The Whispering Room is the second in the Jane Hawk series, having best-seller The Silent Corner directly preceding it. Holy Moses! Mr. Koontz really puts out the prose, doesn't he?
Cora Gundersun, beloved special-needs schoolteacher, takes a 180-degree turn from her usually easy-going, sweet and sympathetic character to that of mass murderer. Neither is she meant to survive. Sheriff Luther Tillman of Minnesota knows this is not the Cora the whole town knew and loved. When the feds come in and perfunctorily dismiss his local office of involvement, Sheriff Tillman goes on a mission to find out what happened to her. He will eventually join Jane in her continuing crusade to find and bring to justice those responsible for the reprehensible nanotechnology being implanted into the innocent and unsuspecting public. But it will cost him. Big Time.
Jane is the ubiquitous former FBI agent gone rogue. She's smart, she's dangerous, and she's on a mission to nail those responsible for her husband's death and now the threat to her five-year-old son. Further, she has contacts borne of her years in law enforcement--allies--as Sheriff Tillman soon becomes. She is not without resources. She is determined and uncommonly competent. Jane keeps a step ahead of all those who have put her on the most wanted list, as she follows one lead to another, each calculated to get her closer to her perceived target.
It is obvious that installment one sets up the plot and fleshes out Jane. She has gathered the proof she needs to break the conspiracy cabal that plots the takeover of the common man. Koontz employs bucket loads of three hundred dollar words and the book sets up a suspenseful heart-sinking tone that begins the rush to secure mankind. The pace seldom stutters or slips, although if I had a problem it was the inclusion of a couple scenes that seemed unnecessary to further the plot and only served to add pages to what some might deem an already over-long narrative.
Sheriff Tillman, immensely sympathetic, is fully fleshed. I enjoyed his character and that of his family, especially the perceptible daughter Jolie (whose dialogue was SOOO 17), and Bernie Riggowitz, that lively driven and recently widowed octogenarian. He is sharp, has a sense of humor, and becomes an ally.
This book was offered as a download from Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for an honest review and I was thrilled for the opportunity to read and review this title and best-selling author. Would I read another? Oh yeah!

It has been a long time since I read a Dean Koontz novel, never feeling the need to rush out and purchase his newest work. I believe that will change after reading “The Whispering Room.”

The novel is nothing short of amazing. It is the second in the author’s Jane Hawk series, although it can be read as a standalone (there is enough back story provided). Jane is an FBI agent on the run, trapped by events and machinations beyond her control. With every move she makes, the rabbit hole gets bigger and moves further away from a world to which she can never return.

Mr. Koontz keeps the tension at a high level throughout the story through the use of small chapters, some lasting only a page or two. The shifting POVs kept me turning pages, because whoever I was reading about, I knew that the person I had just left was in some level of danger. The author has strategically limited the shifts to a minimum number of characters, which keeps readers from becoming confused.

The plot takes place today, wrapped in the science of nanobots and the people who would use them in a personal effort to make the world a better place. Ironically, these same people never hesitate to kill if that action will bring everyone closer to their perception of nirvana.

Even though I have a pretty good idea of what happened in the first Jane Hawk book, the storytelling in this novel was so good that I plan on purchasing “The Silent Corner.” If you are looking for a thriller that will keep you turning pages far into the night, you won’t do better than “The Whispering Room.” Five stars.

The Whispering Room by Dean Koontz

This is the second installment in the Jane Hawk series. The Whispering room starts off with a bang from the get go right where the Silent Corner leaves. Jane continues her plight to uncover the nanotechnology conspiracy that threatens the world. I enjoyed the first book and I think this second book in the series is better than the first. Yep, better than the first. There is a lot of action and suspense and the story is fast paced. There’s a new sheriff in town and his name is Luther Tillman (and I hope he is in the third book!) I am definitely hooked on this series.

Yet another great book by Dean Koontz!! This is the second instalment of the Jane Hawk series of books and doesn’t disappoint. A couple of things that I have always enjoyed about the authors writing is his well written prose and his ability to bring something to Life, like nanotechnology, that makes you realize this could happen, if it’s not already. I find when he does this he really gets me thinking and I love authors that make me think!!

This one starts with the beloved school teacher Cora Gunderson committing a terrifying act of terrorism in her small Minnesota town causing the local Sherriff Luther Tillman to question everything that happened.

When Jane hears about the recent happenings in Minnesota she quickly links them to a group that she feels is responsible for the death of her husband and many others as well as the use and abuse of people that the group considered to be beneath them and therefore implanted them with nanotechnology to control them. Jane has a vendetta to bring this group to a bitter end and with the help of Luther Tillman puts the group on serious notice!!

You could read this fast paced thriller as a stand-alone book but I highly recommend reading The Silent Corner. Now I can’t wait to find out what Jane will discover and how she will deal with it. If you like a fast paced, well written thriller this book is definitely for you!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the very talented Dean Koontz for my ARC for a fair and honest review.

I finally finished the second book of Jane Hawk series and let me tell you guys....Dean Koontz turns up a couple notches here!! It was A-MA-ZING!! A beloved teacher commits a suicide bomb attack and kills dozens, people are shocked. When a Sheriff finds her journals he discovers something disturbing. Was she insane? Jane Hawk knows she wasn’t. This time she’s determined to once and for all take down the “ones playing god” controlling minds of innocent people, of animals, apes, wolves... The ones responsible of her husband’s death... We ride along with Jane again and we also get to know Sheriff Tillman, whose town has been attacked by that teacher. In my opinion this sequel had way more action than the first book and I. Loved. It. It’s a crazy view of how technology can take over humans in the worse possible way. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next! If you’ve read the book The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon this book will be familiar to you then. The sequel to the series will be out next week so make sure you keep up!!

The thing I like most about this series is the protagonist. I grew up reading about Jason Borne, Jack Reacher, and Mitch Rapp, and I'm loving having a female hero that is just as skilled and competent. This book starts right where book 1 left off. Jane has learns more about what is happening, and gains an interesting ally in Luther Tillman, a small-town sheriff. But the bad guys are everywhere, and the story is basically one continuous chase.

I'm definitely interested to see what happens in book #3. Note: I didn't think this book was an annoying cliffhanger (thank goodness), but there are sure a lot of problems left to resolve.

Koontz is at the top of his game with his Jane Hawk trilogy. His writing is beyond entertaining with a plot that is full of nonstop action and a cast of delightful characters as well as dastardly villains. Once again the story is not finished at the end of The Whispering Room, but never fear there's more to come with The Crooked Staircase and it can't be quick enough! Looking forward to where this story takes us next!

No time to delay. Do what you were born to do. Fame will be yours when you do this.”

These are the words that ring in the mind of mild-mannered, beloved schoolteacher Cora Gundersun—just before she takes her own life, and many others’, in a shocking act of carnage. When the disturbing contents of her secret journal are discovered, it seems certain that she must have been insane. But Jane Hawk knows better.

In the wake of her husband’s inexplicable suicide—and the equally mysterious deaths of scores of other exemplary individuals—Jane picks up the trail of a secret cabal of powerful players who think themselves above the law and beyond punishment. But the ruthless people bent on hijacking America’s future for their own monstrous ends never banked on a highly trained FBI agent willing to go rogue—and become the nation’s most wanted fugitive—in order to derail their insidious plans to gain absolute power with a terrifying technological breakthrough.

Driven by love for her lost husband and by fear for the five-year-old son she has sent into hiding, Jane Hawk has become an unstoppable predator. Those she is hunting will have nowhere to run when her shadow falls across them.

My thoughts
While I did enjoy it ,it just took me forever to get into the story, because there was times I just didn't feel like pick it up to read, so maybe this series isn't for me, because I'm not to sure if I want to continue with it or not, with that said I would like to think NetGalley for giving me a chance at reading it and review it.

Absolutely love Dean Koontz's new series! Jane Hawk is an exciting new heroine. She is complex, tough, and a flawed individual. She is also a FBI agent gone rogue. Her husband is murdered under the guise of suicide and she finds herself immersed in an evil plot to kill massive groups of individuals who are designated trouble makers while enslaving others to do their bidding. These evil elitists use a complex nano technology to take over an individuals mind to be easily controlled and manipulated. Cora, a happy, upstanding teacher of the year, is programmed to suicide bomb a hotel full of people which perplexes a local cop to investigate further. He runs across Hawk and they are up against impossible odds. Koontz is a master of suspense. I'm on pins and needles waiting for the next novel in the series to materialize!

The Whispering Room is the second installment in Dean Koontz's Jane Hawk series. As the story opens, Cora Gunderson, once Minnesota's teacher of the year, dreams of fire. Fire that will lead her to commit a horrific crime against humanity after hearing the words, “No time to delay. Do what you were born to do. Fame will be yours when you do this.” Cora's shocking action will lead Sheriff Luther Tillman to a world that is so dangerous, and so terrifying, that his own family might end up in the crossfire if he's not careful.

It will also send him on a journey what will have Tillman connecting with Jane Hawk who will change his life forever. For 7 years, Jane Hawk was a Special Agent at the FBI as a Critical Incident Response team member. Then her husband Nick wrote a suicide note saying, "I very much need to be dead." Shortly after Jane started digging into what really happened to Nick, a man threatened the life of Jane's 5-year old son Travis with so much depravity and violence that Jane chose to go on the run and send her son where he can be protected.

Since then, Jane, who is now being called a polymorphic virus, has uncovered a monstrous conspiracy by a group called Arcadian's. A conspiracy that has seen a spike in suicides around the country. A conspiracy that has not only taken the life of her husband, but people of talent and accomplishment. People who are admired, happy and of sound mind. People who have been declared dangerous to the Arcadian's Hamlet computer model for a utopian society in their image, as well as an entire town.

Jane uncovered that the Arcadian's are using nanotechnology to take over over the population and the man behind it may or may not be untouchable. Nanotechnology stripes away a person's personality and makes them susceptible to, "Play Manchurian with me." Jane's enemies will do anything to stop her from exposing their secrets. But, Jane isn't a pushover. Some may believe that Jane is a vigilante or cold blooded killer. I assure you, that is not the case. What is the case is that Mama Bear is protecting her cub at all costs. If she looses her life, there is some hope that her son will remain alive in an unknown locations off grid.

I like the crusader aspects of this series. Jane is hard core at times, but she really needs to be when she has the FBI, NSA, Homeland, and many others out to cut her off from exposing their nefarious plans for society. This story is also creepy. You really need to catch on to what the Whispering Room really is. ::chills:: I love this series. I adore Jane. She's a woman on a mission, and that mission has come with life or death circumstances for everyone around her. I loved the addition of Luther Tillman as one of Jane's allies. I love this conspiracy where you really can't trust anyone, yet there are those like Bernie who Jane meets along the way, that gives you hope for a peaceful resolution of the series. Can't wait until the third installment is released to see what happens next.

You have to both love and hate the wordsmith that is Dean Koontz. He is a firm believer in the style of “why use two words when you can use six” and always throw in ‘like’ (approximately 400 times) so the reader understands that you are about to over describe the underside of a rock. Granted, it is not that bad, but after a while, you would not be surprised if it was mentioned.

As a sequel to ‘The Silent Corner’, Jane Hawk continues on the course of eliminating the people and institution that caused not only her husband’s suicide but also the deaths of 8,400 persons per year that that an algorithm has decided are leading people away from an ideal society.

Not sure how many books are planned for this series, but the second outing reminded me of the lull in a stand-alone where you are not quite sure in which direction the characters are going and they are doing their best to regroup before a thunderous conclusion. Jane Hawk spends most of the book jaunting back and forth across the country with multiple costume changes and near the end the author decides that it is a good time to mention characters from the first book. Thankfully, a wizened traveling companion for Jane was added that livened thing up a bit, and here is to hoping he will reappear further down the line since he was the only highlight of the book.

Yes, you will have to read the first book to understand the second, but if it were not for the first, you would not want to read the second. Hope that made sense since book two is a major let down and hopefully, Dean Koontz and his editors will be able to get this series back on track and someone will earn their paycheck by word searching “like” and tossing most of them out.

This writer does not disappoint. It is well written with a good story. Each book current and past are great reading including interesting characters.

If you had read my review of The Silent Corner, then you know how much of a Dean Koontz fan I am. Not going to bore you with that here but I did do my fangirl routine when I got accepted for the ARC of The Whispering Room. My husband, the poor man, got the brunt of it. He could care less about what I read or my favorite authors. He got an earful about how excited I was about reading the book.

What tickled me about this book was that two of the secondary characters had names I was very familiar with. Luther’s wife name was Rebecca (my 12year old’s name) and his daughter’s name was Jolie (my name). My name is never used in anything, I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen it in a book. I was pretty surprised and excited to see it on such a kick-ass character. I was also pretty amused that the names were reversed with Rebecca being the mother and Jolie being the daughter.

The Whispering Room starts off with a bang. A special education teacher, named Cora Gundersun, does the unthinkable. She drives her car, full of gas and on fire, into a historic hotel where the governor was celebrating its reopening. The sheriff, Luther Tillman, is shocked. This was not the Cora that he knew and was friends with. When the feds muscle in and take over, Luther feels that something is not right. When he reads Cora’s diary, he gets a feeling of unease. But, when her house mysteriously goes up in flames, he decides to look into it. After talking to another old friend, he finds that Cora hasn’t been right since a trip to Iron Furnace. A trip that she one for being teacher of the year. A trip that she came home from with no memories and migraines. Luther decides that he needs to investigate and does it only telling Rebecca and Jolie where he is going.

While all this is going down in Minnesota, Jane is still in California. She is trying to get to David James Michael, the man who called for the death of her husband. Jane’s husband had been injected with nanomachine control mechanisms and then was programmed to kill himself. She goes to an award-winning journalist, hoping he would help her. Instead, she finds out that he is in the pocket of David James Michael and his company, Far Horizons. But, he did give her a lead. He leads her to Randall Larkin, a lawyer associated with Far Horizon. Randall, in turn, leads her to Iron Furnace.

When Luther arrives in Iron Furnace, he realizes that there is something off about the place. Everyone is too happy, too willing to help. Then he meets Jane and is filled with what exactly is going on in that town. After rescuing several children from a prison made up of the programmed townspeople, Jane and Luther take them to a safe place in Texas. Then Jane goes after David James Michael. Luther stays with the children but he has told Rebecca, Jolie and their other daughter Twyla that they need to go off the radar until he can get to them.

But things don’t go as planned. Things happen that change and test people.

Jane was the ultimate ghost in this book. There was nothing that she couldn’t do to get caught. Her devotion to bringing David James Michael to justice for Nick’s death has surprising results. It is those results that changed who she was going after. I loved how strong she was. I also liked how vulnerable she was too. She was doing everything in her power to protect Travis, her 5-year-old son. I worry that Travis is going to become a liability in the next few books. While he is safe where she stashed him, I do wish that she would bring him to Texas. He would be safer there.

I loved Luther. He wasn’t afraid to go after the truth and he was smart enough to understand that he needed to go after it on the down low. I hope that more of him and his family are in the next book because I enjoyed reading about them.

The end of The Whispering Room was fantastic and terrifying. I was on edge the entire end of the book. I cannot wait to read The Crooked Staircase!! I need to see what happens to everyone in book 2 and see where book 3 takes me!!

I enjoyed reading The Whispering Room. Dean Koontz did a great job of drawing me into the story and not letting me come up for breath until the end. I was kept on edge the entire book, not know what will happen next. The plot was fantastic and the characters were 3D. This book is not one that you can read alone, though. You do need to read The Silent Corner to keep up with the lightning fast events in The Whispering Room.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Language and violence

I would like to thank Dean Koontz, Random House Publishing Group, Bantam and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Whispering Room.

All opinions stated in this review of The Whispering Room are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

The Whispering Room by Dean Koontz was given to me through Netgalley for an honest review. Thank you to author publisher and Netgalley.
The first thing I will say is that this is the second book in the Jane Hawk Series and in order to get a better understanding I suggest starting with The Silent Corner to get a much more well rounded idea of the plot and character that is Jane Hawk. While I inhaled the first book in the series I had a hard time finding my groove with this book. Deans construction is pure genus and flows easy I just felt as though poor Jane is constantly chasing someone to get somewhere and all the breadcrumbs have not been laid out yet for her to get to the end. I loved the cast of supporting characters they all added something different to the story. The story starts to take shape for me after we meet Cora.
After Cora Gunderson's spectacular suicide mission, Sheriff Luther Tillman begins to realize that somehow people are being controlled, it is important to note that the way these people are being controlled is an extremely interesting concept that makes him want to investigate He decides to go to Iron Furnace in a bid to find out what happened to Cora whilst she was there. Tillman and Hawk paths cross in Iron Furnace and they team up to rescue the children from the 'school'. They transport the children to safety, then go their separate ways. I feel horrible for the sheriff yet I love him as a character. Once they part ways Jane continues her mission to get DJ Micheals into the Far Horizons building. I have a feeling that this series will continue in a third book so there for I will be giving this a 3.5 star rating waiting to see how the story progresses. All and all if you like Thrillers and enjoyed the first book give this one a chance.

Jane Hawk is a heroine for our time. What started as a quest to prove that her husband did not commit suicide has turned into an effort to stop a global conspiracy using nanotechnology for mind control. It helps, I think, to have read Whispering Room to fully appreciate this followup because this seems more plot driven, although Jane's character does shine through. Some of this might seem way out there but Koontz has been careful to keep things grounded. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is indeed a page turning thriller and I'm looking forward to the next book, not least because I'd like to see what happens next!

When I read "The Silent Corner" a few months ago, I hoped there would be future books featuring Jane Hawk and I was thrilled that hope was realized with "The Whispering Room". Jane Hawk is a great character - a true superhero who just happens to be a woman. She's fearless for herself but vulnerable in her fear for her son and loved ones. She's principled and determined to right wrongs wherever she sees them and she takes on some mighty foes.

This book like the previous one is filled with action. Some of the storyline is pretty 'out there' but it wouldn't ve a Koontz book if it weren't. But as far-fetched as some of the ideas are - - - are they really? Who knows!!

Hoping for future adventures of Jane Hawk!!

If you aren't paranoid by nature, after reading this series....you might become so, even if it's just a little bit lol. This author is so good at what he does it's actually quite scary how he does it. I have become so lost in Jane's world that I find myself looking at people differently in the real world lmao. I myself suffer from migraines....what could that mean in the long run! Nah just kidding but seriously what a great series so far. Jane has so much information and yet not enough really. There is still so much more to find out I think and hopefully more books to follow. I love that in this book she at least had a little more help than in the first book, but again there are consequences for those involved. "They" know all and can get to you at any time. It's really amazing. Overall another great book full of twists and turns.

Wow! I really loved this book. I did not read part one but I think that I was able to get the main gyst or idea of it as I had no problem at all understanding what was going on and why, but I am sure that by reading part one I will find more insight into who and why, etc. I will be getting part one this weekend. I truly feel this is fine as a stand alone, and really, Reacher, Bosch and a few other kick butt detectives really are my favorite male detectives, and so far there is only 2 female detectives that I hold near and dear to my heart and that is Kinsey Millhone, created by Sue Grafton of the A-X murder series, and Lieutenant Eve Dallas, created by j.D. Robb. That is really it. Now I have to add Jane to the list. She really is just well crafted and I feel I am going to be sucked in deep!!!!

I am loving this series! Jane Hawk is a badass character. Reminds me of a combo of Lisbeth Salandar and Jack Reacher. Can't wait for the third installment!

The Whispering Room takes off from where The Silent Corner ended. A shadowy but frighteningly widespread group who call themselves Arcadians are using injectable nanotechnology to rewire and take control of people’s brains, trying to rebuild society into their idea of utopia. Some of those injected are deemed dangerous to the cause and are programmed to kill themselves. Others are forced to serve the masters in Arcadia in various ways, from sexual slavery to injecting unsuspecting recruits. In the first book, Jane Hawk’s husband had been one programmed to commit suicide, and she is committed to stopping those responsible.

Jane remains on the run, labeled a dangerous rogue FBI agent and hunted both by legitimate law enforcement and the conspirators placed in government and private organizations across the country. While she eliminated one key leader in the Arcadian group in the last book, she now focuses on the billionaire she believes is the head of the group, hoping to expose their secrets and prevent them from gaining any more power.

In most ways, this book is less compelling than the first. The depth of the Arcadians’ depravity and hunger for power was revealed previously and little new ground is trod. Jane’s young son is safely hidden, so there is little tension from that. Jane meets and works with some interesting new people, but most of them merely are foils for showing why Jane must fight and defeat the puppetmasters of Arcadia. There is plenty of action but little advancement either with Jane’s character or with the overall plot. It’s 500+ pages to remind us that the conspiracy is vast, the players evil, and humanity is worth saving.

Nevertheless, I will look forward to reading the next Jane Hawk book to see her uncover and defeat more of the plot masters. I strongly suspect that someone close to her will be among them.