Brother Odd / Dean Koontz / 364 pages

Odd Thomas is enjoying a peaceful respite from his spirit-filled life at a monastery in the Sierra Nevadas.  Here he has only seen one spirit - that of a brother who committed suicide and likes to ring bells and scare the other monks at all times of day and night.  This particular monastery has quite an interesting cast, including a billionaire physicist who donated all his money to support the monastery's school for severely disabled children and an ex-mobster who turned on his boss in order to (hopefully) save the boss's 6-year-old daughter from a life of crime.  Having been at the monastery several months, Odd begins seeing bodachs gathering near the school.  He must discover what the danger is and who it's coming from before the children can be hurt.  Luckily the monks and nuns at the monastery and willing and able to help take up arms in defense of their charges and Odd leads the way against strange and frightening monsters.  This 3rd book of the Odd Thomas series shows a wonderful depth of character and many surprising twists.