Oorverdovend

by James Patterson, J.D. Barker

Een mysterieuze natuurramp in het noordwesten van Amerika heeft een bergdorp volledig van de kaart geveegd. De jonge zussen Sophie en Tennant zijn de enige overlevenden. Hoe heeft dit kunnen gebeuren en hoe overleefden juist deze twee meisjes de ramp?

Het leger en een team van wetenschappers worden erheen gestuurd om het verschijnsel te onderzoeken, maar niet iedereen heeft hetzelfde motief. Zo wil psychologe dr. Martha Chan vooral de meisjes goed begeleiden, terwijl voor luitenant-kolonel Alexander Fraser het bewaren van de openbare orde centraal staat. Dan blijkt dat deze anomalie nog maar het begin is van een reeks onbegrijpelijke verschrikkingen.

Genres: Thriller, Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook, Suspense

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 16, 2021

About the author

Official US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
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James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Reviews

[MarilynW · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Noise by J.D. Barker (Author), James Patterson (Author)

Forth generation survivalist sisters, sixteen year old Tennant and eight year old Sophia, are hunting when the world around them begins vibrating. The accompanying noise builds into a deafening crescendo of screams. Running to their settlement, their parents throw them into a storm shelter, leaving the girls alone as their suffering increases unbearably.

Afterwards Tennant is bloody, broken, and battered but Sophia is in even worse shape. The area and all living things have been pulverized. The girls move to another storm shelter and the vibrations happen again. Eventually the girls are "rescued".

Nearby a group of highly trained professionals have been gathered to brainstorm what has been happening. Of course, something is not right but what is causing this phenomenon? Who is causing these events and can they be stopped? We see this story from several different perspectives and we never know more than the characters know. The tension is non stop, the happenings gruesome from the onset, and getting more gruesome by the minute.

It's really hard to say more without giving away too much. I do know that I have so many questions about what happens after the story ends. What I think happens next is not pretty, no prettier than what has already happened. The story had my mind racing during it and now my mind is racing after the story is over. Because it's not over.

Publication: August 16th 2021

Thank you to J.D. Barker, Little, Brown and Company, and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Holly B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Outlier review

A promising beginning soon became a humdrum, repetitive experience.

I was expecting an action packed ride, it was.

I was expecting to care for at least one of the characters, I didn't. The character development was just so flat that they were just props in the story, not much engagement. It was all about the plot.

At 400 pages, the book was just too long and circled back and forth with what felt like the same, same events with a slight variance. The propeller spinning around and around, but going nowhere.

I never gave up because I did want to know....

It gave me some Bird Box vibes.

A mix of sci-fi, medical thriller, apocalypic, and dystopia. Whew....

Was I a fan of the ending? No, can I have an explanation?

Read if you enjoy a speeding bullet of a ride that goes nowhere. Then again, you may love this one as many GR friends did and its out now!

Library loan/ Read in September 2021

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vibrations
I devoured James Patterson’s novels decades ago, to the point where I couldn’t tell many of his books apart. After all these years, I can say returning to him in this book, there's a very different atmosphere and plot than what I expected. Also, JD Barker (who I also love) is co-authoring this one, and I see the influence with the type of foreboding suspense created.

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 with tones 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.

[Sandysbookaday (on indefinite hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCERPT: The sound grew louder.

Tennant had no idea she was screaming, too, until she ran out of breath and choked on the air - dirt, dust, flour - all filling her lungs at once. She coughed it back out, forced herself to stand, clawed at the cellar door.

Why had Poppa locked them in?

They'd die down here.

And Momma and Poppa out there?

On the ground at her feet, Sophie's hands and arms wrapped around her head, her knees pulled close against her chest. Blood dripped from the corners of her eyes, from her button nose, seeped out from between her fingers over her ears. Thick, congealed blood, dark red, nearly black. One of her hands shot out and wrapped around Tennant's ankles and squeezed so tight the pain brought her back down to the floor.

The sound grew louder.

Tennant wanted to hold her sister, but her arms and legs no longer obeyed her. Her heart drummed against her ribs, threatened to burst. She couldn't get air, each gasp no better than breathing water. Her eyes rolled back into her head, her vision first went white, then dark, as the walls closed in. The cellar no better than a grave.

ABOUT 'THE NOISE': 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.

MY THOUGHTS: What the hell did I just read? I didn't read the publicity blurb prior to requesting this, and I never read the publicity blurb before starting reading. The fact that J.D. Barker is co-author was good enough for me. And I hit the jackpot! I am so pleased I never read the blurb; I would never have requested this and I would have missed out on a spectacular read.

The story is told from the points of view of Tennant, the girl whose sister Sophie is affected by The Noise; Martha a psychologist who deals with large scale medical emergencies, and who is called on to study both this emergency and the sisters; Fraser, a career military officer who dislikes and distrusts civilians, and whose job it is to contain both the sisters and those brought in to examine them and the site; and briefly, the President of the United States, who faces a decision that no other president in history has ever faced.

If you are going to pick The Noise up, and I strongly recommend you do, set a day aside with no distractions or interruptions to read it. It's not a long read, but it is action packed. This is no runaway train. There is no slow start, no build up. This is a bullet train - it starts fast and just gets faster, more suspenseful, more thrilling, and scarier.

Personally, I find the scariest things are those that are possible. The Noise falls into this category. It scared the living bejesus out of me. And I loved it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#TheNoise #NetGalley #RandomHouse

I: @jamespattersonbooks @jdbarker_author
@randomhouse

T: @JP_Books @jdbarker @randomhouse

THE AUTHORS: James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author and most trusted storyteller. He has created more enduring fictional characters than any other novelist writing today.

J.D. Barker is a New York Times and international bestselling American author of suspense thrillers, often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Noise by James Patterson and J.D. Barker for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review will also be published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

[LIsa Noell "Rocking the chutzpah!" · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to Little Brown and Company, J.D. Barker and James Patterson, and always Netgalley! I said it with the first Patterson and Barker mashup/I don't know who comes up with these stories, but I'm mostly sure that Barker writes them! Whatever is going on? I'm happy as a pig in a mudpile! I love it! I'll confess that this story gave me serious Stephen King vibes! Not for the writing style, but for the eerie feelings! It's been a while since that happened! I didn't love these characters as deep as I should have though! It's just that I eventually hit a threshold, and realized that unless this is a duology, or trilogy then nothing is going to end well. Nothing. We will all run!

[Ceecee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tennant and Sophie Riggin are fourth generation survivalists in the Oregon Woods near Mount Hood, all are totally unconcerned about the outside world. Suddenly, out of nowhere apparently, there are terrible piercing screams and later an unbearable noise. Their parents rush to put the girls in a storm shelter for safety. When the noise subsides they leave the shelter, their village is destroyed, there’s no one alive save them and Zeke the dog. Sophie in particular will never ever be the same again. A group of experts from a wide range of specialist fields are gathered in Oregon at Zigzag Station, these include Dr Martha Chan and Sanford Harbin, tasked with trying to decipher what causes the shocking and spreading anomaly.

Wow.... this is a wow for me from start to finish. You are in a state of suspense from the startling beginning to the finale as you desperately try to figure out what on earth is going on, just as Martha et al are! It’s exciting, frightening, jet black dark, twisty, twisted, tragic, a rollercoaster and utterly gripping. I think I probably read this entire thing open mouthed which is hardly a pretty sight! Although the plot is probably ‘out there’ who knows? Who knows what lurks in some dark minds of some agencies or scientists? The fact is, we don’t! The way it is written makes it feel like it’s possible so I just go with the rapid flow. The pace is fast, in places it’s so fast your poor brain struggles to keep up but you can’t stop reading as events become more and more dangerous and complex. It grips you fast, hooks you as you try to figure out the who, what, where, when, hows and whys of it all. There are some atmospheric descriptions and stunning images (some graphic) which are probably burned onto my brain forever as the team race against time to stop the spreading phenomenon. It’s spooky, creepy, spine tingling, chilling, makes your eyes bleed and you want to run miles and miles in the opposite direction. I really like the ending, it’s horrifying but it matches the events, anything neatly tied up won’t work and would be an unrealistic cop out. It’s a great mash of genres, it’s an excellent thriller, it has science and medical elements and it certainly has a political slant. I like the short, sharp, speedy chapters that match the high octane action. Be prepared for a big sit down with this one as your eyes will not wish to be drawn from the pages.

Overall, it’s five star all the way for me!!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to like this joint effort from James Patterson and JD Barker (both authors whose books I enjoy) more than I did. It starts off really well with with a strange and horrifying event in an isolated survivalist settlement and ramps up the tension even more as the strange events continue and the military call in special teams to work out what is happening. There were also some interesting ideas brought up by the plot. However, the novel seemed to lose focus half way through and I found my interest waning, particularly as the main characters are somewhat one dimensional and therefore difficult to relate to and feel invested in. The end of the book also seemed a bit rushed and I didn't feel adequately explained the motivations of those involved. However, I may be an outlier here, so you might want to read it for yourself. 3.5 ★

With thanks to Little, Brown and Company and Netgalley for a copy to read

[Ellie Spencer (catching up from hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rounded up from around 4.5 stars ⭐️ I’ve never before read a book like this one but I absolutely loved it.

Two young sisters find themselves caught up in a whirlwind when a sudden loud noise alters their lives. The noise follows the perspectives of five of the people caught up in this mysterious anomaly.

I’ve been desperately hunting for a spooky/horror book for the autumn months and the beginning of this book absolutely gave me that. I didn’t want to put it down, but was also nervous to keep reading! I absolutely love books from multiple points of view when they are done well. This book did it seamlessly and it really helped add depth to the complicated scenario. Seeing the anomaly from all different perspectives was so enjoyable.

I’ve never before read a book that seemed to combine so many genres but it worked so well. It also didn’t feel completely outlandish which added an additional ominous layer to the book. The only reason I deducted half a star was because I wasn’t fully sold on the ending, I don’t know what I had expected but I almost wanted something slightly more. I also would have loved to have known all of the characters a little deeper, they almost seemed one dimensional. Luckily, I loved the storyline so much that these little gripes didn’t do much to dampen my enjoyment!

I would recommend this book to any horror/thriller fans who fancy an added layer of sci-fi. I want to thank Netgalley, Random House UK and James Patterson & J.D. Barker for allowing me to read this book and give my personal thoughts.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley; James Patterson; J.D. Barker; and Little, Brown and Company for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

I have enjoyed the few collaborative efforts by James Patterson and J.D. Barker, which offer a scintillating look into psychological thrillers with a unique twist. Mixing their two styles, the authors have come up with a sure page-turner here, keeping the reader on their toes throughout this piece. A rural community in Oregon soon turns to panic, leaving two young girls to flee for the family’s underground bunker as a piercing noise permeates their surroundings. The elder child appears unharmed, but her little sister begins spouting gibberish and acting in a highly troublesome manner. Soon, a handful of scientists are herded aboard a military chopper and sent to the area, in hopes of better understanding what’s taken place. However, it is baffling to everyone and there seems neither rhyme nor reason for any of it. Many have died and appear to be piled in large crevasses, while those who are alive have fevers like no other. What’s happened and who or what is responsible for all this. One doctor vows to get answers, even if the government seeks to cover it up from the public.

Things are quiet in a rural mountain Oregon for Tennant and Sophie Riggin, who have lived off the grid for their entire lives. However, all this soon changes when an odd vibration emanates from the forest and their father rushes the girls into a bunker. The piercing noise escalates, leaving Tennant worried and Sophie acting strangely. The younger sister, all of eight, begins spouting odd phrases and complaining of severe pain in her ears. Tennant can only hope to protect her sister until all of this passes.

Soon after the baffling incident in around Mount Hood, military officials begin gathering top-ranked scientists and medical professionals to help assess the damage and fallout. This includes, Dr. Martha Chan, a medical doctor, who is as confused as ever about why she was chosen for this mission. What Chan and the others witness is baffling and highly unusual: massive crevasses in the ground, many bodies piled up, as well as destruction of the earth like nothing seen or predicted. What’s even more troubling is the top secret nature of the event, where military officials will not even allow those viewing the fallout to converse with one another.

After Chan and the others are permitted on the ground, it’s discovered that many of those who are alive have fevers that are off the charts, climbing into the 104 degree Fahrenheit range. This includes young Sophie Riggin, who continues to spout odd phrases, one of which can be traced back to a dead language used in the Bible. Might this be some sort of End of Times event? If not, could an enemy nation be testing a new weapon? Military officials scramble for answers and try to brief the president with what they know.

As Tennant remains unharmed, Dr. Chan is unsure what’s kept her safe and how Sophie could be so affected. Chan will do all she can to get answers, even if that means defying the orders of military personnel. Something is behind this noise and Chan will not rest until she gets answers, sure that someone is not telling the truth. The larger question remains, when the truth is discovered, how will the US Administration handle it and what message will there broadcast to the world? A chilling story that will sober many readers into wondering what could happen right under their noses.

Many will know that I have a love/hate relationship with the works of James Patterson, depending on the series collaborators. Those who don’t can find my comments elsewhere, as I wish to focus on the collaborative efforts that Patterson has with J.D. Barker. This is a duo that has worked from the outset, combining their individual skills to create something really enticing and easy to read. While the novels may be longer than many Patterson fans have come to expect, they are always filled with twists and narrative nuggets that push them to the top of the genre. Psychological thrillers are hard to perfect, as the reader must commit fully, but Patterson and Barker make that easy with the caliber of their work.

The numerous narratives make it difficult to choose a single protagonist, though the authors have highlighted a few characters to assume the role, namely Tennant and Martha Chan. While they come from completely different backgrounds, both seek the same thing, to get answers and to help Sophie. The collaborative efforts both make throughout the story make them targets for the military and political actors, but this only adds to their development. Many readers will likely affix themselves to at least one of these leading ladies, if only to get to the core of the plot.

The authors have done well to craft a collection of supporting characters who use individual agendas to clash with the aforementioned protagonists. Many serve within the US Administration, trying to uncover and then whitewash what’s happened in Oregon. This tension works well throughout the novel, pushing the reader to see how good and evil (or at least curiosity and pragmatic secret keeping) butt heads throughout. The description of some other supporting characters helps to show the dire straights in which this segment of the population has found itself, something that resonates throughout for the attentive reader.

The goal I suspect authors strive for in standalone novels is to allow each to succeed on their own merits. While James Patterson’s books have often been given a ‘cookie cutter plot’ label, his work alongside J.D. Barker makes these novels stand out as being some of the best, with no prediction where things will go. The narrative, told through the eyes of many, is strong and builds constantly, while the characters are varied enough to be of interest to the reader. The plot is anything but linear and gains momentum in all the right spots. Short chapters push things along and keep the reader from getting too bogged down in minutiae. I am always pleased to see collaborative efforts between these two international bestselling authors, as I see it brings out the best in them both. One can only hope there are more novels, series or standalone, to come.

Kudos, Messrs. Patterson and Barker, for another winning recipe when it comes to thrill writing. I hope many of your respective fans will rush to get this book, as it checks all the boxes.

Be sure to check for my review, first posted on Mystery and Suspense, as well as a number of other insightful comments by other reviewers.
https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/th...

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book a couple of days ago and have, since then, struggled to formulate my review. I loved the book but I still don’t know how to describe the plot - so maybe I won’t say much about it. Sixteen year old Tennant Riggin and her eight year old sister, Sophie - fourth generation survivalists near Mt Hood in the wilds of Oregon, are out checking rabbit traps one day when they are floored by an eerie, loud and disturbing noise. Their parents grab them and hide them in an underground storm shelter for safety. When the girls emerge there is no sign of life in their village apart from their dog, Deke.

A team of scientific experts is quickly dispatched to the area to study ‘the anomaly’ but getting a handle on this beast is like trying to catch water in a sieve. And unfortunately the infection is spreading rapidly. The people who are affected/infected by the noise get an uncontrollable urge to run. More on that later. The scientific team set up at Zigzag station in the forest and Dr Martha Chan is trying to learn what is happening from conducting autopsies and studying the two survivors. Tennant seems largely unaffected as she had put wax in her ears when the noise started but Sophie is proving to be an enigma.

I found this genre bending book to be utterly compelling. It was part sci-fi, part horror, part thriller and I could not put it down. I’m not familiar with James Patterson’s work but I have read a lot of J.D. Barker’s books and I love that you never know what to expect. They are all so utterly different. At one point it started to feel like a zombie apocalypse story, without the flesh eating! The horde of runners just kept growing as it was drawn to more people and when those people heard the noise they joined in.

The image of the mindless scrum of thousands of runners, oblivious to all but the running, horrified faces, arms straight down by their sides with fists clenched - just their legs pistoning up and down faster and faster kept me up on the night I finished the book. The way it was written, the whole book really, gave me some incredibly vivid mental images, mostly disturbing I have to admit. The book was dark, very dark. And yet the ending was perfect, almost spiritual. I won’t be forgetting this one in a hurry! Many thanks to Netgalley, publishers Little, Brown and Company and the authors for providing a free advance copy which I have reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Tennant and Sophie Riggin, are daughters of survivalists living in a remote and isolated village in Oregon, were going about their day when the vibrations/noise began. The screams, the noise, the terror, the blood flowing from their ears, eyes, etc. Their poppa put them in the shelter with their dog, Zeke, for safety and when they leave the shelter everything has changed - there is no one in sight, their village is destroyed, and Sophie is not acting like herself. Tennant decides they should move to another shelter when the noise/vibrations begin again.

What is happening? What is the cause of the noise? What is the word that Sophie keeps saying? How can Tennant help her sister? Where did everyone go? Where is Momma? Where is Poppa?

A group of elite government investigators are called in to investigate. On the team is Dr. Martha Chan, a psychologist who analyses long term medical emergencies. She studies them. Another team member is Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Fraser, a career military leader with a mistrust of civilians. He is sent to contain them. The noise is continuing and spreading across the Pacific Northwest, things are getting out of hand. But how do you study and contain when you don't understand what and why caused this "Noise" to happen? How can you stop something that you have to fight with every fiber in your being to resist?

There are several POV's being told in this book and there is a lot of minor characters as well. Readers will learn things as those in the book do. I liked the feeling of being unedge and unnerved not know what is happening. For me, this book is more horrifying than “true” horror, which in many ways makes the book more appealing.

This is a book that I was all over the place with rating. I loved the originality of this book and yet it had me thinking of other books due to the dystopian feel to it. I had flashes of The Stand, The Walking Dead, The Girl with All the Gifts and even I Am Legend while reading this. Not that this book's plot is like any of those, (it’s not!) but part of this book brought those to mind.

This book is highly imaginative, and I believe that this book would make a fantastic movie! I could see it playing out in my mind. There was everything but the kitchen sink thrown into this book! It's part science fiction, part dystopian, and as I mentioned earlier, horrifying.

My one issue with the book is that I didn't connect with any of the characters. I am speculating that so much time, thought, effort was put into the plot, the execution of the plot, the pacing, the action, and into the "noise" that the characters took second billing. The "Noise" is a HUGE character is this book and the others pale in comparison.

But I cannot deny that the execution of the plot was brilliant. I feel most of the credit goes to Barker for this. I can say that this is a book, I enjoyed more after I sat with it and contemplated it. Very creative and well thought out - again, I feel this is all Barker.

The ending was interesting...I wasn't sure what I thought of it at first. Honestly, I still don't know what I think of it. I have always devoured J.D. Barker's books and enjoy those by James Patterson. This collaboration was enjoyable but didn't grab me as much as their previous collaboration. Again, I think it is due to me not being overly invested in the characters.

I look forward to their next collaboration and individual works.

.Creative, horrifying, original and tense!

Thank you to Little, Brown & Company and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A noise of unknown origin causes destruction, death and bizarre behavior in Oregon. A group of scientists, medical personnel and the military try to determine the cause of the disaster. I don’t usually read James Patterson books, but I read this one because I enjoyed another book written by the co-author J.D. Barker. The blurb compares this book to books by Michael Crichton. Crichton did it much better. This book is too long and repetitive and maintains the same frenetic speed throughout. There is no pacing at all. I lost interest about half way through. However, I wanted to find out what was causing the problem, so I kept reading but I skimmed a lot. Amanda Dolan did a good job with the narration of the audiobook. The sepulchral voice she used for one of the victims was particularly eerie. 3.5 stars

[Marialyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wild ride, I so expect from J.D. Barker in association with James Patterson.

There is a vibration coming to town which does become annoying, overbearing, and then continues to build becoming so intense that one finds themselves screaming. For two young girls, Tennant and Sophia Riggin, saved for a time by their father's quick action, the noise becomes overpowering. Inside the storm cellar, they are petrified but Tennant has placed wax in her ears, while Sophia doesn't have protection. The noise seems to sweep everything away, their home, their town in the isolated woods neat Mt. Hood. Worse of all though is that their parents are missing and the world they once knew is turned upside down.

The government becomes involved sending Dr Martha Chase and Lieutenant Colonel Fraser, and others to contain the catastrophe and find out what has caused this noise that is unbearable to most, but where some have seemed to escape.

What follows is a wild ride into the who, what, and where was the origin of this tragedy. Sophie is affected, yet she can also provide the clues needed to solve this supposed enigma. There is a plethora of questions, starting with the elevated temperatures of those affected. As Sophie seems to become further entrenched in the noise, she starts to utter things that make no sense. Tennant is out to protect Sophie from harm and any government probing. However, there is little she can do, when her sister exhibits "otherworldly" traits. Both Dr Chen and Colonel Fraser are baffled and dig into all possibilities including an attack by a foreign nation, an attack from an alien source, or even a fulfillment of a prophecy.

All of this adds up to a spine-chilling story where excitement mixes with possibilities and the nature of the human race seems to be at the beck and call of the noise. When the President is called to action, he does what would be considered unfathomable but will it stop the pervasive prevalence of the noise?

Definitely different, and definitely one that combines so many elements of science fiction, horror, and dystopian. It's a dark read and one that can fill the reader with the sense of doom, and make one wonder could this ever be the ultimate end for humankind?

Thank you to James Patterson, J.D. Barker, and NetGalley for a copy of this eerie, intense, and mind blowing story that was published on August 16, 2021.

[Kon R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snuck in this last read of 2021. As usual, I like to read negative reviews as I go through a book. It helps open my eyes to what people consider faults, so I can see the book through a critical lens. If their points are valid I cannot help, but let it ruin my experience. It's a New Yorker mentality of never wanting to be made for a fool. I want to address these complaints.

Some claim the event explanation is too farfetched or simply makes zero sense. You do realize this is science fiction, right? Some liberties will be taken. It wasn't so out there that it ruined the experience. Most can easily follow the logic and what the authors were getting at. It definitely got weirder towards the end, but it provided pretty good closure with the approach taken. I could even see a sequel coming into fruition.

Others say the characters are flat as a pancake, which lead to them not caring about the plot. This is a fast paced read where the focus is the mystery and action. How much backstory do we really need on each character that's going to die to advance the plot and build the tension? There was a group of main characters and they weren't all a bunch of assholes. Look at The Guest List by Lucy Foley for example. The entire book was background information and all the characters can fall off a cliff without any reader's remorse because they suck. Granted, Stephen King could have tacked on an extra 200 pages to build up the characters, but I don't think that's what they were going for.

My "favorite" critique is that the story doesn't seem to go anywhere. Like geographically? It's a bit locked down to only a few states in the United States. I'll give you that. But plot wise? It has a clear beginning, middle, and end. The beginning is slow and mysterious. The middle is pure chaos. The ending clearly puts every problem and question to bed.

Final conclusion: It's a fun read. It doesn't rant or rave trying to teach you a moral lesson. There's a lesson, but it comes on subtle as it should. Is it going to blow your mind? No, it's not that epic, but definitely unique in a Michael Crichton kind of way.  I'm happy to end 2021 on a high note, so thank you Patterson and Barker!

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed reactions on this one... Loved the horror story aspect (huge Barker fan so I had high expectations!) and the unique spin on the impending catastrophe. The story was well paced and I was completely engaged and cheering for the sisters and our main protagonist, Martha. But the ending fell a bit short for me... I didn't completely understand the final explanations surrounding the "noise" and the conclusion felt rushed.

Overall this is definitely worth your reading time and I recommend to horror/sci-fi readers!

*Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Theresa Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the one hand, if all you’re looking for in a book is plot and pacing, this one succeeds. However, if you want a book that’s about a huge threat to humanity and actually care about any of the humanity—including the main characters—this fails.

I’ve read J.D. Barker before and liked his work. I also made the comment on one of those books that it felt like the reading equivalent of watching a movie. That’s not a bad thing, but I guess as a reader I’m used to putting some effort of my own in interpreting the novel.

When 16-year-old Tennant and her younger sister Sophie are checking rabbit traps as their survivalist parents taught them to, their father scoops them up and shoves them in a bunker, which allows them to survive the strange sound/vibration, but what they’ve survived not even an assembled team of specialists in their field can figure out.

The pacing is relentless, so if that’s what you’re in the mood for, you will enjoy this, but as soon as I switched to a women’s fiction novel, I actually cared about what was happening to the fictional characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES AUGUST 16, 2021.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this book up because I saw it was co-written by James Patterson and J.D. Barker. I've made it a habit to read everything I find with J.D. Barker's name on it because I love reading scary, horror stories similar to Stephen King and Dean Koontz - and now J.D. Barker. I was not disappointed!

The book was relentlessly paced and commanded me to keep reading and forgot all my other obligations. Well, I did have to put it down when I went to work, but grabbed it as soon as I finished my day!

The description of the book is intriguing - "In the shadow of Mount Hood, sixteen-year-old Tennant is checking rabbit traps with her eight-year-old sister Sophie when the girls are suddenly overcome by a strange vibration rising out of the forest, building in intensity until it sounds like a deafening crescendo of screams. From out of nowhere, their father sweeps them up and drops them through a trapdoor into a storm cellar. But the sound only gets worse . . ." - and I was gripped from the beginning. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was I felt there should be more to the ending - it felt a little rushed and I needed a few more things resolved. I won't mention them here because I don't want to give anything away. Don't get me wrong - this is a great story and well worth the read!

Many thanks to J.D. Barker and James Patterson, Little, Brown & Company, and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book which will publish August 16, 2021.

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an avid James Patterson fan I was really intrigued by the story of The Noise. It was so different from anything else he has written and I can definitely see the JD Barker brain at work. A great combination of writers and I couldn’t tear myself away from it.

The Noise is a terrifying, dark and very unsettling read. I think it would make a great movie. You will not believe what is happening and it will shock you. 2 young girls, Sophie and Tennant, are the lone survivors of a massive explosion that wipes out their small community. Sophie is not the girl she was before it and it is scaring her sister. Experts are flown in from all over the country to find out what happened, why and to stop it happening again.

Thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read

[Kezia Duah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty cool. A world where strange things are happening is always a fun read. I was a bit disconnected to the characters, but that didn’t completely take away from the excitement of the story.
Great job Patterson and Baker!

Favorite quote:

“While he wasn’t frightened by the unknown, he had a deep respect for it.”

[Alan Cotterell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much J.D. Barker, James Patterson, Little Brown and Company, plus NetGalley, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting and unusual plot very well written has a great pace but….. I have a major problem in that the characters are so one dimensional its untrue. Although you do get carried along with the immense pace of the story, I didn’t really care if any of them lived or died. It also quite repetitive, found myself asking, have I read that twice on several occasions

This book contains some really creative, imaginative and interesting theories, but the way it is played out left a lot to be desired, from my point of view anyway.

Really wanted to love this book, but it just didn’t quite make it. 3.5 stars.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Noise by James Patterson and J.D. Barker

Synopsis /

In the shadow of Mount Hood, sixteen-year-old Tennant is checking rabbit traps with her eight-year-old sister Sophie when the girls are suddenly overcome by a strange vibration rising out of the forest, building in intensity until it sounds like a deafening crescendo of screams. From out of nowhere, their father sweeps them up and drops them through a trapdoor into a storm cellar. But the sound only gets worse.

My Thoughts /

For a reader challenge I had to ‘read a book by an author new to you’.

This brought me to The Noise, which is the second collaboration between James Patterson and J. D. Barker, their previous effort being The Coast-to-Coast Murders (2020). While the first novel is a suspense thriller, I would describe The Noise as a medical-type thriller with strong elements of horror and hints of supernatural suspense.

And although I haven’t previously read any of his novels, the fact that Mr Patterson has authored more than 200 novels since 1976, I frankly expected better.

The Story:

Together with their parents, two sisters, Tennant and Sophie Riggin, are growing up in a reclusive survivalist community in the surrounding forests of Mount Hood, Oregon. While the girls are out hunting rabbits, a horribly painful noise erupts in the atmosphere. A strange vibration, which seems to be rising out of the forest and building in intensity, until it sounds like a deafening crescendo of screams. The girls’ quick thinking parents rush them into a storm cellar for their protection. Sealed in the comparative safety of the underground cellar, unbeknown to the two sisters, disaster strikes in the form of an unknown phenomenon that destroys everything around them and leaving them as the only survivors.

If you hear it, it’s too late.

A team of experts is quickly brought in to investigate what could have happened up there on the mountain. Psychologist Martha Chan joins the team, which includes a biologist, a climatologist, and an astrophysicist to determine what flattened part of the nearby forest and crushed all living things in that area. But before they can do much, similar incidents affect other neighbouring cities and towns as well, leaving the Government completely stunned. Why are everyday people congregating and running madly through the wilderness at speeds not humanly possible? Why are some of them suffering from temperatures normally too high to survive, and experiencing post-mortem spontaneous combustion? Why does there seem to be no solution to the problem, and why is it approaching the level of a national catastrophe?

Thoughts:

The start suggested a promising beginning but all too soon became a humdrum, repetitive experience.

There is a LARGE cast of characters to contend with. I thought it might become a little confusing, however, surprisingly, that didn’t happen. I was expecting to care for at least one of the characters….but I didn't. The character development was just so flat. I can best explain it this way - they were just props to support the story. It was all about the plot…. or should I say, NOISE. It got really old, really fast.

What was causing this phenomenon? As a reader I was expecting a tantalising bone or two to be tossed my way……nope, nothing, we are essentially given nothing as a reader to work with as we plough through the chapters – and by gosh there were a lot of them.

I was expecting an action packed ride, and I’ll give a bonus point to the author here, for it was that.

But, when you are 60 pages from the end and you read the comment “You don’t know shit, do you?” I nod in agreeance and sigh – yep, I know how you feel.

At 400+ pages this book was just too long. It was like watching the mouse in a cage on a wheel…..going around and around and around and around – never getting anywhere – just getting tired.

[Kristie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was immediately engaging. It had short chapters and a few different points of view, which kept it interesting and moving along at a fast pace. I did not want to put it down and kept wondering what was going on and what was going to happen. I love when I can't see all of the twists coming.

Early on there were a few characters introduced and it felt like a lot at once, but you quickly learn which of those characters are going to be the important players. Then, the focus of the story remains on those few characters.

There is one child in the story that comes across as pretty creepy some of the time and there is an overall feeling of danger and something impending throughout the story. If you're looking for a thriller with a touch of horror, this may work perfectly for you.

The tension in the story continued to build until the end. Unfortunately, I found the conclusion to be a bit confusing and the explanation never felt fully formed to me.

3.5★

I will continue to accept every widget and read everything I can by Barker. #TheNoise #NetGalley

Thank you to J.D. Barker, James Patterson, NetGalley, and Little, Brown and Company for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Adrian Dooley · Rating 2 out of 5]

J.D. Barker and James Patterson together again. Yes please!

Here, we are into the realm of sci-fi with The Noise.

It starts off promisingly but rather flatlines for large chunks before finally getting to its conclusion. It’s all a bit frantic and linear without being engaging.

The premise, a noise that is infecting people to a hive mentality etc is an interesting concept and the “hoard” aspect reminded me more of Clive Barker than J.D. Barker(I love Clive Barker btw)

The problem with the book is the characters are wafer thin so you care little about them. The book is also way too long for what it is. It felt extremely repetitive in parts. It’s like it’s turned up to 11 from the start and doesn’t let up. This can work extremely well if you are engaged with the characters and the story, but here I always felt I was reading from the outside with little connection to the characters and story.

There are some really interesting ideas here but unfortunately the execution left a lot to be desired for me. I’m extremely disappointed. I wanted to like this book so much.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have just finished reading The Noise by James Patterson and J.D. Barker.

WOW! What a book – I could not put it down!

This duo of very talented writers - James Patterson and J.D. Barker have done it again!!

They are favourites of mine, and their creativity and imagination never disappoint!

This is a fast pace psychological thriller/Science Fiction meets Fantasy book!

Another book that would make for a great movie script!

Taking place in the Pacific Northwest with two young sisters trapping in the forest – Then get ready!

Very unique and one of a kind storyline!!!

If you like these two authors, and who could not – read it as soon as you can!

4.5 Stars from this reader.

#TheNoise #NetGalley

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Co-written by the tag team of James Patterson and J.D. Barker, “The Noise” is a pounding thriller like that horror movie you can’t peel your eyes off of. Although the authors give the reader plenty of alternating points of view, the reader is slowly and skillfully led into it just as the characters are without much clue as to what is going on and what is coming next. And, if you like thrillers, this is just how you like it.

All set in the tranquil Pacific Northwest, which appears to be not-so-tranquil anymore, the story begins with a pair of young girls (Tennant and Sophie) whose family are off-the-grid survivalists, but nothing prepared them for what they have to survive now. Their small Mt. Hood town is ripped asunder and survival, if that’s what you are going to call it, means having everything ripped apart and blood pouring from their eyes and ears and noses. But, they seem to be the only survivors.

The scene switches to a doctor (Martha) taken out of her ordinary life with military-precision and taken by black ops helicopters to somewhere in the Northwest where something has happened. Given no information whatsoever, the doctor and a team of specialists are expected to come to some conclusions. But what they find staggers any expectations they might have. It is a phenomena that can barely be explained unless it comes from something out of this world or something that had been buried deep beneath the world for ages like a Balrog out of Lord of the Rings.

What makes this thriller work so well is that the reader is kept in mystery for much of the book just as the characters are and the reader discovers things slowly, things that do not make much sense.

It was exciting to receive an advance copy, but hard to put down even when you have a million things to do. Coming soon to a bookstore near you.

Print length: 432 pages

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Publication date August 16, 2021

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

rounded up to 4.5 stars

When I get an offer to read an upcoming J.D. Barker book, I jump on the chance! He's quickly become one of my favorite horror novelists; I think he's brilliant and will read anything he writes. Honestly, many years ago I used to read everything that James Patterson wrote but now I just stick to reading his Alex Cross series...and now anything with J.D Barker's name on it!

Sisters Tennet, age 16, and Sophie, age 8, are survivalists with their family in Mount Hood when they hear a horrifying noise and are thrown by their parents into a storm cellar for safekeeping. Yet, when they come out, their home and village are decimated, their parents and the rest of the people are missing or dead, and both girls are in terrible shape. Experts in all fields are called in to research and weigh in on the phenomenon and the destruction and more importantly, to try and stop it from happening again before it's too late.

The story is told through the multiple perspectives of several characters in short, fast-paced chapters that made it very easy to get lost in the drive, desperation, and panic that these characters were feeling. It was so easy to feel like you were in the middle of it all in their race against the clock and race against the Noise. It was so horrifying because a part of you wondered, while reading, if this could happen!

This book! I really don't know how to describe it. It's unlike anything that I've ever read before-it's part horror, part sci-fi, part dystopia, a little medical thriller crossed with disaster thriller, and then like a military thriller and political thriller had a baby together! It's completely genre-bending, so I have NO idea how to categorize it, but I do know that I enjoyed every wild, terrifying minute of it!

As always, kudos to Barker (and Patterson on this one) for writing such a dark, gruesome, superb book! Whatever Barker writes, I'll be first in line--with so many others, I know, to read it!

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

-Review posted to NetGalley, Goodreads, and Twitter on 8/12/21

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Noise is the latest collaboration between ubiquitous thriller manufacturer James Patterson and cult nightmare craftsman JD Barker, a stand-alone which mashes up sci-fi, technothriller and horror genres to produce a story strongly reminiscent of 1990s era Stephen King. Whether or not you will enjoy this depends on how strongly you value pace, action, visceral shocks and grand-scale threat, over character depth and likeability, plausibility and a rewarding ending. I’m in between both and have yet to decide whether I’m rounding my 3.5 up or down - writing this will hopefully help clarify my thoughts and feelings.

Two sisters from an isolated Oregon survivalist community are out checking their traps in the woods, when they are overcome by an excruciating sound that appears out of nowhere. Thrown into an underground bunker by their parents, they emerge once it’s over to find their village destroyed and everyone gone. Tennant, sixteen, is powerless to stop the force which overtakes eight year old Sophie, compelling her to run mindlessly at impossible speed. Captured by the army, they become the subjects of a team of diverse scientists brought in to analyse the anomaly, but it soon becomes clear that the devastation is only just beginning...

This starts with a bang, and then keeps going. Told from the perspective of various key characters, we’re drawn into the confusion and fear they experience as they witness literally unbelievable events unfold in front of them. I personally struggle with books where you have no idea what’s going on - you’re half way through before much is revealed - I always wonder what I missed. Having said that, do try to avoid spoilers to get the full impact. Is it a supernatural force, or an alien phenomenon, a vengeful deity or a human conspiracy? I was shocked but not surprised by the final reveal. The second half has some cinematic action scenes which are just crying out to be made into a movie with lots of CGI.

The biggest weakness here was the characters, and if Mr Barker (and no mistake, that’s who wrote this book, and should gain the praise for all the positives - JP just puts his name on the cover to guarantee sales) wants to follow in King’s footsteps, this is the area that needs work. They are poorly fleshed out, and hard to empathise with or relate too. Tennant earns some sympathy for her loyal defence of her sister, while Sophie is whiny and annoying from the start.
Martha has some kind of oppositional-defiant disorder that I would’ve thought would be incompatible with a medical career, let alone working with the military. Fraser is rigid and humourless and Harbin has no discernible personality at all. As for the scientists, a whole bunch are introduced, and I expected them to be killed off one at a time in interesting ways “Alien” style, but most serve little purpose in the plot, so don’t bother trying to remember who’s who.

A scenario like this was always going to be difficult to create a satisfying - let alone happy - ending for. I’m prepared to suspend disbelief in these circumstances and am not even sure what wanted to happen. While it feels incomplete, I’m not sure that a sequel could add anything worthwhile and I’m not invested enough in these characters to care about what happens next.
So would I recommend this book? Yes, with reservations. Most of my GR buddies who have read it have rated it 4 or 5 stars, and I think it depends what you’re in the mood for - I’m not a big horror fan. The premise is original, the action propulsive, the gore factor high and the denouement unpredictable, but for me personally it was less enjoyable than I had hoped, so after careful consideration I’m rounding down to 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown & Co for the ARC. I am posting this honest review voluntarily. The Noise is published on August 16th.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Noise is a psychological thriller surrounding a deadly scientific mystery told through the eyes of two young sisters living in the Oregon wilderness, the brilliant doctor trying to save them and a mystery that deepens when a destructive force begins to threaten humanity as we know it. A mysterious explosion kills thousands in the Pacific Northwest. Young sisters, 8-year-old Sophie and 16-year-old Tennant Riggin, are the only two people to withstand and survive the catastrophic blast that destroys their community, located in the shadow of Oregon's Mount Hood. The two sisters are close and have always stood together. Now, they’re the only ones left alive and must fight to stay that way. 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. If you hear it, it’s too late. Can two sisters save us all?

Terror has a new sound and it comes from the darkest corners of James Patterson's imagination. This is a riveting, deeply unsettling thriller and an amalgam of the horror, sci-fi dystopia and thriller genres and it works impeccably well. The relationship and dynamic between the two sisters is one I loved and you find yourself rooting for them and cheering them on as they roam the strange world they now inhabit all alone. It's a fast-paced, chilling read and the authors capture the eeriness superbly with each chapter fraught with tension. I don't know how they do it but they constantly blindside you with new twists, turns and red herrings, something notable happens in every single chapter and it is a cracking read that easily takes over your mind and has you feverishly flipping the pages. Patterson's books don't exactly score highly on the scale of believability, but if you can just let that go then you are treated to a raucously good read. It's compulsive and I must admit reading right through the night as all of the hints had me desperate to find out what actually happened. The casual, clipped writing style and short, snappy chapters are second to none and the pair really know how to get you hook, line and sinker within a few pages. The Noise is a dark thriller that takes hold of the emotions, defies the senses and is like nothing you’ve ever read before. Highly recommended.

[Mackey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me state up front that J.D.Barker could write a phone book and I would read it and enjoy it. I have, in the past, given his books less that five stars because I thought he could do a better job than he did - NOT because I thought he wasn't stunningly awesome. That said, I started The Noise late in the afternoon and did not put it down once, not even, until I finished late last night. I was spellbound from start to finish. As with all of Barker's books, The Noise will not appeal to everyone but it sure as hell made my day!

The Noise... two girls, part of a survivalist group in the mountains of Oregon, are the lone survivors of something that wiped out their entire village, literally everything was decimated to the ground as though a tornado had leveled it, crushing everyone and everything in its path. Except that there was no tornado, or any other weather related incident in the area. Nor were there nuclear events, military attacks nor any other reasonable explanations for the horror. Scientists are called in to study the area and the two girls - one whom appears to be fine and the other who is behaving strangely. And then it happens again in a small city just up the road from the village...

Holy. Freaking. Terrifying. You know, I don't watch movies or television, books are my thing, and I love it when books are written in such a way that I can visualize exactly how they would play out on a screen. Often what I picture in my head is far more horrifying than anything producers come up with which is why I stick to books. The Noise is a perfect illustration of this. It ticked all of the boxes for me: Disaster. Science Run Amuck. Government Gone Wrong. Barely Plausible but... what if? And then there is the ending........ they were still running... The Noise is a little Sci-fy, a little disaster thriller, a little medical thriller, so cross-genre that you can't really put it into a category at all. I loved it, obviously, and highly recommend it, especially to those who are bored to tears with most of the stuff coming out right now.

I'll also note here: You can put James Patterson's name on any book that you want. I've never been a Patterson fan and I never will be. Clinton wrote that poli-sci thriller and The Noise is all Barker from start to finish. It was the same with the last book as well. Hell, I don't even know if Patterson is still alive. Sacrilegious? IDK. IDC. I just read J.D. Barker.

[Stace · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘The Noise’ is a recently published collaboration between American-based authors, James Patterson and J D Barker. We meet Tennant and her younger sister, Sophie, who live off-grid with their parents in a small community near Mount Hood in Oregon, USA. Whilst out trapping rabbits one day, their world is suddenly turned upside down. Through a combination of good fortune and the actions of their quick-thinking father, both survive a catastrophic event which befalls their community.

A team of scientists is quickly assembled and transported to the area to identify a cause, if possible and search for any survivors. It soon becomes clear that all is not what it seems and the team are working not only against an unknown phenomenon but also an establishment who is not telling them the whole story. The scene is set for a fast-moving action-packed race against time to stop the events in Oregon being repeated.

The book is written in the past tense and the third person. Each chapter is short and named after the character whose thoughts the reader is to share. This may have changed when the book was published but I reviewed a proof copy.

Each character is fleshed out in just enough depth for their place to be anchored in the story but I didn’t find any of them over-convincing. Initially, I found there were quite a lot of cast but our main protagonists are soon apparent, with psychologist, Dr Martha Chan and career soldier, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Fraser, taking centre stage for most of the story. It is indeed fortunate that Martha is also a medical doctor and surgeon, as her skills are needed more than once. This story really isn’t for the faint-hearted.

The accuracy of the military information is no doubt correct; likewise the medical aspects of the story. These sections are not overplayed and they add to the slick presentation readers expect from anything with James Patterson’s name attached to it. There are fewer twists than I expected but arguably this is counterbalanced by a relentless momentum as the threat from the anomaly builds in strength.

A lot of research has clearly been done by one or both authors. It is a clever scenario but it is also totally bleak and with no respite from the horrors of unfolding events. The ending was odd with a new character suddenly emerging. I found ‘The Noise’ both disturbing and compelling but I didn’t actually enjoy it. Nonetheless, its nightmare possibilities dictate that objectively, I should award four-and-a-half stars for a thought-provoking and cleverly-written tale.