the third in the odd thomas series brings us to a monastery where our beloved odd is doing some soul searching. i liked this book, although i thought some of the dialog seemed forced. thomas is a wise ass. it’s one of the reasons i love him so, but some of the exchanges just seem fake. i thought the russian character was neat and i didn’t figure out how he was involved at all. i thought it was the scientist monk but not in the same capacity. i was a little sad to see elvis go, i had grown attached to him and i don’t know how i feel about odd being dead. on the one hand he’s w/stormy but on the other i was quite fond of him. koontz leaves it open for more in the series. i’m looking forward to reading about his adventures w/boo + sinatra.