If it's possible to have a love-hate relationship with a book, this is it. On the one hand, the writing is almost exquisite, virtually ensuring my reluctance to put it down. Conversely, wading through page after page hoping that yet another important character won't bite the dust - probably in a most horrific way - is borderline unbearable. Characters I adore; other characters so loathesome that I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemies.
Oh, what a happy conundrum!
This is the fourth book in the series featuring former FBI agent now-fugitive Jane Hawk; the other three are excellent as well. And for the record, although each of the books can stand alone, I daresay I've derived much greater understanding and enjoyment by having read them in order from the beginning (and I recommend this to anyone who's new to this series).
At this point, Jane has been indicted for espionage, treason and seven counts of murder - many of the charges trumped up because she's fighting a nasty group called the Techno Arcadians, who are intent on changing society by injecting select humans (including Jane's late husband) with mind-control drugs. These "adjusted" folks, whose numbers are growing day by day, then can be programmed to do the bidding of the Arcadians - with the possibilities ranging from sweeping floors to murder to committing suicide. All of the above are fast zeroing in on Jane, her young son Travis and her in-laws Clare and Ancel Hawk; torturing or killing the latter three would, in their opinion, bring Jane to her knees. In the previous book, the couple Jane entrusted with hiding Travis were found and dealt with, so he's now living with a slightly autistic but sweet recluse named Cornell. Scared and lonesome, Travis calls his mother, who promises she'll come to get him.
At least that's her intent - but we all know what happens to best-laid plans. Most of us, happily, won't run into fake FBI and Homeland Security officers with murder on their minds nor mind-controlled folks who have been ordered to be on the lookout for us - but Jane isn't so fortunate. And since the brain-altered folks look and act just like they did in their previous everyday lives, who can Jane trust?
The answer is almost no one, thus complicating her attempts to get to Travis and keep both of them out of the hands that would do them wrong. There are several narrow misses (involving some pretty grisly scenes and salty language, for those who may be bothered by that stuff}. And just when you think Jane, Travis and their trusted friends may make it, the nanotechnology begins to go awry; one by one, the recently injected people begin to psychologically regress - euphemistically falling through "the forbidden door" and turning into insatiable killing machines.
I'd love to say there's a happily-ever-after ending, but that's just not the case (well, except that Jane lives to see another day, which one would expect of any character without whom there wouldn't be a series). It's certainly a wild ride, though, and once again I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy. Another winner that has me chomping at the bit for the next installment (The Night Window). Bring it on, please!
The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz (Bantam, September 2018); 480 pp.
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