Dragon Tears : A thriller with a powerful jolt of violence and terror

If you delight in the suspense of Stephen King and The Stranger by Harlan Coben chilled you to the bone (in the best possible way), you''ll love Dragon Tears - the classic thriller by Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz. ''Not just a master of our darkest dreams but also a literary juggler'' - The Times.

Harry Lyon is a cop who embraces tradition and order. The biggest bane of his life is his partner, Connie Gulliver. Harry doesn''t like the messiness of her desk, her lack of social polish or her sometimes casual attitude towards the law. ''Look, Harry, it''s the Age of Chaos,'' she tells him. ''Get with the times.''

And when Harry and Connie have to take out a hopped-up gunman in a restaurant, the chase and shootout swiftly degenerate into a surreal nightmare that seems to justify Connie''s view of the modern world. Shortly after, Harry encounters a filthy, rag-clad denizen of the streets, who says ominously, ''Ticktock, ticktock. You''ll be dead in sixteen hours.'' Struggling to regain the orderly life he cherishes, Harry is trapped in an undertow of terror and violence. For reasons he does not understand, someone is after him, Connie Gulliver and the people he loves.