Book Review: The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz
Hello,
Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!
For the past month I have been reading Dean Koontz's Jane Hawk series. The Bone
Farm, the Silent
Corner, the Whispering
Room, and the Crooked
Staircase have all been exciting and highly recommended by me.
With her husband killed by a secret society bent on ruling the country, Jane Hawk is on the run. She has been demonized by her adversaries and they have threatened her young child. But this "rogue" FBI agent is many steps ahead of them, as she gathers evidence to bring them down. It is a nail-biting roller coaster ride of a series that will come to an end in book five in May 2019. It is a series every crime thriller reader should experience. With that being said, let us delve into book four of this series.
With her husband killed by a secret society bent on ruling the country, Jane Hawk is on the run. She has been demonized by her adversaries and they have threatened her young child. But this "rogue" FBI agent is many steps ahead of them, as she gathers evidence to bring them down. It is a nail-biting roller coaster ride of a series that will come to an end in book five in May 2019. It is a series every crime thriller reader should experience. With that being said, let us delve into book four of this series.
The Forbidden Door is written by Dean Koontz. It is published by Bantam
Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Publishing. In this fourth installment
of the widely popular crime thriller series, Jane Hawk is left with a
disturbing scenario. After she survives her deadly battle with Booth
Hendrickson on the crooked staircase, she is informed by her son, Travis, that
his guardians-in-hiding have not returned from the grocery store. Fearing
them dead, Jane makes the lengthy journey to Borrego Springs, California and to her son. But the deadly cabal
known as the Techno Arcadians have targeted not only her son, but her
deceased husband's parents. Using injectable Nano-technology control mechanisms,
the Techno Arcadians have enslaved thousands to their will. The over-all
plan is for the Arcadians to tear down the structure of society and
reshape it into their own twisted Utopia.
With
Arcadian agents dispatched between her relatives in a wide-sweeping
search, Jane calls in several favors from old friends. Luther Tillman, the
ex-sheriff who helped Jane rescue kidnapped children from the Arcadians.
And Bernie Riggowitz, the eighty-one year old widower whom Jane initially carjacked,
but he turned out to love the adventure she had taken him on. With
the help of forgers and an illegal chop-shop, Jane embarks on a rescue mission
to save her son. But the Arcadians have run into several roadblocks,
including a batch of Nano-web devices that have turned those injected with
them psychotic. With Borrego Springs on the verge of collapse and its citizens going mad,
Jane's son is in even graver danger as murderous townspeople head to the
location that five year old Travis is hiding. Will Jane be able to save
her child in time? Can Jane's in-laws escape their pursuers? And what
happens when the "adjusted" masses pass through the forbidden door?
The Forbidden Door skillfully mixed elements of horror into its narrative, hearkening back to Koontz's more chilling works. The stakes were higher in this novel and the action was bigger. Jane faced some of her greatest threats, and her allies were right there in the middle of danger with her. The tension and build-up from the Crooked Staircase continued in this book, giving a fitting end to two villains that I despised from book three. Their demise brought justice for those lost in the Crooked Staircase. The madness of the townsfolk gave Koontz a chance to dip his novel in blood, as they rampaged zombie-like through anyone in their path. I loved the return of Luther and Bernie. It showed the reader that not all of the public believe that Jane is a monster and traitor to her country. They saw through the Techno Arcadians' propaganda, and made their own judgments. The finale of this novel was thrilling with Jane facing off against psychotic townspeople, a collapsing house, and a plan gone horribly wrong. I loved the character development in this book, as I saw players look at their current situations and see just how much they have changed. In an ongoing series it is important for the characters to never stay stagnant and Koontz understands this very well.
I read the Forbidden Door in part with the narration of actress, Elisabeth Rodgers. She has done an amazing job presenting this series. And I was happy to hear her return to deliver another tension-filled and passionate reading of Jane's story. Rodgers has an impressive voice range that at times made me believe she had others reading with her. Her voice work was her best with this book.
The Forbidden Door reached four stars for me. I loved how fresh this installment was. And I enjoyed the bigger story and horror elements. Dean Koontz has created one of the best characters in crime thrillers in years. And when the series is over I will definitely want to re-read all of the action and adventure. One more novel to go and with the close of the Night Window, Jane's story will come to an end in May of 2019.
Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are
reading this week.
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