FBI | My Haunted Library

Myrmecophobic? Invasive is your worst nightmare. Then again, a little exposure therapy may help you overcome that crippling fear of ants…

Invasive—Chuck Wendig, 2016. Rating: 4/5

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The discovery of a body that has been gruesomely skinned by a swarm of new and deadly ants has the FBI calling in futurist consultant, Hannah Stander. Hannah, daughter of paranoid, prepper parents, believes that the future is a door towards which two opposing forces of humanity are rushing: either evolution or ruination will enter first and determine the fate of mankind. With help from an entomologist friend, Hannah tracks this assassination by ants to a genetics research company run by billionaire entrepreneur and save-the-planet crusader, Einar Geirsson. Hannah travels to the lab’s headquarters on a remote Pacific island where elite scientists work at genetically modifying insects to combat global issues of hunger and climate change. Hannah must suppress her own fears and suss out the charming Einar and resentful scientists before the murderer escalates to omnicide. Meanwhile, a powerful storm is approaching. And so are the ants.

Invasive is a dynamite technothriller: a suspenseful, chilling look at the razor’s edge on which humanity balances. One scientific step too far—or one rogue scientist, well-meaning or otherwise—can bring about the end of the world, or its salvation. Possibly both. The mystery is tight and twisty, the science terrifying, and the non-stop action—though it occasionally requires a significant suspension of disbelief—keeps pages flying. Hannah is a complex heroine. Thanks to her survivalist upbringing, Hannah is tougher than the average bear, but her childhood has left her emotionally scarred and vulnerable. Having been raised to fear the future, she suffers from panic attacks. Her relationship with her mother is fraught, and consequently Hannah avoids her parents—an action that has a crushing effect.

Those of you with any kind of insect squeamishness beware: Invasive will push all your buttons. I don’t generally mind ants. These ants are horrifying. Expect some (a lot) of grisly “can’t unsee” scenes. I am glad I read this when there is a foot of snow outside. Fantastic read.

The Silent Corner – Dean Koontz, 2017.

Jane Hawk is a now-rogue FBI agent who has gone off grid and into the silent corner in this tense and timely thriller.

In the wake of her husband’s unexpected suicide, Jane discovers that a rapidly rising number of happy, well-adjusted professionals are killing themselves – and leaving very strange notes.

Following the barest of clues, Jane latches onto the trail of a monstrous conspiracy that is already altering the future of the human race in unspeakable ways.

Jane’s got grit, guts, and goodness on her side, but the high-powered cabal she’s gunning for has unlimited resources, power, and connections at its disposal. Alone and pursued, Jane fights for herself, her son, and for the soul of humanity.

With The Silent Corner, Koontz gives us a cautionary techno-thriller with heart. Jane is a strong heroine. Tough. Skilled. She’s not afraid to use force, even though it comes with an emotional price. She’s also self-reflective, pondering the nature of good and evil when her discoveries shake her worldview. Fortunately, a handful of surprising and quirky allies along the way work to mend Jane’s faith in people.

Throughout all the chases, gunfire, daring escapes and infiltrations, Koontz takes time to reveal gently, with reverence, the amazing gift that life is and the beauty of world we live in. His writing, as always, speaks to the heart. There are moments of description in The Silent Corner so concisely and perfectly beautiful, you will pause to read them again before being swept into Jane’s next white-knuckle crisis.

The Silent Corner rockets along, building to a heck of a climax and…leaves us with a cliffhanger. Arrgh! I ordered the next book in the series about five minutes after I finished this one.