The Bad Place

By Dean Koontz,

Book cover of The Bad Place

Book description

Frank Pollard awakens in an alley, knowing nothing but his name and that he is in danger. Over the next few days he develops a fear of sleep because when he wakes he finds blood on his hands and bizarre and terrifying objects in his pockets. Distraught and desperate, Frank…

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Why read it?

3 authors picked The Bad Place as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book had me at the main character hiring a private eye to follow him because he is waking up in a different location each morning with no memory of how he got there but his pockets are filled with diamonds.

This story delved into the madness of psychos while also plummeting me into other worlds and satisfying my hunger for supernatural elements. I couldn’t love this book more. 

This was the first book by this author, and I’ve been a fan ever since. 

Dean Knootz takes terror to a new level in this book. If you remember being afraid of the boogieman at night as a child or have ever had a nightmare you will connect with this book. Fear of going to sleep becomes so real, it brings the fear of what sleep will bring.

For Frank, the nights bring a different terror every time he opens his eyes. Sometimes it felt like he had just closed his eyes for a few minutes, but what he woke…

Scary Paranormal: I read this novel in 1990. It was my first experience reading a paranormal novel with such a plethora of abilities. My husband and I listened to the audiobook while on a trip in 2004. It was even scarier than reading the book! Koontz presents a feast of mental abilities beyond the normal, e.g., teleportation, telekinesis, psychometry, channeling, telepathy, not to mention the hive mind of the twin sisters. Frank Pollard’s race to stay ahead of his evil brother Candy through teleporting as far as other worlds kept me on the edge of my seat.

The delicious metaphors,…

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