Amazing book by an amazing author! Excellent read!

What a fantastic novel!! The Silent Corner centers around Jane Hawk, an FBI agent whose husband has recently committed suicide...or so it appears!! Not able to believe her husband willingly took his own life, Jane takes an extended leave from work and sets off on her mission. By doing extensive research and digging, Jane ultimately reveals startling results!! Unbeknownst to Jane, she's basically opened Pandora's box and what's inside is more powerful and shocking than she could have imagined!!

The Silent Corner was a fast-paced novel that had me guessing until the very end!! There were plenty of well timed twists and turns that I NEVER saw coming--loved that!! Being that this is the first book in the Jane Hawk series, I highly encourage everyone to check it out and jump on board from the beginning!! I can already guarantee this will be a top series for me!! The Silent Corner is a 5 star read that every suspense/thriller fan will devour!! Go 1-click it!!

I know Dean doesn’t like to be pegged to a particular genre, but in all the years that I’ve been reading his work, I’ve found that in most cases, each novel falls into one of five categories: Science Fiction (Dark Symphony, Demon Seed, Lightning), Suspense (Whispers, House of Thunder, Key to Midnight), Horror (Watchers, Shadowfires, 77 Shadow Street), Fantastics (Odd Thomas, From the Corner of His Eye), and Thrillers (The Face of Fear, Shattered, Dark Rivers of the Heart.) Sure, there are exceptions (Hanging On) and you can quibble with me on even some of my examples, but in the end, the horror is my favorite followed by the thrillers in a very close second. The Silent Corner is a thriller in the best Dean Koontz style, and one I finished in just a few sittings.

The thrillers don’t have monsters, nothing supernatural, aren’t preachy, and usually have someone chasing after the main character. The tech involved is real although some it may be stretched a bit into the future for dramatic effect. The Silent Corner is a thriller and the first in a trilogy all centered around FBI Agent Jane Hawk, currently on leave looking into a conspiracy that she believes led her husband, and many others, to commit suicide. Throw in drones, armored vehicles, and a form of mind control and you’ll be buckled in for the ride.

As a librarian I do have one additional praise and one criticism that I do want to get on the record. First, Jane uses public libraries on a regular basis to have untraceable Internet access. Kudos to Dean for getting this one right. However, another character, caught looking at porn in a library, defended his doing so with the following:

“Look, I work with various concerned groups in the city. We try to set things right where we can. It took a while to get libraries to block the nasty websites so kids couldn’t get on them. Now and then a librarian or somebody decides it’s a free-speech issue and opens the lid on the sewer. I was told that branch was backsliding. I had to see for myself. Today, the lid’s back on, kids are safe.”

The issue of porn on library computers just isn’t that simple and I hope Dean doesn’t actually think it is.

In the end, if you’re a fan of Dean’s thrillers you’re going to love The Silent Corner and I expect the sequels when they arrive.

As always, a pleasure to read his work. Did not disappoint.

This novel seemed very different from the Koontz I'd read so often. It moved slowly and pages were spent on descriptions of scenery, houses, etc. It would have totally bored me in most any author's hands but-even though I thought about giving it up- I read through because even these 'boring' parts were so beautifully written! The man truly knows how to use language to create imagery as few can. Around 65% in, the plot really picked up. I think I missed dialogue and character interaction more than I realized. At this point it became a page turner. The concept is plausible in today's world motivated by not greed but evil and power.
Now, of course, I must read the second in this new series

I have read all of this author's books. I did not find this one to be amonst his best. Still I give a five-star rating. The writing itself is superb. The storyline slow at times. I prefer Koontz with a bit more supernatural. I will certainly read the next in this series, but I am not in deep anticipation as with some of his other series. Despite what I have written, I would recommend this book to all.

The Silent Corner is the excellent first thriller in the Jane Hawk series written by author Dean Koontz. Compelling characters with an intricate and exciting storyline. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the advance copy.

Once upon a time, I read every Dean Koontz book I could get my hands on. I even went to the library and got the books under his pen name (Leigh Nichols).

But somewhere along the way, the books changed. They got…mystical. And I kind of lost interest. I’ve ventured back and have found that I liked the last couple of books.

This one, I loved. My Dean Koontz love is back!

Jane Hawk is the bad ass of bad asses. She is so awesomely tough and passionate and everything you wish you could be. The action is spot on. The crime in question – extremely devious. If it weren’t for work, this would have been a one-sitting read. As it was, I finished it in two.

This is book one and, while it’s not precisely a cliffhanger, there are unanswered questions. Usually, that bugs me. In this case, I simply can’t wait for the next book!

Unrelenting, compelling, and a thriller that deserves the title! Book 2 now, please!

*ARC Provided Via Net Galley

Review: THE SILENT CORNER by Dean Koontz

First in the Jane Hawk series, THE SILENT CORNER takes on the increasingly random chaos of modern culture and fits it into a plausible framework (especially plausible for conspiracy theorists). FBI Special Agent Jane Hawk loses her beloved husband, a much-decorated Marine full colonel, to a completely unexpected and inexplicable suicide at home. During a leave of absence, her curiosity and grief lead her to begin investigating suicides nationwide, and the data she uncovers are both puzzling and horrifying.


I found the narrative longer than necessary, and thought it occasionally strummed similar chords again and again in different frames.

I absolutely adore anything Dean Koontz writes and I was not disappointed with this book! Far from it!! The heroine was tough, smart, compassionate but still able to make hard choices. There were no slow parts!! This book is engaging the whole way through!! I will definitely be recommending this book and buying my own copy as well!!!

After a man commits suicide, his wife sets out to find out why. Jane Hawk is heartbroken and confused when her husband kills himself, leaving behind a suicide not that says “I very much need to be dead”. She learns that her husband isn’t the only surprising suicide of late, other people who would have no reason to kill themselves have recently slipped the bonds of earth. In her pursuit of the truth, Jane make some powerful enemies and finds herself on the wrong side of the law. Jane may be on the run, but she refuses to give up, and will not stop until the truth is finally exposed. Koontz is one of those writers who’s only gotten better with time. I love his books now just as much as I did back in the 1980’s and he still has the power to shock and surprise