The Mask By Dean Koontz

This novel is written by a favourite of mine, Dean Koontz. He has written loads of books including Sole Survivor which I have reviewed here. This book was first published in 1981 under the psuedonym Owen West.

The book begins with a young girl in a cellar. She is spring cleaning and she hates it because she is afraid of spiders. Her mother makes her stay down there until it is clean. Suddenly, a fire starts and she is trapped in the cellar. Her mother and her aunt try to get her out, but it is no good. We cut to a couple, Carol and Paul who are going to an adoption agency. They want to have children, but Carol is unable to due to a problem she had when she was pregnant years ago. She gave her baby up for adoption. Carol is a child psychologist and Paul is writing a novel. They are assured that they have a great chance of getting a child when a tree crashes through the window of the offices where they are and stops them.

A day later, they find that their papers have gone missing so Paul has to go and get more..We cut to Grace who is a retired child psychologist. She brought Carol up as her own. She rescued the young Carol from a bad life when she was younger and the two women are close. She is worried about Carol when she has dreams of something bad happening to her. Plus her cat is acting strangely. It is very aggressive and strange. Carol, meanwhile, is driving her car when a girl steps out in front of it. She hits her, but everyone witnesses that it was not her fault and that the girl stepped out in front of her car. She takes the young girl to the hospital, but she isn't badly hurt. Carol goes back to visit her when she is awake and she discovers that the girl can't remember who she is.

So, Carol and Paul decide that the girl who they call Jane, can live with them until they find her parents. They like having her around. She is a nice young girl and she fits in well with them. Carol tries to hypnotise Jane to see if she can bring her memory back and that is when she discovers that there is something not right with this young girl... She is not all she seems..Grace and Paul have to race against time to save Carol from a deadly fate...

I liked this book, but the ending was a bit weak,I thought. I was interested in the story, but it would not be one of Dean Koontz's best books. I thought that it was okay, but not brilliant.