Innocence

Dean Koontz

Innocence is a supernatural thriller about Addison Goodheart, a man whose face provokes instant violence in anyone who sees it, forcing him to live hidden in tunnels beneath a city. When he meets Gwyneth, a young woman with her own hidden trauma who is being hunted by the man who murdered her father, the two form a cautious, intimate bond while uncovering a conspiracy and a looming catastrophe. The novel blends mystery and horror elements with a philosophical, almost fable-like meditation on isolation, acceptance, and redemption. It builds toward an apocalyptic, faith-tinged climax rather than a conventional thriller resolution.