Intensity: A Novel

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Past midnight, Chyna Shepard, twenty-six, gazes out a moonlit window, unable to sleep on her first night in the Napa Valley home of her best friend's family. Instinct proves reliable. A murderous sociopath, Edgler Foreman Vess, has entered the house, intent on killing everyone inside. A self-proclaimed "homicidal adventurer," Vess lives only to satisfy all appetites as they arise, to immerse himself in sensation, to live without fear, remorse, or limits, to live with intensity. Chyna is trapped in his deadly orbit.

Chyna is a survivor, toughened by a lifelong struggle for safety and self-respect. Now she will be tested as never before. At first her sole aim is to get out alive--until, by chance, she learns the identity of Vess's next intended victim, a faraway innocent only she can save. Driven by a newly discovered thirst for meaning beyond mere self-preservation, Chyna musters every inner resource she has to save an endangered girl . . . as moment by moment, the terrifying threat of Edgler Foreman Vess intensifies.

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448 pages

Average rating: 7.78

27 RATINGS

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3 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

MrsReadsAlot
Dec 19, 2024
8/10 stars
I went back and forth between 3.5 and 4 stars for this one and rounded up mostly because the narration was well done.

I spent a good chunk of the first many chapters convinced that this was going to be just like the French movie High Tension. There were so many similarities but it turns out it was very different.

It's hard to describe this book without using the word "intense" so the title definitely fits. Although, that's not where the name comes from. You'll have to read it to find that out.

I definitely enjoyed the story and the two main characters. We get a pretty good look into the killer's head and I liked what Koontz did with him. He's not what I'm used to when it comes to reading about someone who enjoys torturing and killing people. Our heroine is interesting and bad-ass. And her childhood makes mine look like a lovely dream.

There were some places where my attention waned and I kind of wish it had ended sooner than it actually did but I still enjoyed the shit out of this book.
NiteOwl
Sep 03, 2024
10/10 stars
Intense! Scary, edge of your seat read!
HillaryL
Jan 21, 2024
10/10 stars
One of my all time FAVORITE books!!! It starts off with a bang and does not stop! I read this book once every couple of years just because I love it so much!!!!

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