The Bad Weather Friend

Benny is so nice they feel compelled to destroy him, but he has a friend who should scare the hell out of them in this breathtaking new kind of thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense Dean Koontz.

Benny Catspaw's perpetually sunny disposition is tested when he loses his job, his reputation, his fiancée, and his favorite chair. He's not paranoid. Someone is out to get him. He just doesn't know who or why. Then Benny receives an inheritance from an uncle he's never heard of: a giant crate and a video message. All will be well in time.

How strange--though it's a blessing, his uncle promises. Stranger yet is what's inside the crate. He's a seven-foot-tall self-described "bad weather friend" named Spike whose mission is to help people who are just too good for this world. Spike will take care of it. He'll find Benny's enemies. He'll deal with them. This might be satisfying if Spike wasn't such a menacing presence with terrifying techniques of intimidation.

In the company of Spike and a fascinated young waitress-cum-PI-in-training named Harper, Benny plunges into a perilous high-speed adventure, the likes of which never would have crossed the mind of a decent guy like him.

BUY THE BOOK

Published Feb 1, 2024

380 pages

Average rating: 6.92

25 RATINGS

|

Community Reviews

Margie Pettersen
Oct 27, 2025
10/10 stars
genre bending

Amazing book that was well executed. It was by far the most entertaining book that I’ve read in a long time. It shows that nice guys do sometimes get the girl. Benny has had a hard life and known misfortune. His father was killed in front of him, he was sent to live with an evil grandfather and later sent to the boarding school from hell where young men may be turned into bug-like creatures. By far, the scenes set in the school are the most enthralling. The craggy friend sent by an uncle is kind of like a golem. The adventures they have together to make the world right are incredulous. Not sure what to make of this book, but it did hold my attention and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.
Vince
Jun 18, 2024
2/10 stars
Cool idea, poor execution. There's zero emotion in Koontz 's writing. Everyone talks the same stilted speech and characters are indistinguishable from each other. Why does he insist on his MC calling the love of his life by her full name all the time? Super weird. DNF before we could even find out what was in the crate.
MonicaWooster
Apr 08, 2024
9/10 stars
Lightweight but fun!
estudits
Apr 03, 2024
6/10 stars
The diction and profound vocabulary use in this book was excellent and the author did a solid job weaving the protagonist’s memories as a schoolboy into present day, but something about the book and the plot overall just didn’t tickle my fancy and felt laborious to read at times.

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.