MR MURDER by Dean Koontz (Headline $205): While this still ranks as one of the better horror thrillers on the market now, it is a notch or two below Mr Koontz's previous efforts.
Martin Stillwater seems to have it all: a beautiful wife, two intelligent, well-adjusted daughters, two books on the bestseller list. He also has an ''alter-ego'' he isn't aware of.
The Other is a cold-blooded killer who has no recollection of his past. He has no name, no family and only knows who he is supposed to kill.
But he yearns to be someone and a strange force pulls him towards Stillwater whom he believes holds the key to the missing parts of his life.
The premise of genetic engineering has appeared time and again in Mr Koontz's books but unlike his earlier works which are taut and frightening, this one lacks edge.
CRYBBE by Phil Rickman (Macmillan $255): Mr Rickman has one other book - Candlenight - to his name. That dealt with the terrors that lurk in Welsh villages and Crybbe carries on this theme.
The town of Crybbe declares a curfew when night ''rises'', marked by the ominous clanging of the town bell.
