LOCAL EDGE: Dean R. Koontz of Newport...

LOCAL EDGE: Dean R. Koontz of Newport Beach has set his new suspense thriller, “Hideaway,” in Orange County (E1), same as in 10 previous novels. But the best-selling author takes exception to writers who set their novels here without much local knowledge. . . . He calls it “the Judith Krantz approach” and says: “I find it hilarious, (when) you come as sort of a dilettante for a little while and see what it’s like.” Krantz, who lives in L.A.’s exclusive Bel-Air section, set her 1990 novel “Dazzle” in Orange County.