''Strangers'' is a novel written by

Dean Koontz Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945) is an American author. His novels are billed as suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire. Many of his books have appeared on ''The New Y ...

, released in 1986.

Plot

A group of people are brought together by their different and equally strange maladies. There is Dominick who suffers from somnambulism, Ginger has unexplained lapses into a

fugue state Dissociative fugue (), formerly called a fugue state or psychogenic fugue, is a mental and behavioral disorderDrs; that is classified variously as a dissociative disorder,Dissociative Fugue (formerly Psychogenic Fugue) 'DSM-IV 300.13, Diagnost ...

, Father Brendan loses his faith and later gains a miraculous 'gift', and Ernie who suffers from

nyctophobia Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Some degree of ...

. Dominick receives Polaroids that lead him to the Tranquility Motel, situated in the middle of the

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

'high-desert', thirty miles west of Elko. Together with Ned and Sandy, who run the restaurant next door to the motel, they discover that their true memories from the summer of the previous year may have been suppressed. Later Ginger, Jorja, and the other people who stayed at the Tranquility Motel are contacted and invited to join the group. Ginger shares that their memories are suppressed by Azrael Blocks - a means of brainwashing induced through drugs and hypnosis. She received hypnosis as a treatment to uncover a cause of her malady. The Tranquility 'community' are unaware that those behind the suppression are watching them. They are joined by Jack Twist (who was led to the Tranquility Motel by a series of postcards placed there by an insider). The group finally comes up with a strategy to uncover the government secret that has been hidden at the Thunder Hill Depository in the hills.

Primary characters

*Dominick Corvaisis, author *Ginger Weiss, surgeon *Ernie Block, U.S.M.C. (ret.), and his wife, Faye Block *Brendan Cronin, priest and curate *Jack Twist, former Army Ranger and P.O.W., professional thief *Jorja Monatella, formerly Rykoff, Las Vegas casino

cocktail waitress A cocktail waitress is a female server who brings drinks to patrons of drinking establishments such as bars, cocktail lounges, casinos, comedy clubs, jazz clubs, cabarets, and other live music venues. Casinos traditionally dress their cocktail wai ...

*Alan Rykoff, Jorja's estranged husband *Marcie Rykoff, their young daughter *Sandy Sarver, diner waitress, and her husband, Ned Sarver, short-order cook *Leland Falkirk, U.S. Army Colonel *Parker Faine, artist *Stefan Wycazik, parish priest

Nominations

World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel (1987) British Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel (1987)

Adaptation

In 2018, it was announced that an adaptation of Strangers is in development at

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

for a one hour drama created by

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

creator Jeff Davis. The project is a co-production between Fox and Sony Pictures Television.

References

External links

Strangers Book Review
American horror novels 1986 American novels Novels by Dean Koontz Novels set in Nevada {{1980s-horror-novel-stub