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Saturday, January 11, 2020

Nameless Series by Dean Koontz and When I Was You and The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent

In a series of six short stories or novellas, Dean Koontz presents different episodes in the life of a man who doesn't know his own name, can't remember his life prior to two years ago, and suspects that his amnesia has been induced at his request.

His mission is to take down targeted evil doers.  He doesn't know who assigns the targets, but with each case, he is provided with a fake name, appropriate identification, a thorough background of the individual...and anything else he might need.  The operation is well-organized and well-funded, but the man knows little more than his own role.

Each short story/novella takes an hour or so to read and is like an episode in a book with each case resolved before another assignment appears.  

In an unusual move, the "Nameless" series is only released in electronic and audio formats, and you can download them free if you are an Amazon Prime member.



From #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz comes Memories of Tomorrow, part of Nameless, a riveting collection of short stories about a vigilante nomad, stripped of his memories and commissioned to kill. Follow him in each story, which can be read or listened to in a single sitting.

I went through the series in late December and enjoyed them.  Dean Koontz knows how to capture and hold your attention. 


When I Was You by Minka Kent.  Brienne Dougray was brutally attacked and barely survived.  Now she suffers from terrible headaches and memory loss and a near constant fear that her attacker will return.

When an attractive doctor becomes a tenant in her home, Brienne feels more secure, but her fear of her unknown attacker keeps her largely housebound and depressed.  Her old active and more social life has disappeared.

Then she discovers that someone has stolen her identity and is imitating her life in alarming detail.  Brienne is forced to leave her house to find out more about this woman.  What she discovers is more complicated and disturbing than what she originally assumed.

Interesting, but not exceptional, I liked it enough to get another of Kent's novels.


Thomas & Mercer.
Psychological Suspense.  Feb. 1, 2020.  Print length:  282 pages.

The Stillwater Girls is another standalone by Minka Kent.  Two young women are living alone in an isolated cabin in the woods.  Their mother left months earlier to try to get medical help for their younger sister, but never returned.  Food is running low, winter is coming, and they don't know how they will survive.

When a strange man shows up at the cabin, he tells them he plans to take them to town.  Having been raised to fear any outsider and told never to leave the forest, the young women are terrified and eventually escape after drugging the man.  

Not very believable, but entertaining.  There are actually two parallel stories being told that coincide, but the plot seems too contrived.  

Thomas & Mercer.
Mystery.  2019.  Print length:  256 pages.

Both books kept my attention and had some interesting characters and plots, but felt a little too convenient.  I liked, but didn't love them.

18 comments:

  1. I've enjoyed Dean Koontz in the past. I will have to look for his Nameless series. Somehow I missed it completely! When I Was You sounds like something I would enjoy. I'm finding a lot of those types of books aren't all that exceptional--although I still enjoy them. Maybe I've read too many of them.

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    1. Maybe I've read too many of these books as well, but I do enjoy them. As long as they keep me interested and wanting to know how they turn out. :)

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  2. I love Dean Koontz. Whispers was the first of his books I read VERY long ago and has always remained one of my favorites. I hadn't heard about this series, but I'm sure too look for it.
    xx, Carol

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    1. It was interesting because each of the six stories connect lightly, but are complete within themselves and didn't take long to read. I had not read Koontz for years either until I read his Jane Hawk series, which I really liked. :)

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  3. I haven't read a Koontz book in a long time. And I'm not sure I'll be reading Minka Kent any time soon. I have too many books on my TBR list already to add "liked it but didn't love it" books to it. :D

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    1. I know. So many books out there! At the time, I had a dearth of books that I was eager to read, but January has found me with a bunch of books calling to me. I finished two that I really like last week. Welcome to the Pine Away Motel and Cabins by Katarina Bivald and The Hollows by Jess Montgomery. Have the first one scheduled and am working on the second review. :)

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  4. It's been quite a while since I read Dean Koontz but I think I would enjoy these. The Minka Kent books though are the ones that definitely caught my attention! Thanks for the reviews!

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    1. All of these kept my interest. Not great literature, but good escape fiction!

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  5. I loved his older books. I haven't been picking his recent books as I notice his writing style and the theme he's writing have changed. It isn't a bad thing though; just that I enjoyed his older works much more.

    When I Was You and The Stillwater Girls sound intriguing. I'll keep them in mind. :)

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    1. I loved his Jane Hawk books; they have a great protagonist and truly suspenseful plots! They put Koontz back on my radar.

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  6. I also used to read all the Dean Koontz books, but it has been quite a while. I think I have the first Jane Hawk book and have thinking about that one. I saw this set of novellas on Amazon, but wasn't sure if I would like them. I'll think about them, but I suspect that Jane Hawk might come first. As to Minka Kent, I've seen those too, but they sounded a lot like others that I spent most of last year reading. Perhaps one day.

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    1. Actually, I started with the second book in the Jane Hawk series, but I was hooked and read through the series without ever going back and picking up the first one!

      The novellas were perfect for short reading sessions during the Christmas aftermath--not wonderful, but they kept my attention and were quick to read.

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  7. Wow, looks like a whole lot of us are "former" Dean Koontz fans. It's been years since I've read anything of his, but I do have fond memories of some of his early books...so thanks for the heads-up on these stories. I'll have to get over to Prime and download them before they disappear.

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    1. They are the kind of thing you can read in short periods. I'm not usually fond of short stories or novellas, but these fit the bill at the time.

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  8. Lightning by Dean Koontz is a book i have never forgotten, so i hurried to Amazon and grabbed the nameless series rightaway!

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    1. Hope you enjoy them, Verushka. Short, suspenseful little episodes.

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  9. I haven't read Dean Koontz in a long long time but, I used to enjoy his books. I bet he has at least 15 that I haven't read by now.

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    1. He is prolific! I read one of his horror books years ago, and just stumbled back onto the path with the Jane Hawk series. Oh, for goodness sakes, I just found this: unbelievable! I didn't even know he wrote under different names!

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