Product Description

Mystery writer Marty Stillwater finds his life and family threatened by a psychotic killer professing to be the real Marty Stillwater, who embarks on a campaign to eliminate Marty and claim his family. Lit Guild & Doubleday Main. Mystery Guild Alt.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7251698 in Books
• Published on: 1999-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Library Binding

Amazon.com Review
Martin Stillwater is a novelist with a wife and children he adores -- and an imagination he can't control. One rainy afternoon, a stranger breaks into Martin's house and accuses him of stealing his family, his name, and his life. Martin has no choice but to take his family and flee, even as he questions his own sanity. But wherever they go, the stranger is right behind them.

From Publishers Weekly
The formula Koontz ( The Bad Place ) uses here is a familiar one: an overpowering evil stalks an innocent family that remains unaware of the menace until isolated from all help and forced to run for their lives. But enhanced by Koontz's lean prose and rich characterization, this fearsome tale summons up new frissons of horror. Marty Stillwater's second horror novel is bestseller-bound; he's the subject of a People magazine feature article; and his wife, Paige, and their two young daughters complete the perfect family. Then he begins having blackouts and paralyzing panic attacks that lead him to hide guns around the house. The weapons prove handy when an armed stranger--Marty's Doppelganger --breaks into the house to kill him and reclaim the life, family and destiny that he swears Marty stole. A fierce battle leaves the stranger dead but when Paige and the police arrive, the body is gone. Unable to trust the cops, the family runs for the hills to try to evade the seemingly indestructible "Other." Meanwhile, sinister agents are desperately tracking The Other for their own less-than-ethical ends. Playing on every emotion and keeping the story racing along, Koontz masterfully escalates the tension. He closes the narrative with the most ingenious twist ending of his career. Literary Guild & Doubleday Book Club main selection; Mystery Guild alternate selection.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Koontz's earliest thrillers (Night Chills, etc.) were stripped-down vehicles designed for speed and suspense, nothing more. In its terrific visceral energy, this latest, with the author's simplest plot in years--one long chase involving a Frankenstein-like monster, his guardians, and his victims--harkens back to those early affairs; but Koontz is a literary phenomenon now and feels free to load his writing with all sorts of sermons about modern-day woes. The title itself is polemical: ``Mr. Murder'' is the hated sobriquet that People magazine gives to Marty Stillwater, a rising mystery writer who might as well be called Dean Koontz for his California address, stable family life, and strong opinions about the nobility of storytelling and the corruption of American society. At first, Koontz seems to be aping Stephen King here, not just for his put-upon writer-hero but also for the malevolent, perhaps not quite human, twin of Marty's who blows into town, shades of The Dark Half. Koontz is his own writer, however, and it's soon clear that Alfie is no figment made flesh but a wonderfully creepy organic killing machine with a surprising origin and astounding recuperative powers (fueled by Slim Jims and Big Macs) who wants only to take over Marty's life--his wife, daughters, and writing career--and will squash him to do it. Also, Alfie's moral code comes from films he's seen--including porno films in which severe discipline alone brings females into line. Meanwhile, the top-secret federal agents in charge of Alfie--as well as of the experiment that produced him--are desperately hunting their charge, who's gone AWOL and beserk.... Blood pours; children shriek; Alfie makes like a werewolf on steroids while Marty acts like a lion--and Koontz nails the reader to the page once again, despite the soapboxing. (Literary Guild Dual Selection for December) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

I just re-read this book! Even the second time around, I couldn't put it down! CLASSIC KOONTZ!
I'm a huge fan of this gifted author and have read ALL of his books ... for many years. He's one of my very favorite authors.

My son had borrowed MR. MURDER from me years ago, and while on a visit to him I plucked it from his bookshelves and decided to read it again. It was even more thrilling the second time around, exciting from start to finish. This masterful writer took me on a roller-coaster ride of emotions throughout the reading.

To read Koontz books is to experience them. He is that great a wordsmith and a master at description and pacing. He certainly waxes eloquent, and he had me on the edge of my seat, worrying about Marty Stillwater, his wife and daughters. Would they survive ... or wouldn't they? Would his big, mean, larger-than-life doppleganger defeat him? All the odds were in the antagonist's favor, but Koontz pulled off a shocking surprise twist to come in with a satisfying ending.

A great book! A great read! Another winner for Dean Koontz, Master of Horror!

Highly recommended.

Classic Koontz is hard to put down!
After having read most of Koontz's catalogue 5-10 years ago, I've saved a few of his older works for later consumption & enjoyment. Mr. Murder was one of those books, and pulling it out last week & reading it reminded me why I was such an avid fan of his! There's nothing like "classic Koontz".

Mr. Murder is about Martin Stillwater and his family. The book opens as Martin begins to have a weird sense that something is going to happen to him. And sure enough, it does! Within a few days a dead-ringer for Martin walks into his home, claiming Martin stole his identity & then tries to kill Martin. The majority of the book is Martin & his family which consists of a wife & two young girls, on the run from this being that claims to be Marty. We also watch as "The Other" is getting closer & closer; and not too far behind him is people who are after him as well!

The book was full of action & adventure. And of course nail-biting suspense & curiosity of what will happen next. The only thing that could be improved on would be the pace- I think the book could have moved a bit quicker- especially the ending. As usual Koontz's characters take the cake, they make the book. He has a special talent for creating likeable characters & getting the readers to really care about them. Recommended!

Dead Ringer, Plenty Scary
Thriller writer Martin Stillwater, though not at the top of his game, makes enough money and has enough fame to satisfy himself. He's got a good life, is in love with his wife and he adores his children. His future looks bright. Then a stranger, who happens to be Marty's dead ringer, shows up and accuses Marty of stealing his life and he wants it back.

And that's just the beginning of the book. However, as much as I absolutely love Dean Koontz, this one didn't hold me enthralled the way most of his others have done. I was actually able to put it down to check my e-mail and I didn't pick it back up till the next day. Not a good sign for a Koontz book. However, like all his work, it was an excellent story that scared me plenty.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane