Koontz under a pseudonym in 1977, THE FACE OF FEAR traps a psychic former mountain climber and his girlfriend in a high-rise skyscraper on a Friday night with a serial killer dubbed “the Butcher.”
Up until now, Mr. Butcher has butchered only women, but he’s a mite bit pissed after the psychic appeared on live TV and had a vision to his identity, all but exposing him. He must pay … with his life! A few dead people later, the Butcher plays cat and mouse with the couple from story to story, until the gal pal realizes the only way out on this blizzardy night is to scale the side of the building. Too bad our psychic hasn’t been able to get back in gear after a near-fatal Mt. Everest accident five years prior.
THE FACE OF FEAR may sound a little silly, and it is, but damned if doesn’t generate a chunk of supsense. Most of that comes in the book’s first two-thirds, as the third act grows tiresome with meticulous descriptions of climbing gear in use and is saddled with a big “reveal” that you’re likely to have guessed before the happy couple even sets foot in the high-rise. Imagine if DIE HARD had a rape-happy slasher in place of a German terrorist, and you’ve got a feel for FEAR. It’s not Mr. Koontz’s best work by a long shot, but good enough to reaffirm my belief that anything the man writes is worth reading – past, present or future.
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