An excellent thriller by Koontz. He never disappoints me. This book was not as gory as some of his titles but was saturated with intrigue and suspense-- one I didn't want to stop reading until the end.

I did have a hard time at first getting into this story. The author is super descriptive and sometimes the language was above my head. I had to use the glossary a few times. That being said there was a point in the story - I cannot tell you what happened as I do not want to give the story away - that I was just sucked in and literally not spit out until the end! I was blown away by what was going on in this book!! I am not one to describe what the story is about because you can read that in the book description but this story is a fast-paced thriller definitely worth the read! I was surprised at the end to find out that this is going to be a series but I am absolutely going to read book two!!

Jane Hawk is one tough cookie! She has the experience, the talent and the motivation to find out the truth about her husbands suicide. She isn't buying the suicide story. I love this strong and confident heroine! This book is action packed and page turning fast paced! I can't wait to find out what else Jane has in store for us. The evidence she has so far uncovered is both fascinating and terrifying! Dean Koontz has created an inspiring character and series to look forward to!

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS:

Someone, somewhere has developed the absolute ability to control minds - what does he do with it? - he creates a prostitution ring. I mean, you'd think with the surreptitious manner that the people are transformed, he'd want to do something with presidents, generals, CEOs of conglomerates for personal gains and world domination but no, he has a series of international clubs (which most probably service the prez, congress, judiciary, bureaucracy, military and business complex)! Instead of exploring the dangers of controlling Trump and Putin, or national security apparatus, the book goes off on the same lines as the film 'Taken' (girls are being abducted and made to do things they don't want to do, through drug-dependency.)

Why does every baddie's fantasy include controlling women? And why does every super genius in books and films have a fetish for having a prostitution ring full of mind-controlled women? The book starts out as a mystery, then a terrifying reality (though the way it's written you believe what the heroine will believe because whatever she thinks she knows, happens in the book.) - but it lacks focus.

The story is a mixture of films like 'conspiracy theory', 'hostel', 'taken', 'the den', 'manchurian candidate', 'the matrix', 'dark city', 'invasion of the body snatchers', 'the handmaid's tale', ''mad max' and even 'children of the corn' - the problem is the story is all over the place - Dean Koontz can't decide what he wants his super villain to do - the story sets up 2 main villains and goes after 1 of them in this book - Dr. Shenneck aka 'Dr. Frankenstein' is controlling people/animals, arranging suicide/ murders, and having a snuff bordello too. Can't the baddie just make up his mind what he wants to do? Plus, there is no great mystery to the evilness because the heroine, Jane, believes in this pretty much right from the start.

The whole book builds up the character and clash with the villain and just when it is ground zero hour, he is shot dead along with his wife - WTH? The guy is part of what appears to be an international 'serial killing is fun' ring and he is dead before you blink. There could have been more to the climax than such an instant death. Also, for Jane to shoot the FBI Director dead without even asking Dr. Shenneck for a cure or reversible technique was inconsiderate and illogical.

The heroine's back, front stories also jar after a while: In the middle of the book, we find the contentious relationship between Jane and her father courtesy a possible murder. I found the constant references to her beauty off-putting. Nobody reacts or writes a central male character this way: where everyone the hero meets is going ga-ga or speechless over his physical features.

Fun part: Palo Alto has ground zero and much of the anti-cliamctic action. Napa Valley has some too. Menlo Park has a key interview. And San Francisco gets mentioned. It was cool to see places I've been to the centre pieces here.

Macabre part: Is the rich-man-loves-to-snuff-a-girl an urban legend or do these kind of things really happen? Camel riding jockeys frequently are said to be children as young as two, who have been kidnapped and then are physically and sexually abused, killed in camel stampedes. There was a news piece a couple of years ago that UN was hearing a case involving European royalty where naked children were made to run and hunted for fun 'games'. There have been sporadic news reports on kids being filmed raped, tortured and murdered. Organ trafficking is rampant. But adult trafficking leading to torture and murder? According to the book 'Harvest of Women, Safari in Mexico, 1993-2006, the truth about the murders of girls and women in Juarez, Mexico' (Diana Valdez, Peace at the border, 2006), "FBI officials did not rule out the possibility that women were being killed to produce snuff films; however in twenty years if investigating, the agency;'s national headquarters in Washington D.C., said it had yet to see an authentic snuff video." Andrew Luster, the Max Factor heir filmed his illegal sex acts. But adult trafficking leading to snuff films? Fact or fiction?

The book sets up lots of tangents for sequels which is good news for the writer, publisher, agent and TV networks - someone will pick this up for a 'Walking Dead' franchise. But in that case this is not a book, it's a marketing fish net. It has teeth.

What a wild ride! There is so much action in this book, you will lose sleep. Even to the end and when it was over, I thought it couldn't possibly be the ending, there was too much going on. From the beginning you don't know if the main character is really all there, or suffering from a break in reality. It keeps you guessing, it keeps your pulse up....good job, Mr. Koontz!

I'm a newbie to the storytelling of Dean Koontz. And wow, I'm hooked now! This story had me on the edge of my seat. A disturbing tale that makes you think long after after you're finished. Jane Hawk is a badass heroine that I'd follow anywhere!

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

The Silent Corner was okay, but I'm not in love with it.

Told mostly in short chapter bursts, similar James Patterson's breakneck style of writing, the pace fits to build the suspense in the story.

The story's heroine, Jane Hawk, is like the bullet shot from a pistol: she's on a course that she's committed to, no matter what, and only something big getting in her way could possibly change her trajectory.

The way that people in power behave and the technological advances we've made in the last few decades make it seem like the evil in this story is entirely possible. Plausible, even. Which is, in itself, frightening.

Koontz is prone to purple prose, but he does it in a way that it almost reads like poetry, and that's no different here. Also, per usual, he offers up good guys who are flawed, but heroic nonetheless, and bad guys you'll cheer to see get taken down.

Though that doesn't happen much here. The Silent Corner is the setup to the series; Jane is only at the beginning of connecting the dots. Told in multiple points of view the story is the first in a trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger.

We are given a special preview of the second book in the series, The Whispering Room at the end of The Silent Corner, and it promises to be just as rapid fire in terms of pace, and as complicated and confounding in plot.

Go, Jane, go!

Aaarrrrrrgg! Why did I not remember that this is the start of a series? And it's one that's only kinda tied up at the end, with more to come in the next book. It was dark, with no humor or beautiful turns of phrase that I love about Koontz. I did finish it, but I don't know that I'll read the next one. People who like a dark thriller series might like this.

A very suspenseful book. The characters are so real you feel like they are your neighbors. This is a fast read because you can't put it down. I would recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers.

Just added another series to my Must-Read list. Read straight through finishing in the wee hours this morning. Loved the book. Loved the plot line (gives me the "willies" which is always fun). Government/societal elites using advanced bio-weapons to target little old you and me for their own nefarious ends ... what is not to like? Jane Hawk, the lone, rogue FBI agent out to end them is a most engaging heroine with other characters along the way equally intriguing. I am scared to death "they" are going to take her over rather than take her out. Cannot wait for book 2, The Whispering Place!

One of the few sure things that I have in this life is knowing that when I pick up the new Dean Koontz I am going to be entertained and more. His command of characterization is second to none and his writing is just beautiful. The Silent Corner is another hit. Start this book at your own peril, you will not want to put it down.

The very first Dean Koontz book I read was Watchers. I fell in love with the book and the author. It’s been a long and satisfying relationship. He stands alone in his ability to write prose that is lyrical, while leading his readers through a dark and twisted web of deceit, tension and terror, making a compelling case that seemingly innocent innovations can lead to unimagined consequences.

His newest heroine, Jane Hawk, has a husband and son she loves and a job as an FBI agent that is both satisfying and challenging…until her handsome, accomplished husband commits suicide for no apparent reason. Jane, refusing to accept that her husband was suicidal, looks into the increasing number of unexpected suicides in the country. Some very powerful people don’t like what she’s doing and make it clear that if she doesn’t stop…there will be consequences. Against her son.

These threats leave Jane no choice but to leave her job and go off the grid…way off the grid…to protect her son and herself, and to find out who or what is behind these deaths. In her pursuit of truth, she meets some extraordinary people, from the homeless man and roller skating vacationer who help her with a sting, to the man running a free kitchen. As is typical of a Dean Koontz book, every character is important and vital to the story, even when they’re only around for a chapter or two.

As much has been written about Dean Koontz over the years as has been written about his books. He can wrap you up in a story so tightly, that you can’t quite turn the pages fast enough, using his unique style to describe every scene, every thought as he leads you deeper into a world that isn’t quite what you believe. He can take the most hopeful possibility and turn it into a terrifying tale of “what if”. He is a master story teller and stylish writer. If you’ve never read Dean Koontz, this is your best chance to start a brand new series. Jane Hawk is going to be a heroine to follow for many years, I hope.

Enjoy!

2shay

"The Silent Corner: Those who are truly off the grid and cannot be tracked by any technology, yet are able to move about freely and use the Internet, are said to the in The Silent Corner.

Jane Hawk, Dean Koontz’s newest bad ass character persists throughout this thriller to prove that her beloved husband, Nick, did not commit suicide. Even though she discovered her husband in their own bathtub where he brutally slit his own throat with his own knife, she can not believe that he wanted to die. His suicide note raises more questions instead of providing an answer.

Jane Hawk is on leave from her job with the FBI and on the run, not just from those who want to harm her but toward the truth. She will do whatever it takes to find it. The elusive “they” want to stop her from finding out what really happened to her husband. She also believes a recent increase in the number of suicides by people who had no reason to kill themselves is somehow connected. She is dismissed as “paranoid” and “overcome by grief”, yet a large group of evil people are out to shut her up for good.

Jane is forced to hide her son, Travis, with friends living off the grid after Travis is threatened by an unknown intruder, who tells her to stop her investigation or risk having them take her child where he'll be sent overseas to be used in a human trafficking ring. Rather then making her back down, the threat leaves Jane wanting to expose the Orwellian Group she comes to know as Far Horizons.

The Silent Corner is a maddening techno-horror novel that reads like a non-stop chase scene. The Evil characters seem to multiply as the story continues. The answers Jane seeks are unbelieveable even to her. What kind of psycho techo genuises have taken technology and the Dark Web down the path she discovers?

The Silent Corner will leave readers begging for more and Koontz is delivering on that as well. This is the first novel in a series and the first chapter of book 2 is included at the end of the net galley ARC I was fortunate enough to read. I read the book in two days, finding it difficult to do anything else. Check your calendar before you start this exciting read.

Patricia Keefe
Net Gallery Arc reader

https://www.facebook.com/Writingteacher/posts/10212738012230774

It's been some time since I have picked up a Dean Koontz book, and The Silent Corner has convinced me that I need to do so more often. Koontz' complex imagination and evocative writing style never fail to raise the hair on my arms, and the Jane Hawk series is no exception.

Jane Hawk is an FBI agent on leave and on the run. Not convinced that her husband's death was a suicide, Jane's investigation into the rising suicide rate around the nation has drawn the attention of some very scary and powerful people. Now she must conduct her investigation as covertly as possible while on the move as she runs from those who don't want their secrets to come to light. Jane was a likable and relatable heroine. She was capable and admirably determined, but with a tragic quality that helped humanize her to the reader. Despite the danger she was in and her single-minded focus, she presented as a genuinely caring individual and treated those around with respect.

The plot conflict was classic Koontz - a bone chilling conspiracy to enslave society by billionaires and mad scientists. The product was a complex and thrilling ride that made me look at my migraines in a whole new way. The pacing was in turns fast-paced action, intellectual discussion of the evil genius technology, and strategy sessions, with a few moments of vulnerability thrown in for our heroine. It was definitely a story that I didn't want to put down. I was rushing page to page trying to figure out what would happen next.

Jane was aided by a few engaging secondary characters, with a larger role played by a piteous and pious war veteran. I hope the secondary characters continue to play a role in future installments. I am definitely happy this is the start of a new series and hope we see Jane taking on "the man" for the foreseeable future.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher, Bantam Books.

Dean Koontz at his finest! Heart pounding action that will keep you up way past your bedtime. I couldn't put it down!

I've been a reader of Dean Koontz for a very long time. He's written some wonderful stories but for me, this wasn't one of them. I've read many reviews that describe Jane as a tough, kick butt type of girl. I don't see it. She easily gets what she needs magically when she needs it. By the end of the book, I found her annoying. I will set this book aside and look forward to reading a different Dean Koontz book.

I love Dean Koontz wordy writing style. Jane Hawk, the remarkable heroine, pulls off the most unimaginable tasks to get to the bottom of the mystery behind her husband's death. This is one of those books that keeps you up at night because you just can't stop reading . So glad the Mr. Koontz dug deep and brought us this page turner.

Jane Hawk is fighting for the protection of her son. She is fighting for the betterment of the world that she will leave for him. She is, essentially, fighting a losing battle. And she is doing it alone.

FBI agent on leave after the apparent suicide of her valiant husband, Jane knows that he did not willingly take his own treasured life. He is not alone. Other well-adjusted, contented people with a bright future are also taking their own lives. After much research, Jane discovers something totally evil, something absolutely unbelievable, incomprehensible. Because it is so unimaginable, she must fight the evil alone, until she can uncover proof of this nightmarish truth. Otherwise, no one could possibly believe her!

I have read so many of Dean Koontz’s amazing books. And this one is as extremely well-written as all of his others. He taunts his readers, dangling them above the precipice with his words, luring them to read and read. His characters are so well-developed that you would swear that you know them. All of this results in a very fine book. However, I expected some amazing insight or truth underlying it all. Maybe I did not get it in this book, because it is to be continued in the next book. Maybe because it is not that kind of book. The plot keeps the reader on the edge of her seat, but, as in his The City and Innocence, and even Ashley Bell, there was a profound depth of meaning. This is just a mystery. But, as all Koontz does, it is a superb one.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book started very interestingly and kept my attention for the first half, then started dragging a little. Most of the characters were interesting. I would have recommended it, except for the ending. There wasn't one. I knew this was the start of a series. I didn't expect this to end without everything being tied up. I can handle that with "Game of Thrones", but was disappointed with a book. I won't be reading the next in the series. By the end I really didn't care what happened to anyone.