This is my first Dean Koontz novel, so I was not aware that this is part of a series about Jane Hawke, a brilliant and highly skilled FBI operative who, against all odds, defeats the bad guys and saves the day. Think action movie with a kick-ass heroine. Even though the story doesn’t begin with this book, it can easily be read as a stand-alone. However, the end is a cliffhanger that entices you to read the next one, so if you want to know what ultimately happens, you will have to read at least one more. I’d like to read the series from start to finish to see the full picture.

What I enjoyed most about this book were the unique and well-defined characters. The storyline was a little wild and crazy, but I feel as though I know and care about many of these multi-faceted, intriguing people. I was impressed with the author’s skill at creating and describing locations as well.

Recommended for those wanting high intensity action.

Note: I received an advance copy of the ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The fourth book in the Jane Hawk series seems a little different in its focus: we learn more about the individual members of the teams who carry out the directives of the 'visionaries' conducting the secret Techno Arcadian revolution.

One such person is Egon Gottfrey who believes that 'the Techno Arcadians will change the world. They will pacify contentious humanity, end poverty, create Utopia through technology.' He and his team have been instructed to go to Texas and take Ancel and Clare Hawk, Jane's in-laws, into custody and inoculate them with the nanotechnology that will take over their minds. Hopefully then they will reveal where Jane and her son Travis can be found.

Are these 'warriors' in the revolution evil, psychotic or just misguided? Gottfrey has embraced 'radical philosophical nihilism' since his college days--he thinks it's the only thing that makes sense of this otherwise chaotic world. His belief is that 'there is no objective basis for truth, that nothing can be proved either by science or math, or by religion. All is illusion.' He believes all that really exists is his Mind and the script provided by an Unknown Playwright to test him.

When the Hawks cannot be found on their ranch, the frustrated crew of eight goes after the Longrin family, neighbors and friends of the Hawks. There, a psychotic team member named Janis Dern zeroes in on the Longrin's sassy twelve-year-old daughter Laurie who reminds Janis too much of her own abusive sisters. Will she get her revenge?

Meanwhile, Jane herself is pursued by a mad, cold-blooded killer named Ivan Petro who is hoping success in this personal hunt will get him promoted to a leadership role in the Arcadians.

The search for Jane's son Travis is concentrated on the town of Borrego Springs in the Anza-Borrego Desert and is lead by the team of Carter Jergen, a snobbish Boston Brahmin, and Radley Dubose, a huge hillbilly who is much smarter than his partner believes. They inoculate a group of 50 residents to help in the search for the boy but something goes terribly wrong and they enter 'the forbidden door.'

This book is quite exciting but be forewarned that there is some extremely gruesome violence depicted in the last half of the book. Koontz moves the plot on quite a bit and, at last, we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel for our heroes. The next book in the series is entitled The Night Window. Can't wait!

I received an arc of this latest installment in the Jane Hawk series from the publisher via NetGalley for my honest review. Many thanks!

This was an enjoyable follow-up to the third book. While I do not care much for the nano brain implant aspect of the plot, Mr. Koontz used it quite well in this book to create chaos and horror through the effect of the "whispering room." Some characters from earlier books were re-introduced and well utilized to advance Jane's efforts to save her son, Travis. I liked the interaction between Travis and Cornell. Be forewarned that Koontz spends a lot of time in this book focusing on nihilism, which some readers may dislike. The only real downside to the book is how Koontz deals with two of the main Techno Arcadian hunters, which was disappointing, bordering on idiotic.

Zombie Apocalypse

If you have been following this series, you are aware the bad guys have developed a nanotechnology that affects the human brain. With Crichton and Cook-like medical twists, our technothriller continues to explore both controlled and controllers as our protagonist, Jane Hawk, battles their evil and strives to protect her son. I came into this at Book 3, and Book 4 follows closely on its heels plot-wise. If you are starting here you will find sufficient background supplied to make you au courant (Dubose isn't the only one to know a bit of French) and the instant action concludes within (i.e., standalone book) but the overall story arc is ongoing. Ongoing TV series or set of blockbuster films? This action could go either way, with the details far better captured by the smaller screen but the chase scenes benefiting from big budget. Our Lone Iconic would have to speak his thoughts aloud, though.

Clearly I am enjoying this drama and look forward to the next volume but fear offering spoilers, trusting the hints I've already shared serve merely as titivation and titillation.

This fourth installment of the Jane Hawk saga really didn't do much for me. To me, it dragged on and was a chore to get through 75% of it. I still love the character of Jane Hawk and her compatriots, but the extraneous characters doing not much of anything for a majority of this book really soured me. I feel like this installment could've been shortened to a novella and still end up being just fine. With that being said, the last 25% I found more interesting and engrossed in. I am definitely in this for the long haul and look forward to Book #5 to see how the story wraps up, but this one just didn't do it for me.

Full Disclosure: I received an ARC Kindle copy of The Forbidden Door through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another fantastic thriller by Dean Koontz. This is book 4 in a series of a saga about Jane Hawk. She is one badass chick who set out on a mission to clear her husband's good name and ended up on an operation to bring down an unknown group of elites that are attempting mind control on citizens. Everyone she knows and loves is in danger. Jane is trying to destroy their organization while they're trying to take her out. This book had me on the edge with its intense moments and sometimes horrifying scenes. This is the Koontz writing that I love.
The only negative: At 4 books in, this story should be coming to a close.

The Forbidden Door
Jane Hawk #4

A creative and frightening story of a evil conspiracy using nanotechnology and one woman’s fight to save her son.

⭐️⭐️⭐️


SUMMARY
She was one of the FBI’s top agents until she became the nations most-wanted fugitive. Now Jane Hawk may be all that stands between a free nation and its enslavement by the Techno Arcadians and their terrifying mine-control nanotechnology. Jane has struck major blows against this powerful secret society in the past, but now they are going to make her come back to them. They are going after her five-year-old son, Travis, to use him as bait. The Techno Arcadians have brain-altered an entire neighborhood and programmed them to find Travis. Jane must battle her way back across the country to reach her son who she thought was safely hidden away. But something went wrong with the neighbors who were injected with the nanotechnology, and now they are each going violently insane. With the madness spreading, Jane must use all of few resources available to her to reach her son.

REVIEW
Jane Hawks is a fabulously strong female character, and she comes alive on the pages of The Forbidden Door. I wanted even more of her , as she out-thinks and out-fights those trying to capture her. This story focuses on the hunt by the army of Arcadians and adjusted neighbors who are trying to find Travis and lure Jane into their trap. Each chapter is told from alternating perspectives and if I wasn’t paying close attention I’d loose track of which of the many bad guys were taking the lead. The story is creative and frightening and DEAN KOONTZ’s writing is both haunting and action-packed. One of my favorite parts of the book is the relationship that the sweet and brave 5-year-old Travis develops with a brilliant but panicked autistic recluse.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher Bantam Books
Published September 11, 2018
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

More science fiction than I expected. This apocalyptic novel is hard to follow due to the number of characters moving in and out. I found the characters to be one dimensional and contrived.
I will say, however,that it was action packed. I almost quit it several times but I was drawn in by the nonstop action.

The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz is the second in the Jane Hawk/Arcadian Techno series, and its a winner! Jane is trying to keep her son safe from those who would use him to get at her so she can't expose the participants at the highest level of conspiracy. The technology used in The Forbidden Door is sometimes real, sometimes more Hellbent's Mr. X, but it is scary as hell and makes you about just what the "government" could do to you if it wanted to! There are great good guys, so human, so compassionate, so wanting to do what is right for humanity, and there are bad guys, who range from just plain stupid to moderately creepy to completely, scarily nuts. Jane faces them all. She's a wonderful hero, and she attracts others like her who will do what it takes to protect humanity from impending doom, to things beyond terribly that they don't even see coming. It's a great book, and I am looking forward to the next one!

Mr. Koontz does it again!!!! With the fourth novel, Jane is on the hunt to save her son. Characters from the past come back to help Jane in her quest. Dean always seems to invent unique characters, that grow on the reader and become very enduring.

The fifth novel from what I hear will be the final showdown between Jane and the evil masterminds seeking world dominance. Dean has this reader on the edge waiting to see what happens next. The twist with the controlled people in this novel was out of this world. What happened to them. You'll have to read to find out

Jane Hawk's mission to prove her husband--and countless others--did not commit suicide seems to be coming down to the wire. I keep thinking, "What else can happen to poor Jane?" And Koontz keeps answering me with a phenomenal story. Love the cast of characters in these novels--even the bad guys are fleshed out. I also love that Mr. Koontz (or the publisher) turns these out rather quickly. I don't have to wait so long I forget what's happened in the last book. Can't wait to read the next one!

Let me preface this by saying that I have been reading Dean Koontz for much of my life. My aunt first introduced me when I was a teenager and I've read his books since. Some of them are amazing, and some of them...not so much. Unfortunately, this is one of the "not so much." To be honest, I couldn't get very far in this book. I read the other Jane Hawk books and felt that they were being unnecessarily drawn out, and could have been condensed into one, maybe two books. When I first started The Forbidden Door, I felt like I remembered most of what had occurred in the past books, which is good, because this opens up about 2 minutes after the last book ended. I couldn't get into this book at all for two reasons:
1. You do not need to make a character-based series when she is working on what is, at heart, one mystery. I keep assuming she'll figure out how to really end it, but there's always someone else that's involved and she has to go after them which leads to someone else and it gets repetitive.
2. EGON GOTTFREY. What is wrong with this guy?? Egon Gottfrey believes in the "unknown playwright" who controls everything, like the people who created the matrix. "Were he to have dinner with two or twenty others, he would still be alone, for his own mind is the only thing that he can prove is real. If the cafe, the town, and the world are illusions, then so might be the minds of other people who occupy the phantom physical bodies with which he interacts. Only the Unknown Playwright knows for sure." It's just pages of that nonsense that has nothing to do with the book at all and I couldn't take it seriously. Gottfrey references The Matrix, but this is exactly the plot of The Matrix and just didn't really fit in with the book at all, at least the parts that I read.

I was sorry to have to put the book down, but I couldn't get into it, and to be honest, I don't feel the Jane Hawk series is one of Koontz's best. I never got truly invested in it. I can only read how beautiful and awesome and low carb (yes, for real, that is referenced several times) Jane Hawk is. She is so far from a normal human being that no one can relate to her, and I couldn't empathize with her, which is rare for me with any character.

This is a great followup to The Crooked Staircase. I love Jane, the main character, in these books. She is a strong take no prisoners woman!! Dean Koontz is always a sure thing and this book is no exceptionn!

The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz is the forth in the Jane Hawk series and finds Jane still on the run from the conspirators that are taking over the government from within and inspiring countless people to end their lives prematurely. This time, her primary mission is to move her son, Travis, from his current hiding place to a safer one. Her enemies know she is coming for him and are waiting for her and doing their best to find him before she does. It is a complex journey; one that she is not sure will end well. She has many contacts from her time in the FBI...not all above board but most willing to help, for a price.

Jane is a complex and compelling character. She is smart, fearless, loving, and loyal. She is not lacking in courage and is so desperate that she will try anything. She is a planner and her plans seem to work. Some of the characters from the conspiracy have interesting depth and consistency, giving one pause, as the live situations that have formed their personalities are rampant on our society. The plot is complicated, a myriad of roadblocks thrown in Jane's way, keeping the reader in constant suspense. Will she get past this one? At the same time, books and movies like inspire constant worry in those of us who have lost faith in the government.

I recommend this book for action/thriller readers. It could be read as a stand-alone but would probably be a better experience if read as part of the series. It is a page-turner with plot twists at every turn.

I received a free ARC of this book in order for a fair and honest review. #netgalley #theforbiddendoor

The forbidden door is by far the best in the series so far. Dean has a flow to his book that I like. This book is moor abought othe characters and less of Jane but still a great read. Highly recommend reading. Can’t wait for the last book! Dean right faster!

Jane Hawk is back! I was eagerly awaiting this latest installment of this spy thriller series involving kick-ass female rogue special agent Jane Hawk. Although it felt a bit drawn out in parts - too much filler and I skimmed, there was plenty of suspense, evil villains, and high-tech gadgetry to keep me engrossed. Jane is a character I cheer for at every turn and look forward to the next book in the series.

The Forbidden Door is a powerhouse novel the I could not put down, taking me about a day and a half to read. This series has been phenomenal and each book has gotten better. Jane Hawk stops at nothing to reach her son before the Archadians, who are just starting to realise that they don't have as much control as they thought over their adjusted people. I am eagerly awaking the next book. Oi really hope they do a tv series or movies based off these books.

Jane Hawk is a character that has come to feel almost like family to me. Throughout the series, she has been written in such a realistic and vibrant way, that I have found it very easy to become heavily invested in her plight to prove that her husband, and others, did not commit suicide but were programmed to do so through the experimental use of invasive, biological, nanotechnology.

In this fourth novel of the series, Jane continues to show courage and determination as she battles, tirelessly, to stay alive and keep her young son safe from those that would use him in the most nefarious of ways. Since she has been labeled a rogue FBI agent and 'hawked' (pun intended) to the public as an exceedingly dangerous and unstable criminal that has committed treason, she must employ the use of clever disguises to hide her identity. She finds that she must rely on the help of not only strangers she befriends along the way, but those who are involved in the types of illegal activities for which they should, lawfully, be arrested. Through everything, she continues to be hunted, mercilessly, while trying to gather the evidence she needs to expose the secret society of extremely powerful people called the Techno Arcadians that are running the horrific project which is turning innocent people into mindless, biddable, husks willing to do anything they are told to do, including murder, prostitution and suicide.

Once again, Koontz brings the techno thrills and cyber chills that have been the driving force in this series, while also giving you a kick butt, take-no-prisoners heroine with the heart of a mother lioness that you can really champion. And, I applaud him for his unique ability to stay fresh, modern and relative in a very demanding and exacting niche of the literary market.


#TheForbiddenDoor #NetGalley

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

A thrilling read that blends suspense, thriller, technology, and an Orwellian future. To be honest, this was my entry point into the Jane Hawk series, which may have left me confused with some of the characters and backstory. However, I do plan to check out the first three before the fifth debuts. I liked the trio of protagonists, especially Bernie. They each brought something unique to the team and meshed well together. The antagonists were equally as interesting.

However, I thought there were too many plot threads that either were tied up too quickly or left unresolved. The central narrative was woven throughout but there were a number of subplots that were either superfluous or needed more detail. Again, this could be due to my lack of background to the book series.

Overall, a solid 3.5. Would recommend it to others, although possibly reading the books in order would be better.

I think this was the best of the series so far. It was a little different from the others as it focused on Jane trying to rescue her son instead of going after the Arcadians. A few of our favorite characters make an appearance and we meet some new people that do not mess around. I love the way some of the regular people band together in different situations and it was good to see the Arcadians looking less indomitable at times. The story had some interesting twists and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.