Intensity - by Dean Koontz

Originally published in Crossroads Vol 5 No 15 (June 1996)

Intensity pits Chyna Shepherd, a student studying psychology, against a man who is anything but a psychology textbook killer. Edgler Foreman Vess enjoys making words from the letters of his name, such as "God fears me." Vess gets off experiencing everything that life has to offer -- to the extremes. There is no such thing as a bad experience, there are merely experiences to be felt. The more intense the experience, the better.

Chyna not only has to initially dodge Vess to stay alive, but she ends up having to decide whether or not she will "stay with" him to prevent him from killing another poor innocent girl whom she learns is next. Koontz pulls off this seemingly difficult character decision with a genuine believability.

In all, this is a fast paced thriller that gets more interesting and nail-biting as it nears the end. The last 100 pages seem like 10. From this point on, you cannot put this novel down. Highly recommended.