The Face of Fear by Dean Koontz

What is it about being all alone, or nearly all alone, in a public structure like a high-rise, hospital, mall, school or church that is so exciting, one which often has hundreds of visitors a day but for the time being is almost completely empty? I know I’m not alone in my enjoyment of such situations, an enjoyment that actually caused me to pursue a career in private security for a time being just so I could walk around in these structures when the public was gone, my mind slowly but surely imagining that I was a character in several different Hollywood movies. I also got to experience similar moments while my wife was in the hospital, especially after her transplant. Many times I would walk the halls late at night or early in the morning when everyone else was asleep, dozens of different novel and story ideas popping up in my mind, ones that sometime became very frightening if I got lost in the corridors or found myself in the empty parking garage. It is because of this enjoyment that I buy books like The Face of Fear by Dean Koontz, one which I have read several times now, the first of which occurred while in high school during my senior year.

The Face of Fear is an early novel by Dean Koontz, one which tells the story of Graham Harris and his girlfriend Connie Davis as they fight for survival in a building that has been locked down by a serial killer known as The Butcher who has been terrorizing the streets of New York for some time. Graham Harris isn’t the killer’s normal type of victim, however, and only comes under the eyes of the killer thanks to a live TV interview where Graham actually had a vision of the killer mutilating a young woman. See, Graham Harris is a clairvoyant, one who seems to have acquired his power after a terrible fall while climbing Mount Everest five years earlier, a fall which has left him terrified of heights. At first the serial killer doesn’t really think much of this clairvoyant who has been talking to the police, because he just assumes he is just another run of the mill fame and money seeking con-artist. But then after the live TV interview, one where he actually says the name of the victim and the secret nickname of the killer, all while describing how she is being killed as it happened, the killer realizes he needs to eliminate this man and decides to do it during a blizzard on a night where he is working late in his publishing office on the top floor of a nearly deserted building.

At first things go according to plan for the killer who easily eliminates the building guards and two other office workers who were completing a project (I hate to say it, but the scene where he kills these men is pretty funny). After that though things get difficult because Graham has a vision while working late, one which prompts him to call the detective he has been working with only to discover the phone lines are out. Him and Connie then try the elevators but discover all but one is working, one which contains the killer. From that point on a game of cat and mouse is played as Graham and Connie desperately try to escape the building, something which is much easier said than done and eventually may require Graham to confront his fear of heights.

The Face of Fear is a great book, one which is a very fast read as its well written chapters quickly alternate between several different points of view, the killer’s and Graham’s being the most prominent of these. Unlike some fast paced thrillers, however, this jumping around doesn’t become overwhelming and is handled with care, which is why this novel is a perfect example of a thriller done right. At the same time I do often wish the story were longer and more detailed, just because I find the characters interesting and love the idea of being in the building all alone, but such a novel wasn’t the aim of the author when penning it, and for all I know may have made the story less enjoyable for the targeted audience, so I can live with it, which is fine because it is a great read, one which I will probably enjoy again and again whenever boredom strikes.

Note: I’ve heard that this novel was turned into a TV movie for CBS and think I may have even seen part of it before I was a fan of Dean Koontz and horror novels, but for the life of me can’t find it anywhere now that I want to sit down and watch it. Does anyone have any idea where I can find this movie, or one that you may think could be this movie? Please let me know if you do.