An excellent book has you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. James Patterson knows how to get the reader gripped from the first page to the last.

Loved every moment of this book - really hope its made into a film as would be so eerie!

Tennant and her sister live in an off the grid village with their family.

The village is plague by a Noise, and everyone going missing. Tennant and her sister are lucky enough to hide in a basement and partially escape the noise. we follow their story of how they escape the same fate as the rest of the village.

If you enjoyed Bird Box and A Quiet Place this will be a great read for you.

In a survivalist community in the Oregon Woods near Mount Hood, a ground-shuddering debilitating noise grows louder and louder. With screaming and blood pouring from multiple orifices, the parents of sixteen-year-old Tennant Riggin and her eight-year-old sister Sophia hide them in a storm cellar. Tennant has the foresight to plug her ears with beeswax and tries to protect her sister’s hearing as best she can. After the noise subsides, Tennant and Sophie are permanently affected, with Sophie in pretty bad shape. When they venture outside, they are alone, and the landscape is in ruins.

The US government assembles an elite team of military, medical, computer and scientific specialists to investigate the phenomenon, including Dr Martha Chan and Dr Sanford Harbin. The team is only permitted to spend two hours at the site where they find hundreds of people dead within a crevasse not far away. When they recover the bodies and house them in a temporary morgue, the body temperatures of the corpses are continuously rising. The civilian specialists are mistrustful of the information and movement restrictions, and we find Martha and Harbin start to defy orders and investigate beyond their agreed scope.

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Fraser heads up the on-the-ground military operation. He discovers Tennant and Sophie hiding in another shelter and takes them back to camp, where they meet Dr Chan, who develops a closer relationship with the sisters. When the vibrations, noise, and destruction return, they realise that people affected by the anomaly are being herded into an incredible mass, running at incredible speed on a path toward Portland, destroying everything in their path. What seems like a mind-controlling infection is recruiting hundreds of thousands and will soon be millions. Beyond that extinction, and the Earth will be at peace.

The Noise is a story of supernatural, science fiction, thriller, secret military weapons testing, biological viruses and Mother Earth fighting back against human mistreatment and abuse. One thing is for sure: we’re racing towards an apocalyptic ending. The novel kicks into high gear immediately, and with the short snappy chapters, impending sense of doom, and a fast-paced plot to find answers, this is a fascinating novel. I found that while the story maintained a fast pace, it seemed to circle the same situations. The characters are there for the plot, and their depth isn’t explored as much as I would have liked, but perhaps that’s a price you pay for action-fuelled time-pressed stories.

It was great to get back to James Patterson and with JD Barker made this an enjoyable read overall. I would recommend this book to all lovers of action-packed thrillers. The underlying messages for our planet’s health and messing with science and technology are very apt in our modern world. I would like to thank Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for an honest review.

The most boring book I have read in a long time. This is not up to James Patterson’s normal standard by a country mile. The plot is boring, the characters have no depth, an altogether waste of time. The only reason I carried on reading this book was to find out what happened in the end, I wish I hadn’t bothered.

Well, reader, this has to be one of the strangest books I have ever reviewed. It was, at the same time, gripping and well written, but overwhelmingly crazy in terms of the basic premise. As a reader with a reasonably eclectic taste I have often enjoyed novels from those with just a hint of science fiction all the way to hardcore other worldly sci-fi bestsellers. Unfortunately, this offering falls awkwardly into a confused no man’s land. The words and ‘explanations’ used to explain the weird phenomenon that gives the book its title all make sense individually, but woven together, as in this book, they just do not stack up. Basically, it’s a sci-fi body wrapped around the well-trodden path of the crazy scientist/general/politician who is involved in some vast plot that endangers civilisation as we know it.
Now for a few uncomfortable admissions: it was very well written; the action sequences were compelling; and - despite my criticisms outlined above - I could not easily put the book down despite my drooping eyelids! Adding to the negative comments, on the other hand, it was occasionally gratuitously gruesome and the eventual denouement was, for me, a bit flat.
So, how to summarise ? For sure, this will have an admiring readership. It probably will appeal to slightly ‘left field’ sci-fi fans and those who like to read about government or the military industrial complex misbehaviour. For those with more sensitive tastes it’s probably not the book for them.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
James Patterson and accomplices.rarely disappoint and this book was no exception. As always a great read. Recommended.

I did enjoy this book but it did leave me thinking about the future as I could see this could happen. The story is about two girls Tennant aged 16 and her 8 year old sister. They live in a closed community and are very unsure of the outside world. The world around them begins to vibrate and their parents force them to hide in a storm shelter. The parents do not return and the girls decide to leave the shelter and go to another one they knew about assuming the parents will be there waiting. When they arrive their parents were not there and Sophia became very strange. The land is still vibrating and it appears to have affected Sophia far more than Tennant. A group of professionals are taken to a site to find out what is happening. They have noticed that people are running and collecting more people as they go and devastating the land on their way through without it appears any reason. Helicopters take to the sky and eventually Tennant and Sophia are located and become “guinea pigs” especially Sophia as she has been affected by the phenomenon far more than her sister and is very aggressive . They try to find out what is causing people to run without stopping and without worrying what is in their way. Eventually it even affects some of the soldiers who get too close to the group when they are trying to extricate one for research. The sound gets louder and affects ear drums etc and seems to be driving folk mad. Eventually they think they have found out how the noise is being distributed and causing all the drama and this is where I found it hard to read as in my head this probably could happen in the future. Enough said before I spoil the story – read it and make your own mind up. As an aside I did think it went a bit dry in the middle of the book

Extraordinary book, I truly had no idea what on earth was going on and the explanation for the 'anomaly' was shocking and very very clever indeed.
I have only read the authors' book written with Bill Clinton prior to reading this and I found the writing excellent, The feeling of fear, confusion, shock and fear is palpable, as unexplained phenomenon cause devastating death and bizarre illness in communities across America, I recommend this book very highly.
*Spoiler follows, please do not read on if you wish to avoid any* I am a soft hearted dog lover and I spent a lot of time whilst reading this brilliant book worrying about the labrador Zeke (yes the book is that absorbing!) I will reassure you that if like me you are liable to worry about the pooch, hes ok!

After The Coast to Coast Murders, by this duo, I was very excited for The Noise.

The chapters are short and makes for a quick read, and I love that about James and JD's books. I just felt like this story was way too long for what the ending was. They could have done this story in 250 pages.

I was not invested in one single character...nobody had a personality that I was drawn too. I couldn't even empathise with the young girls who are going through this awful situation. Also ....So. Much. Repetition. 😕

The book is well written though, and it's more about my preference and this story just wasn't something I could enjoy. Sci-fi/horror fans will enjoy this one I feel. Initially it bordered on horror ...then became a bit sci-fi.

Generally thrilling if a little slow, this book was good and I got through it relatively quickly, however it was definitely a little lacklustre compared to others in used to from this author

Pacey and extremely intriguing, the Noise, starts with a crushing vibrating pressure/noise that instantly wipes out a small colony of people, seemingly off the grid – that is bar 2 sisters and a dog that were sent underground into a storm shelter by their parents. The sisters’ experience bleeding from the nose, ears and eyes with altered hearing. 8 year old Sophie has turned into some possessed demonic creature that 16 year old Tennant manages to control by binding her wrists and upper thighs. They leave a message for their parents and go into hiding.

Meanwhile a modest selection of scientific experts, are amassed by the government via the military to give their view on what has occurred. These experts however are given minimal information and treated almost like prisoners. Critically they were mobilised before the incident occurred.

Feisty and suspicious they try and work on some theories as to what may have caused this instant death and destruction in such a large remote area. They do not rule out a weapon of mass destruction. On the team two dominant characters are Dr. Martha Chan, a physician who analyses long term medical emergencies and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Fraser, a career military leader.

It feels tense, eerie and unnerving right from the beginning and does not let up. There is an apocalyptic, horror sensation running right through it. The chapters are told by the various characters and it flits to different scenes very much like a film. Not all characters are likeable, nor do they develop much, but the speed and active response to this chilling threat is all dominating. The more you learn, the more terrifying the realisation of what
is happening. Death is hard to evade…

All told a different style for Patterson, but well paired with Barker, so won’t be for all his fans. Is essentially a sci-fi thriller that is at times graphic and incredibly intense.

I very much enjoyed reading The Noise, I was totally immersed in the plot and enjoyed all of the main characters. I lost a bit of focus when, about halfway through, I thought it was going down a different route which I found hard to believe, but turns out I was wrong and I continued to love it. Great book well worth a read.

⭐️⭐️

Very disappointing. It started well, I was intrigued as to what was happening and the secrecy of getting the team together and why.

But it was quite drawn out and slow and the ending got overly complicated. The final few chapters made no real sense and I was glad when it ended.

The Noise by JD Barker and James Patterson was certainly a somewhat different read. After a gripping start however, it then slowed for me. I didn’t really get a handle on the civilian team who were assembled. Characters were hard to “get to know” and it took me much longer to get into it enough to finally sit down with the book and give it my undivided attention. That proved to be the key. The pace rocked along, with tension and questions popping the whole time. I really didn’t see what was happening and couldn’t come up with a credible hypothesis at all but once I got to the end ….of course it made sense. And how scary is that! Stick with this, it’s a ripping storyline and totally exhausting in its relentless progression. Very topical and definitely good for thought in our current society. Four stars

ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, many thanks for it.
This apocalyptic story is gripping from the beginning. Many military scientists are trying to figure out what is going on: is it a disease, it is infectious because it is spreading quicker than they have estimates. The population is in danger, but from what?
It is a mix of sci-fi, thriller and horror, nice written.

It had to start somewhere, like all disasters, and it will take everyone it can. Sixteen-year-old Tennant, and her eight-year-old sister Sophie, have only ever known the commune where they were born. They are off-grid, not registered with any government services and independent on the land where they live, with their parents and extended family.

The girls are out hunting rabbits when they hear an ever-increasing noise that is approaching. Their dad scoops them up and puts them down a shelter in the ground. After the horrific noise passes, Tennant is somewhat damaged but, her sister is traumatised and changed. When they emerge, everyone in their community is either missing or dead except their dog Zeke. A specialist team from the government are deployed to determine what has just happened and look for survivors.

It is one hell of an edgy read because I hadn’t a clue if it had been a natural disaster, an invasion, man-made or an attack from an alien force. What I did know was it wasn’t going to go away very soon. Patterson and Barker meld together for a seamless pairing of two very different authors, and it works superbly. The characters are crisp and distinctive, with the intrigue sizzling. The characters have an uneasiness about them with an urgency to stop this destructive force while trying not to think of their own families and what could be happening to them.


It is scary how much our lives are in others hands, as decisions are made with no compassion. I like a book that gets to me, and this did just that. I hope that this pairing of authors will continue into the future.


I wish to thank the publisher for a copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

I received a free copy from Netgalley. Below is the blurb

"Young sisters, Sophie and Tennant Riggin, are the only two people to withstand a massive explosion that destroys their community, located in the shadow of Oregon's Mt. Hood.

A team of elite government investigators are sent to research the fallout and the girls - why did only they survive? - but with conflicting objectives. For Dr Martha Chan, a psychologist who analyses large-scale medical emergencies: study them. For Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Fraser, a career military leader with an inherent mistrust of civilians: contain them.

But as the disturbance replicates across the Pacific Northwest, it threatens to topple the chain of command. Dr Chan and Lieutenant Colonel Fraser are caught between the perpetrators of the threat - and those who have the power to resist."

I did enjoy this book and found it quite disturbing. I liked the way that the chapters switched between the different characters situations. A couple of things did leave me pondering.... such as who is looking after Martha Chan's kids as she didn't seem to be able to get hold of their dad! Overall a good read, not to hard on the brain and didn't quite go in the direction that I was expecting.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is dark, engaging, twisty and unputdownable. Once you start reading, you'll be looking for reasons to not do anything else but read it.

The story, characters and twists are top notch.
I'm looking forward to a potential sequel.

In a Survivalist’s settlement near Mount Hood in Oregon, sisters Tenant and Sophie are out checking their rabbit traps when they are ‘attacked’ by the loudest, most terrifying and penetrating noise you could imagine. During this assault, their parents scoop them up and hide them in a survival basement. But when the noise stops and they emerge from the shelter, their parents are gone. And so has the entire community - inhabitants, buildings, trees and animals - the whole area has been completely annihilated by an unknown force.

In the immediate aftermath of this event, several specialists are flown in to a temporary military instalment in the area to try and discover what this ‘anomaly’ is and what the government needs to do to contain the situation.

The book is a full-on, non-stop, assault on your senses - terrifying, gory, fast-paced - there’s no let up in the action. If I’d have had a clear day, I would have torn through the book in one sitting. It was that intensely gripping. As it was, I found myself longing to find moments in the day (and night)when I could get back to it as quickly as possible.

I was utterly hooked from start to finish. Although I have to admit to not fully understanding the conclusions of what the noise was and why it happened.
This would make a great film though!

I never thought I’d ever choose a James Patterson book to read - it may be a sweeping generalisation but I thought he was the type of author that you find in a hotel lobby bookshelf that middle aged men begrudgingly pick up to read by the pool! Sorry James Patterson! I done you wrong, but I acknowledge my error by giving you a fulsome five stars for ‘The Noise’.

This is very different to other James Patterson books I have read. It is gripping and a real thriller. I urge you to read it and form your own opinions.