This book is another “once-you-start-you-can’t-put-it-down” exhilarating reading experience. Dean Koontz has not yet disappointed.

“Shadowfires” has the most interesting opening chapter of all Koontz books. It reads like a self-contained short story and always makes me wonder whether Koontz wrote it first, then developed it into a longer tale much later.

The book begins by introducing the reader to Rachael Leben and her husband, Dr. Eric Leben, a former University of California scientist and professor who is a partner in a genetic engineering research firm. This high profile California couple is in the midst of a divorce after seven years of marriage. They seem like an above average couple whose divorce has all the qualities of turning into a nasty public media type circus event. Right after the meeting at Eric’s lawyer’s office, he hurls accusations at Rachael in an attempt to gain control over the situation as his masculinity and ego were totally crushed, humiliated when Rachael failed to press for everything she is entitled to under California divorce laws. After this highly charged emotional confrontation, Eric dashed across the street and in a freak accident was hit by a garbage truck. It hurled him in the air like a bomb blast and caused severe head injuries, from all indications killing him instantly. The paramedics could not revive him.