Dean Koontz — Relentless

Harper Collins Omes 2009 Paperback, 400pp. Hostile reviews are said to have hastened the deaths of some writers, but Cubby Greenwich, the American author of bestselling novels, is made of sterner stuff. He ignores the scathing review in a national newspaper. He has no idea that it's just the opening move in a campaign of terror that will wreck his life and then kill him . or try to, along with his loved ones. Literally everyone he knows tells him to let it go, take no notice whatever of the review. Even Milo his six-year-old son tells him to let it go. Only their dog Lassie (NOT a collie) has no opinion on the subject - though it's possible only she would have perceived, in her dog wisdom, the sinister character of the reviewer, had she met him. A pity, then, that Lassie is not with Cubby and Milo when they go together to a restaurant . where the reviewer, Shearman Waxx, is also having lunch. Waxx is a feared and therefore revered critic with an aura of mystery about him that has carried him far as an abiter of taste. Observing the man, Cubby stews about the egregious review Waxx wrote of his latest novel, which, from the errors it contained, suggests Waxx had not even read it. This innocent encounter will escalate into a war because Waxx is not merely a ferocious and ruthless enemy, but a sociopath for the age. Everything that Cubby holds dear in this world is suddenly at risk. And when it seems that the terror can reach no greater height, Waxx s mother enters the fray . the terror has just begun. (ISBN: 9780007267606). Fair.