One Door Away from Heaven

Publisher's Summary

In a dusty trailer park on the far edge of the California dream, Michelina wants to change the direction of her troubled life but can't find her way. When a new family settles into the rental trailer next door, Micky meets the young girl who will change her forever.

Despite her deformed left leg and withered left hand, nine-year-old Leilani Klonk radiates a buoyant and indomitable spirit that inspires Micky. Beneath Leilani's effervescence, however, Micky comes to sense a quiet desperation that the girl dares not express. Leilani's mother is little more than a child herself, and her stepfather, Preston Maddoc, is educated but threatening. Slowly, ever more troubling details emerge in Leilani's conversations with Micky. Most chilling is Micky's discovery that Leilani had an older brother, also disabled, who vanished after Maddoc took him into the woods one night and is now "gone to the stars".

While the child-protection bureaucracy gives Micky the runaround, the Maddoc family slips away into the night. So Micky sets out across America to find them: for the first time living for something bigger than herself. One Door Away from Heaven is an incandescent mix of suspense and humor, fear and wonder, a story of redemption and timeless wisdom that will have listeners cheering.

©1991 Dean Koontz (P)1991 Random House, Inc.

Koontz outdoes himself

This book was so interesting I had trouble putting it down, then I didn't want it to end. Skillfully told, bringing many separate factions together, it is magically woven.

23 of 24 people found this review helpful

How does he do it?

Dean Koontz, “One Door Away from Heaven”, great read and re-read!!
I have re-read the last chapter about 5 times…..
He never lets me down….a truly amazing mind…..the way he weaves stories with facts and fiction….amazing!
Totalitarianism, utilitarian bioethics…aliens….right vs wrong…good vs evil….
WOW

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

"Ding, ding, ding,ding, ding"

We have a winner! A great novel with a well executed plot and expertly developed characters. In this novel, Koontz brings strong female characters to the front, two of which are eccentric and have incredible depth. A 10 year old girl's life is salvaged by two women. This child's character has a unique humor, as well as talents, that helps to offset the actions of her worthless parents. Great ending.

16 of 17 people found this review helpful

I'm sorry to report that I am thoroughly disappointed by this audiobook.

This audiobook could have been really good but, in my humble opinion, the entire book simply dragged and dragged and dragged. It's hard for me to explain effectively. The storyline could have been really great. It has good characters (by that I mean interesting) but they just don't seem to come together effectively and expeditiously.

I don't know, I'm even lost on how to explain exactly what I mean. I kept on listening thinking surely it would get better, and it did for a short while. Unfortunately from getting better to becoming worse the story rambled on back and forth finally ending in a bizarre way.

This didn't really seem like a Dean Koontz book.

I hope if you decide to listen to it that you totally disagree with me and that you thoroughly enjoy it from start to finish. Maybe it's just me, but that's just not how the experience unfolded for me. St any rate, Happy Reading (or listening )!

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

We all depend on other people !

How to review a book by such a superb writer? Dean Koontz has taken three story lines of such divergent subjects to parallel lengths where they diverge at an ending that tells us that only through the goodness of everyone working together can life be worth living. It's at once a theists against the bioethics of perfection and a fast passed thriller. But to describe how he does this only seems to demean his work. He has a deformed 9 year old girl, living with her drug addled mother and her murdering bioethics father; two wounded women trying to make a better life for themselves; a burnt out detective; and a young "extra-terrestrial" boy and his dog. Put these together and you have a strangely wonderful thrilling story.

Koontz is probably the best writer than I know. He can take four beautiful sentences to describe someone's eyes, and rather than sounding wordy, every word feels necessary. I would say that this is my favorite Koontz book but then I read another one and that becomes my favorite. Just read this book. You won't be sorry. He makes very important points is convincingly beautiful stories.

13 of 14 people found this review helpful

One Door Away From Heaven

Dean Koontz' One Door Away From Heaven is beautifully written. This work is more poetry than prose and you may find yourself lost in a siren's song, unaware of its lyrics. The main storyline is a step through the looking glass and a hourney with only shadowy ilumination of mysteries encountered. It is certainly one of my top five Koontz favorites.

24 of 27 people found this review helpful

Gave me Shivers. Awe Inspiring.

What did you love best about One Door Away from Heaven?

What I liked best about it was how it revealed the beauty of innocence - and the ugliness of evil - at the same time.

What other book might you compare One Door Away from Heaven to and why?

Innocence, because as in this book, Koontz transmits an awe-inspiring realization of great paradox, energy and importance of which many in society are not aware. Prepare to be enlightened - if you dare.

What does Anne Twomey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She brings the characters to life - so much so - I "missed" Koontz's little protagonists in this Audio Book long after finishing it.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, at the end, I cried tears of joy and comprehension. What a genius writer for our times.

Any additional comments?

Listening to a Dean Koontz book on Audio is one of my favorite all time, relaxation activities - similar to the experience of fine dining and drinking wine - but a rare satiation for the intellect.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

A Stark Possiblility

I really enjoyed the book and I didnt find it slow just anticipation was ongoing and hard to enjore:). Love it and would recommend it.
The girl remminded me of JUNo way beyond her years.
Thanks for a good read

11 of 13 people found this review helpful

Great characters so-so story

This book has one of the most memorable heroines of all of Koontz's work. Unfortunately the story is not as good as the characters. The story drags, which is pretty unusual for Koontz. The antagonists are not as compelling as in better Koontz. Overall, I am still very glad I read it, for I enjoy my memories of the young heroine.

10 of 12 people found this review helpful

A little bit of sci-fi and life lesson all in one

Any additional comments?

I have recently been introduced to Dean Koontz even though he's been around for years. This book was amazing. Reminding me in this world of darkness there are always others that are searching for the light.

Amazing story. Thank you.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful