Published by Bantam on September 11, 2018

The Forbidden Door is the fourth Jane Hawk novel. Each book is a long installment in a very long story, so there’s not much point in reading The Forbidden Door unless you’ve read the first three novels in the series. Despite Dean Koontz’ undeniable talent, I’m not sure it is worth the effort to read an unimaginative mind-control conspiracy story that could have been told in one or two books, or at most a trilogy, but that Koontz expanded to fill five books.

Jane Hawk was an FBI agent until her husband killed himself. Since he wasn’t the kind of guy to end it all, Jane did some research and discovered that suicides were spiking. She is apparently the only person in the world who managed to connect that statistic to a vast conspiracy involving nanotechnology that takes control of the human mind and renders people submissive to the orders of their masters.

The masters are the usual gang of high powered business leaders and politicians who want to shape the world by killing everyone who might make it better (people who, from their perspective, would be making it worse). The grand guru of the scheme devised a computer model to select the victims.

Jane is chasing these guys while hiding her son from them, since they are also chasing her. I’ve long wondered why the bad guys didn’t try harder to find the kid, and in this fourth novel they finally listened to me. The plot of The Forbidden Room involves the conspirators narrowing the search for Jane’s son, who eventually stays with a genius named Cornell Jasperson who is coping with autism, agoraphobia, and a host of other mental disorders and fears, all of which Jane’s son and his two dogs seem on the verge of miraculously curing. Like all of the “good guy” characters in this series, Cornell is a paradigm of niceness.

Two very nice characters who played important supporting roles in earlier novels, a black sheriff named Luther Tillman and an elderly widower named Bernie Riggowitz, return to play similar roles in Jane’s quest to save her son from the clutches of the conspirators. The plot consists of Jane figuring out how to reach her son and get him to safety (again), alternating with scenes of her son and his dogs bonding with Cornell and scenes of the bad guys doing their mind control thing (which turns out to have a flaw, suggested by the novel’s title, that creates a new kind of danger).

Like other novels in the series, this one feels padded. In fact, the entire novel seems like filler. Koontz always does a masterful job of creating likable characters, but in this series characters tend to be created and discarded in a series of mini-stories that are consistent with the larger plot but that could just as easily have been omitted. I suppose that’s an inevitable product of turning a one-novel idea into multiple novels.

Nor does Koontz imbue his characters with the kind of complexity that characterizes his best work. Hawk is such a capable, caring, selfless individual, seemingly lacking even the slightest imperfection, that she also lacks any dimension of depth. Cornell and Bernie are at least quirky, but they come across as stereotypes (Cornell reminded me of Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man and Bernie reminded me of a less crusty version of the grandfather in Little Miss Sunshine). Sadly enough, the novel’s most interesting character is a bad guy who believes he has been cast in a play and is being directed on an illusory stage by an Unknown Playwright.

Koontz at his best is such a good writer that it is disappointing when he isn’t at his best. The entire series seems to have been written on auto-pilot, and The Forbidden Door does so little to advance the plot that it stands as the weakest of the four books. Book five is scheduled for 2019. I hope that Koontz can find his groove after cashing in on this unoriginal premise. I recommended the first three books because they are mindlessly enjoyable, but at this point I would hesitate to recommend the series as a whole, and I view The Forbidden Door as a novel that is only worth reading for the sake of finishing the series.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

The Forbidden Door intensifies the storyline for Jane in her quest to rescue her son. I always enjoy reading a series because it revisits characters that are quite enjoyable in the previous installments of the books. I love that Dean Koontz throws in a couple of nut case characters in the mix too. The unknown playwright is so believable I found myself wondering often who it might be. While this story has not yet ended for Jane or Travis, the sense of urgency is felt throughout the story. I found myself liking not only Jane and her band of crusaders, but even the not so legal characters that she does business with. I am really looking forward to the next book in this series The Night Window in May of 2019!

I received a free copy of this book from the author. I had the opportunity to review or not.

I am a died in the wool fan of Dean Koontz. I love Jane Hawk and her will to live; her never surrender determination to save her son, and her intense desire to clear her husband’s name. She’s the hero you want with you in a fight. The characters she goes up against are as ruthless as any bad guys in a real or written script. But they are blinded by their passion to create a new world and really don’t understand Jane. Thank heaven! Her skills and their underestimation of her abilities keep her going. This series has been a non-stop adventure taking us to places of evil so intense it is hard to imagine.

Mr. Koontz creates worlds we dare not go to except in books. And these books show off his great talent. As well as his twisted mind! I did find this book to be a bit overlong, but there was no way I wasn’t going to finish it. Can’t wait for the next one.

The third book in this series ended in such a cliffhanger that I couldn't wait for book 4 to come out. Then I started reading it, and I read some more, then I read some more. It took me 6 weeks to finish this book which is a very long time for me. The cliffhanger was addressed but the book itself dragged on and on and was a little boring. There's a lot of repeat information from previous books to get readers who may not have read all the previous books caught up.

I really like the concept of this series. Jane Hawk is a great action character, and I've enjoyed the friends she has made along the way. This installment was still exciting, although about 2/3 of it focused on the "bad guys" pursuing Jane, and I felt like those parts were too long. But the parts related to the Forbidden Door were so chilling!!

I would definitely recommend starting this series at the first - it'd be hard to pick up at this book. I'm excited to see what happens next.

This has become for me a seriously addicting series. Although it is what might be considered a long book, the pages fly by and one is totally immersed in Jane Hawk's quest to undo evil and protect her beloved son, Travis.

In this book, the fourth of the series, Jane is once again battling the evil members of the Arcadian group who through the ability of nanotechnology are able to infiltrate one's brain literally doing away with free will and putting the recipients in the total power of the Arcadians. This diabolical group has infiltrated all levels of government, business, having successfully succeeded in painting our heroine Jane appear as a serial killer. Of course Jane is on every wanted list imaginable, and the Arcadians's goal is to stop her and find her son in order to do so.

Jane is a masterful character. She is astute, cunning, and has all the makings of a terrific female lead character. She is searching for the leader of this organization who is able to enslave people with just an injection. You find yourself cheering Jane on as she battles, with the help of a few wonderful friends, this evil organization. There are some topnotch additions to the series with the characters of Bernie Riggowitz, the Auschwitz survivor, Cornell Jasperson, app inventor with a touch of autism and Luther Tillman, ex-cop and freedom fighter.

If you enjoy a book that combines a touch of humor, horror, suspense, and reading into the middle of the night, this series comes highly recommended. So looking forward to the next in the series. Until then, this reader will be pulling for Jane and waiting for her to cut the head off the snake who is leader the Arcadians.

Thank you to Dean Koontz, Berkley, and NetGalley for providing me with many hours of riveting reading.

This is another excellent book in the wonderful Jane Hawk series. Once again, Dean R. Koontz outdoes himself with this riveting series of tales that are filled with heroism, suspense, thrills, and an enemy worth fighting against. I am so glad he is a fast and prolific writer, as I do not want to wait long for the next title in the Jane Hawk books. #NetGalley #ForbiddenDoor #DeanRKoontz

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Former FBI agent Jane Hawk is back with a vengeance in the fourth installment of Koontz’s bestselling series. With law enforcement and the Techno Arcadians both searching for Jane and her young son, Travis, she has been forced to do things she never imagined doing before. She will do anything to save five-year-old Travis and the world as we know it.

Sure, there are things in this world that need to be changed, but not this way. Hordes of people look “normal” but have actually been altered by an injection of a Nano machine that takes over their brains to help the Arcadians create a perfect, supreme society. Part of their job is culling the herd so to speak, which includes murder and in some cases, suicide.

Jane has a personal stake in this game. Somehow they got to her husband and she will move heaven and earth to keep them away from anyone else she loves. She knew he would have never killed himself, so she started investigating and found out scores of people who were happy and productive also mysteriously committed suicide. As an FBI agent, she had resources available to help look for the reason why this happened, but now that she has become the most wanted person in the United States she has to move in the shadows. Keeping one step ahead of the bad guys both known and unknown is exhausting but Jane is relentless in her mission. Unfortunately, the Arcadians are ramping up at a frenzied pace and becoming more and more reckless causing things to begin going horrifically wrong.

The novel moves from Jane’s point of view to the Arcadians, both getting closer and closer to each other until the final confrontation of the book. As the tension rises, the forces of good and evil clash, determined to fight to the finish no matter what the cost.

Koontz is one of my favorite authors of all time. He delivers solid plots that are so realistic they can terrify you page after page. His descriptive style is absolutely stunning without dropping over the ledge of pretention. Foreshadowing is done artfully, such as …”lightning rips the fabric of the night, and thunder speaks against the window glass.” Seriously beautiful writing page after page without intruding or overpowering the plot is one of his specialties. Much to my delight, The Forbidden Door is no exception.

This is the fourth book in the Jane Hawk series, the fifth and last book, The Night Window, will be available in 2019. This is the second book of the series that I have read. Koontz does a great job of bringing the reader up to speed in an early chapter, so I never felt lost or confused.

I have read many of this award-winning author’s books, my favorite being the Odd Thomas series. The Jane Hawk series comes in a close second. Both series are totally different but are extremely well written and highly entertaining. When looking through the list of Koontz books to see which ones I would choose to be favorites, it was almost impossible. It is much like trying to pick a favorite child – I love them all for different reasons, each of them is amazing in their own way.

Copyright © 2018 Laura Hartman

I was excited to read the follow up to the first book in the series that I read, Crooked Staircase. Note that there are 2 others, but I haven't gotten to them yet. What I enjoyed the most about the book before this, is I feel like I got to know Jane Hawk and was invested in her chase of the secret government agency, the Acadians. This novel, however, focused much more on the people chasing Jane. I found that to be incredibly time consuming and confusing with all kinds of characters and backstories being told. I tediously read this book, and it took me a lot longer than normal to wade through it. The last 1/4 of the book regained the intensity and Jane storyline that I was so much looking forward to, so it ended much better than it started. But honestly, the first 3/4 was not to my liking. Hoping the next, and maybe last?? book will read like the last part of this one.

Following the murder of her husband, Jane Hawk, a rogue FBI Agent and most-wanted fugitive, hid her 5-year-old son as she had to run for her life. Mind control technology is being used by a secret organization, referred to as the Arcadians, who are seeking to take over America. They seek to destroy Jane who, in turn, is determined to destroy their cabal as well as clear her name. But when her son’s caregivers are tracked and killed, Jane races to reconnect with her son before the Arcadians can close in and kidnap him.

This was definitely an action-packed page-turner with a smart, complex plot. The major drawback was a lot of excess verbiage which is, in my opinion, Koontz’s one fault. Despite skimming in places, this was a satisfying and thrilling read.

Since this was my first introduction to Jane Hawk, I can attest to the fact that, even though this is number four in the series, The Forbidden Door can be enjoyed very successfully as a standalone.

The fourth in the series and I keep wondering when this nightmare will be over for Jane Hawk> I love books in a series but usually in others the protagonist solves the problem and moves on to others not so I these. I thought the third would bring Jane's run from the Techno-Arcadians to an end. Although I enjoyed the first three I now grow tired of this relentless story and want it resolved. I also didn't like the short sections from each of the major actors in the book I like a little more continuity from a story and I think it could have been done that way. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2533196181

Love this book! This is the first is the first I’ve read in the Jane Hawk series and I can’t wait to read the first books in the series. It’s hard to put down at night!

The Forbidden Door is the fourth installment in author Dean Koontz' Jane Hawk series. The story picks up right where The Crooked Staircase left off. Where we currently are: FBI Agent Jane Hawk, mother of a young son, grieving widow of a decorated Marine, has uncovered a terrifying conspiracy behind her husbands death and scores of other exemplary citizens. She has become the number # 1 fugitive in the country having been indicted on charges of espionage, treason, and seven counts of murder.

Jane has gone off the grid in order to track down those responsible and save her son no matter what it takes. 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. Nicknamed The Beautiful Monster by her enemies the Techno Arcadian's and their unlimited access to every technology imaginable, including nanotechnology that completely swarms the brain, and makes the person pliable to suggestions, it has become a life or death race to survive.

Those Jane are hunting may be hoping to turn the tide against her using various factions of the media, but they will have nowhere to run when her shadow falls across them. She knows that if she is caught, it is game over, lights out, and nobody will know the truth about what is happening. The Arcadian's and their Hamlet List, a computer composed list picking people who showed potential for future greatness and leadership; they were consequently injected with the nano-constructs and ordered to commit suicide or worse. Jane knows the terrible secrets. She has survived up until now with shear determination, brilliance, and a skill set that in unmatched.

In this story, Jane's allies come to her aid when the chips are really down, and it seems as though the Arcadian's may finally win. I really love Bernie Riggowitz. He is adorable and he really is on Jane's side and not just a prop to be used as cannon fodder for future installments. The second character who is on Jane's side is Luther Tillman, a former Sheriff who the Arcadian's came after and took his wife and daughter from him. Luther, Bernie, and even Cornell Jasperson, who we met in the previous installment, are just the kind of support Jane needs to survive.

Cornell is an unusual person, both in appearance and personality. He’s a African American millionaire with Asperger’s Syndrome. He’s such a well rounded and lovable character and, in my opinion, does a wonderful job of representing people suffering from this horrible affliction. His relationship with Travis is adorable and true. It's not fake. The author really researched what a character with Asperger’s Syndrome is able to do, and how things trigger various feelings.

I won't summarize all of the secondary characters that appear in this story. There is one in particular who believes he isn't actually living in the real world, and that the Unknown Playwright is actually in charge. He and others like him are OK with pacifying contentious humans so that they can create their own kind of Utopia. They are pieces of a much larger puzzle, and therefore are not in charge or responsible for this so called revolution that will eventually see thousands of people dying.

One in particular character spends the entire story trying to track down and subjugate Ancel and Claire Hawk, Nick's parents, knowing that if they are brought to bear, they will tell him where Jane and Travis are hiding. Find Travis, and Jane will give her self up knowing she's lost. Nick's entire family is in jeopardy for that matter. I will say that all of the Techno Arcadian's we've met so far are all a bunch of psychopaths who don't seem to have a mind of their own, and have been brainwashed into believing Jane and others like her need to be exterminated quickly.

There's a key part of a previous story, The Whispering Room, that finally comes to bear in this story and man alive, was that a scary. I won't spoil anything, but I will say that you will really need to prepare yourself for the most bizzaro world happenings that mostly occur in a zombie movie. I have to give props to the author. Koontz's is a genius when it comes the various technologies and his own twisted imagination. He has without a doubt, pushed the envelope and one can only hope that when this series finally does wrap up, he does it in similarly impressive fashion.

My only real complaint? I need more of Jane's story, and less of the Techno Arcadian's. I need to feel more hope than feeling as though there is no light at the end of the tunnel. After book 3, I honestly thought about skipping this book. I'm glad I didn't because Jane's scenes bring us right back to the first two installments in the chapter. Does Jane makes mistakes? Of course she does, she's not a superhero with unlimited powers to destroy the villains with a blink of an eye. Plus, I love how much she does to protect Travis, even sending him away to keep him out of sight and therefore out of harm's way. You don't mess with mama bear folks.

As with all of his books, The Forbidden Door includes a sneak peak into the fifth installment called The Night Window.

"The Forbidden Door" eBook was published in 2018 and was written by Dean Koontz (http://www.deankoontz.com). Mr. Koontz had published more than 125 novels. This is the fourth novel in his "Jane Hawk" series. 

I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Situations. The story is set in near future California. The primary character is former FBI agent Jane Hawk. 

Hawk's life was upended when her husband committed suicide. Her investigation led her to a secret group using nanotechnology to slowly gain control of key people across the US. Now, she, her son and those close to her have become their targets. Hawk continues to evade capture even after the secret society has made her the most wanted person in America. Their mind control tech means that they have an army to wield against Hawk. 

While she has evaded them for months, now they are closing in. The group knows the general location where Hawk's young son is in hiding. Hawk is racing towards her son to save him. They know she is coming and plan to have her, her son, or both within days. Hawk has to gather her resources and try to outwit them and be read to out gun them. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the 11 hours I spent reading this 480-page science fiction thriller. While this could be a readable stand-alone novel, you really need to start with the first book in the series "The Silent Corner" to understand what is happening. I like the Jane Hawk character that Koontz has created. I also like the plot, with advanced tech to give the secret society an edge, but enough human involvement in her pursuit to make them vulnerable. I like the cover art. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/. 

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

I truly like the storyline of The Forbidden Door. It is full of twists, turns and some deeply disturbed people that need to spend an extended amount of time in an institution (possibly even life) with round-the-clock supervision and padded walls. The novel took a few chapters to totally grab my attention but, when it grabbed it was with railroad track spikes! There is a bit too much descriptive detail for my personal taste but that is only because I want to know what happens next rather than how everything looked to the person to which it is happening. Please don't let that stop from reading this very tense and emotionally charged nightmare. It is Well worth the wait to get all of the pieces of this 1500 piece jigsaw puzzle. I highly recommend it to anyone that loves heart-pounding, breath-taking nightmares. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book by requesting it from NetGalley and this is my honest review which I am freely posting on NetGalley.com, Amazon.com and Goodreads.com.

Well thank goodness!! This book brings the story back into play! I would have given the book 5 stars if it had only been 100 pages shorter. I still think there was a whole lot of repetitive repetition throughout the book. (See what I did there?) Needless to say, the forbidden door might also have been named the gates of Hell, because that is what happened in this installment of the Jane Hawk series. Things went crazy, for both sides.I liked that the narrative included closer looks at some of the characters on the Techno Arcadian side; however, at time the reader was too distant from Jane and her pursuit to rescue her son. Overall, this story gave me back faith in the series. After what felt like a distracting detour in The Crooked Staircase, Mr. Koontz is back on track. I just wish his editor pointed out where he has said the same thing 4 and 5 times!

Fast-paced and Full of Action
This Jane Hawk novel will have you on the edge of your seat. Fast-paced and full of action. Well written with stimulating characters and a page-turning story. Enjoyed and recommend. I read a reader copy via Net Gallery and voluntarily chose to write a review.

I enjoyed this book very much. This book takes over where book three left off. In The Forbidden door Jane Hawks is out to save her son with a little help from her friends she might just get to him in time. This book is about her in-laws in the run and the faith her friends have it her. Even though what she tells them is way out there they believe her. Some finally get first hand experience in what she's been telling them. Lots of action fast .moving book. Would recommend it to anyone who has read the first three books in this series. This is the best one yet. Can't wait for the next one. Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for a honest opinion.

THE FORBIDDEN DOOR By Dean Koontz
I have enjoyed books by Dean Koontz since I picked up his first one. This is fourth book in the Jane Hawk series. It leaves off with a cliffhanger awaiting the fifth book. It can be read as a stand alone but probably most enjoyed after reading the previous books. This book took me awhile to get into the story, probably half of the book. I felt like there was way too much description of things, enough so it seemed a little redundant.
The second half picked up when Jane was getting her team together to try to rescue her 5 year old son while avoiding being killed. There are great characters such as Luther, Bernie, Cornell. Even the bad guys were great characters and entertaining to read about. It turned into a real intense page turner. There is murder, Techno Arcadians, mind control, suspense, espionage. I am looking forward to reading the next installment. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

This is one of those novels that hooks you right at the beginning, and even when you turn the final page, you still don’t want to let go. Jane is a rogue FBI agent turned fugitive. Her late husband fell victim to the inner workings of a mind controlling technology. Jane is determined to seek revenge and justice for her husband and others who were taken by this scheme.

The back and forth between Jane’s storyline, her in laws storyline, and her hidden son’s storyline kept me thinking quick on my feet. The added perspective of the “bad guys” really made it irresistible. Definitely a book I would recommend to anyone in a reading slump. This will surely pull you out!