Absolutely loved it!
I have been a big fan of Koontz for years and have read many of his novels going back to WATCHERS, LIGHTNING, etc. I usually enjoy his books but they can sometimes miss the mark. I hadn't read one of his novels for several years but happened upon some good reviews of THE SILENT CORNER so decided to give it a shot. This is the first of a series featuring Jane Hawk, an ex-FBI agent. I was very pleasantly surprised by this novel and I feel that it is one of his best ever in the same league as WATCHERS, my all-time favorite of his.
Jane Hawk is an FBI agent who is currently on leave. Out of the blue her loving husband, a marine colonel, commits suicide and leaves the words "I very much need to be dead." Jane is devastated and can't believe that her husband had any reason to commit suicide. She does some research and discovers that the suicide rate is way up and also finds some similar cases of suicide with no apparent motive. Then someone threatens her and her young son telling her to back off her investigation. This only motivates her more and she ends up discovering some very dark secrets and men using a technology to try to pretty much get control of the world. Certain people are on a list for termination by suicide. But how is this accomplished? As Jane delves into this, she also becomes one of the most wanted in the nation.
This was really a page-turner of a novel by Koontz. As I said, I felt that this is near the top of his many works. It has some similar themes to other Koontz stories including the use of nano-technology by some evil-intended persons or high-ranking members of the government. It is also used in a brothel where the women are made to do whatever the client wants and to smile through anything. This reminded me somewhat of THE STEPFORD WIVES, another great story by Ira Levin. The novel ends with some unfinished business which I'm sure will be pursued in the followup to this, THE WHISPERING ROOM. I'll definitely be looking forward to reading it as well as the other novels in this series. Hopefully soon but my TBR shelves are overflowing!
Jane Hawk is an FBI agent who is currently on leave. Out of the blue her loving husband, a marine colonel, commits suicide and leaves the words "I very much need to be dead." Jane is devastated and can't believe that her husband had any reason to commit suicide. She does some research and discovers that the suicide rate is way up and also finds some similar cases of suicide with no apparent motive. Then someone threatens her and her young son telling her to back off her investigation. This only motivates her more and she ends up discovering some very dark secrets and men using a technology to try to pretty much get control of the world. Certain people are on a list for termination by suicide. But how is this accomplished? As Jane delves into this, she also becomes one of the most wanted in the nation.
This was really a page-turner of a novel by Koontz. As I said, I felt that this is near the top of his many works. It has some similar themes to other Koontz stories including the use of nano-technology by some evil-intended persons or high-ranking members of the government. It is also used in a brothel where the women are made to do whatever the client wants and to smile through anything. This reminded me somewhat of THE STEPFORD WIVES, another great story by Ira Levin. The novel ends with some unfinished business which I'm sure will be pursued in the followup to this, THE WHISPERING ROOM. I'll definitely be looking forward to reading it as well as the other novels in this series. Hopefully soon but my TBR shelves are overflowing!
