Dean Koontz is one of those auto-read authors. Even his "worst" books are a fun read, and this is no exception. Even though the main character skewed a little young for me, the feelings of her experiences are universal.

I liked this book overall. I have read just a couple of this prolific author’s books in the past so I didn’t hesitate to add this book to my tbr. Unfortunately, I did hesitate to actually read the book and it has lingered on my digital shelves for years. I decided that it was finally time to dive into this one when I got my hands on a copy of the audiobook and found it to be quite entertaining.

The story was quite different than I expected it to be and it had me questioning what was real at every turn. I liked Bibi quite a bit and was really curious about how things would work out in the end for her. Bibi goes to the hospital after having some strange medical symptoms only to learn that she has a very rare form of cancer. After being suddenly cured, she is given the task of saving Ashley Bell. People are out to stop her in any way that they can. The story was quite exciting and I loved the fact that anything could happen.

Suzy Jackson did a fantastic job with the narration of this book. I thought that she did a wonderful job with the various character voices and I found her voice to be very pleasant. I listened to this book for hours at a time without growing tired of her narration. I am certain that her narration added to my overall enjoyment of this book.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a really original and imaginative story. My only complaint was that the book was longer than it should have been and there were several times that I found myself confused but that was quickly resolved. I would like to read more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group.

Dean Koontz delivered again with this excellent psychological thriller. Other reviewers complained about a dog being involved again, but I believe it was not repetitive.

Netgalley was a new thing to me back in 2015 (wow, 7 years ago) and save it to say, my eyes were bigger than my ability to read everything I wanted to read. Do not dissuaded from reading this fine novel by the mention of a dog as so many have. The dog plays a small but nevertheless important part in the plot but a much much smaller role than in previous Koontz novels. I loved this novel's ingenuity and its ability to suck you into the story and the ending really got me. Highly recommended.

I somehow made it this far in life without reading Dean Koontz. The premise sounded interesting, and it was pretty different than most things I have read. I was really interested in the cancer cure and the finding of Ashley Bell. That was well set up and drew me in. I like a lot of things about the adventure: the Hermiones at the mall, the University professor, Bibi following the clues. There were other things that made me think, why am I reading this...like Olaf the dog, the surfer lingo, and Pax's mission. Even though it kept my interest at several points, the ending felt rushed, simplified, strange, and a let down.

I honestly tried so many times hoping this book was going to pick up but it was so slow! I just could not get into it. I am sure this book is amazing for other people but what I did get through was honestly lackluster. It just wasn't a book for me.

***This arc was provided by Netgalley for a honest review***

I was so excited about this book years ago when I first received it as an ARC. Unfortunately I was sadly disappointed it’s a beast at nearly 600 pages. This book starts off with a very climatic event, doctors telling Bibi that she’s going to die she has terminal brain cancer but two days later she makes a miraculous recovery. With her recovery unexplained she chooses to go on a spiritual path of finding someone to save. She believes because she was saved she’s meant to say someone else. Unfortunately the story was slow moving and it seemed like I was treading through mud just to get a feel for where we were going. Koontz is one of my favorite psychological thriller authors but this one just didn’t do it for me.

I had not read anything by Dean Koontz in a long while, so when I heard good things about ASHLEY BELL, I decided to request an E-ARC from NetGalley.

Ultimately, ASHLEY BELL just didn't work for me, and it reminded me why I have avoided Koontz books for so many years. This book was WAY too long and pretty much a muddled mess, and the ending made me feel like destroying my Kindle.

Needless to say, I won't be reading anything more in this series and I'm not likely to give Koontz another try, either.

3.5 stars
My thoughts as I read:

7.86% And another Golden Retriever is involved in Koontz's works. The collar mystery is driving me nuts!
31.43% That guy in the hoodie really pulled a number on security!
59.29% Is this going to be another time travels if his? And it has Nazi references too!
66.61% And I am sent into a tailspin with another twist!
99.11% Strange ending...

I have read a ton of Dean Koontz and I traditionally love them. Every now and then though, he throws one out there that I just can't get into. Ashley Bell was one of those. It was SOOOOOO slow and tedious. I was not intrigued or interested, the characters, the plot, nothing did it for me. I found myself skimming through and even that dragged on. It was quite the letdown because I really am a huge fan of many of his books. I will continue with this author, but this one was definitely not for me.

Got about halfway through this and quit. While Koontz is an excellent writer and I was interested in the storyline, at a certain point I realist that it was moving too slowly for me and I no longer cared how the story was going to turn out. Sorry, that's all I've got.

Absolutely loved this book. I have to admit, when the book was first available as an advanced copy for review I got it. As soon as I started to read and saw there was a Golden Retriever mentioned I abandoned it. I didn't want to read about another magical dog in one of the author's books.

I'm so glad I took a chance and read it. Without giving away any plot details and spoilers I will say the dog isn't the main plot at all. This is a supernatural book with many twists and turns. It had me going right until the last chapter, wondering what was coming next.

The premise of this book piqued my interest but it was very long and lost me along the way. It was one of those books where I stopped caring about the characters but wanted to see what happened at the end.
I really enjoy works by this author and will read more in the future.

I have to admit that I am a little confused by this one and not sure really how to write my review. I loved the blurb and was very interested to start this one, but I would say it sort of fell short for me.

I loved the whole idea of Bibi being miraculously healed from cancer in the beginning and that she was spared for a bigger purpose. I did feel that the book could have been shorter and accomplished the same story and plot with much fewer pages. That is just a personal opinion though.

Bibi spends her time searching for this one person that the medium told her she was supposed to save, Ashley Bell and that is where we get most of the suspense and thrill from in this story. The whole idea of the story was very well thought out. The characters were well developed and I did like Bibi a lot.

I just had to make myself finish this one and that is why I feel like the lull I hit a little after half way could have been sped up with less pages for sure. Overall though it was a good read and I do look forward to what Dean Koontz might have in store for us in future books!

I'm sorry to say this one was a DNF for me which is why it took me so long to write this review. I wanted to get through this one and I tried multiple times, but couldn't. I appreciate being given the opportunity to read this, but it was too far-fetched for me.

You know, I wanted to love this book. I have read Dean Koontz previously, and really enjoyed his books. But this one, I just could not get into it. I had to bail on it, which I do not like doing. I thought I might return to it and give it a second chance, but I never did. I think I like the old, classic Koontz better.

I AM SO EMBARRASSED ... JUST NOW FINDING THIS ONE ON MY KINDLE/AMAZON. WAS NEVER READ SO NO REVIEW COMING AT THIS LATE DATE. MY SINCERE APOLOGIES. BOOK HAS BEEN ARCHIVED.

If you like Koontz, you should like this one. He's sort of become the AC/DC of authors at this point (for me, at least). You know what you're getting ... often times very good, but nothing shocking.