Dean Koontz’s books are not a staple of book clubs. However, sometimes it’s good to look beyond the Oprah book list and various other book club lists, and go outside the box and shake-up it up a bit.

I like mysteries, thrillers, sci-fi, and fantasy a lot, and like to incorporate a few of these genres into my book club. I have read numerous Koontz’s books, my favorite being the Odd Thomas series. Koontz has written such a likable character in this series that no matter what outlandish situation he puts him in, I just want to read as fast as I can to know he makes it out okay. Not sure this series would fly in my book club, but I really enjoy how accessible Koontz’s characters are.

In Life Expectancy Koontz again makes you care very deeply for the protagonist, Jimmy Tock and his family. Jimmy is a pastry chef, following in the family tradition. Perfect career for a likeable protagonist, who is a well-adjusted young man despite the dark, ominous predictions his grandfather made on his deathbed. His grandfather foretold of five dark days Jimmy would have to face beginning when he turned 20. These five days loomed over Jimmy and his family, creating a tight and loving bond between them.

Jimmy described his parents: “Their love is deeper than desire, then affection, than respect, so deep that its wellspring is humor. Humor is a petal on the flower of hope, and hope blossoms on the vine of faith. They have faith in each other and faith that life has meaning, and from this faith comes their indefatigable good humor, which is their greatest gift to each other – and to me.” Koontz beautifully pulls in the reader with the characters’ immense love for one another, and their unwavering hope against all odds when faced with consummate evil.

Jimmy Tock and his family are not superheroes just ordinary people without special skills for handling evil. All they have is their love and hope. This ordinariness of the Tock family helps create a persuasive tension throughout the novel. How will they fair?

There’s a deeper moral meaning hidden in the twists and turns of the story, which we discussed at book club – the nature versus nurture quandary. Had the one father been a kind and loving father, would things have turned out differently?

That was our primary discussion, along with various events and how they turned out. The consensus was that we all loved this book and were quite surprised with it.

Rating: 8.5