Innocence (Dean Koontz) Ch. 43-58

The relationship between Addison and Gwyneth continues to be enigmatic, both of them placing complete trust in one another despite the fact that they have just met – under unusual circumstances – and know very little about each other.  She invites him to dinner, where at one point he summons up the courage to say, “I’m so happy to be here.”  This is courageous because, for all he knows, it will trigger an alarm in her, with her people phobia, which could end the only friendship he has known for years.  Her reply; “I’m happy, too.  My life has always been so limited.  But it doesn’t feel limited now.”

There is a lot of drama going on behind the scenes here as well, involving our antagonist, Telford and some shady people he has apparently hired to work for him.  In his desperation to catch Gwyneth, who has information that could send him to prison, he resorts to kidnap and torture, among his other transgressions, as his former partners in crime panic, at least one of them leaving the country.  Gwyneth recounts some of his earlier crimes, including the murder of her father by poison.  Who knew that honey made by bees that gather pollen from only oleanders would be fatally poisonous?

We occasionally get glimpses of what lies ahead, though they may not seem to tie into anything in the story just yet.  Addison’s flashback encounter with a pair of dogs at the age of eight shows us that they aren’t afflicted with the same automatic hatred for Addison that people display when they see what he looks like.  This is the best clue we’ve been given as to his physical appearance.  The chapter ends with the cryptic “And as it happened, in a critical hour, dogs did prove to be all that I imagined and more.”  For those who don’t know, Koontz has featured dogs very prominently in many of his stories, always in a saintly light.  I love dogs, too, but his infatuation with them is practically pathological!

Through one of Telford’s shady accomplices, we get a glimpse of a greater evil than Telford.  The art buyer, Goddard, explains that the extremely valuable artworks that he fences for Telford are bought in order to be destroyed.  About the mysterious buyers; “Like voodooists, they believe that each iconic thing they burn or shatter or melt down will strengthen their cause and weaken their enemy.  From their kingdom in the Middle East, they intend soon to destroy the West entire, but first they want the personal satisfaction of eradicating some of its most precious and inspiring creations, piece by piece.”  Koontz is occasionally accused of using his forum of suspense novels to make political statements or preaching his worldview.  The fact that he does it through his characters, written in first person is, perhaps, a thin disguise.  Other authors presumably do the same thing, just a little less obviously.  In Koontz’s books, I’m not bothered by it – maybe because I happen to agree with most of his opinions!

The plot device of casting most of the important action in the middle of a snow storm is smart, not only because it sets a mysterious otherworldly tone to the action, but because it creates an environment in which our characters – especially Addison – can move about more freely than might otherwise be possible.  Gwyneth, behind the wheel of her Land Rover with chains on the tires, takes great liberty in her driving, seeming to feel that she can do no wrong.  ‘“What happens if a policeman pulls you over?” I asked.  “Won’t happen…”’  Addison asks a lot of questions due to the fact that Gwyneth is so used to not communicating with people.  Her answers, too, are frustratingly terse.  This, of course, adds an element of mystery to the narrative, keeping the reader in the dark, as well as Addison, as to her intentions.

 

 

 

Next Week:  Conclusion





And join us next month for May’s book of the month: “Memory in Death,” by J. D. Robb!

J.D. Robb is the pseudonym for Nora Roberts, a number one New York Times bestselling author of more than 190 novels, including the futuristic suspense “In Death” series. There are more than 400 million copies of her books in print.

Excerpt: Death was not taking a holiday. New York may have been decked out in its glitter and glamour, madly festooned in December of 2059, but Santa Claus was dead. And a couple of his elves weren’t looking so good. Lieutenant Eve Dallas stood on the sidewalk with the insanity of Times Square screaming around her and studied what was left of St. Nick. A couple of kids, still young enough to believe that a fat guy in a red suit would wiggle down the chimney to bring them presents instead of murdering them in their sleep, were shrieking at a decibel designed to puncture eardrums. She wondered why whoever was in charge of them didn’t haul them away. 

Not her job, she thought. Thank God. She preferred the bloody mess at her feet.


[Interesting departure for an author known chiefly as a Romance writer!]


We'll start Week 1 on May 9th;

Week 1:  Chapters 1-6
Week 2:  Chapters 7-11
Week 3:  Chapters 12-16
Week 4:  Chapters 17-21