THE NOISE

SYNOPSIS

If you hear it, it’s too late. 

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.

Title: The Noise

Author: James Patterson & J.D. Barker

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Publication date: August 16, 2021

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐

I’ve been a huge fan of J.D. Barker since I first read his 4MK trilogy a couple of years back. I love how he doesn’t stick to a genre and jumps from police procedurals to action packed thrillers or stories with a touch of sci-fi or supernatural (She has a broken thing where her heart should be was one of my favorite books last year). 

In his latest collab with James Patterson (how many words did he actually write besides his name on the cover?) a noise of unknown origin cause chaos and destruction in a small survivalists community. A teenager and her little sister are the only survivors but the small one is showing some weird behavior . Who or what caused the noise and how did it kill dozens of people without leaving almost a trace? Enter a team of scientist recruited to find out what happened in a race against time before the noise repeats itself and you have an action packed story with an original premise.

I gotta say I think the idea was fantastic and the first half was quite disturbing as the fear of another event unleashing at any moment was really palpable. On the contrary, I found the second half really repetitive and a bit long (I got physically tired reading so much about all those people running!). 

The pace was relentless and that didn’t allow for much character development. They felt all a bit one dimensional. We’re first presented with lots of characters, which I had to make an effort to try and remember who they all were and what they did, for them to suddenly disappear for the rest of the story.

The novel presented some interesting theories but be ready to suspend your disbelief. I’m still not sure about the ending but with such an unconventional premise I’m not sure what would have been a truly satisfying ending.

Although not my favorite J.D. Barker book, it still had some enjoyable moments and I will read anything he comes out with.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company  for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.