In the fifth installment of an ongoing story (The Forbidden Door, 2018, etc.), wrongly dishonored FBI agent Jane Hawk faces her worst fear in her lonely fight against an evil male conspiracy embedded in the halls of power: the abduction of her son, Travis.The ruthless enemy, called the Techno Arcadians, have been scrubbing people of their memories and their identities with nanotech implants and turning many of them into robotic servants and sex slaves. To keep Travis safe while she goes after them, doing all she can to evade their sophisticated surveillance systems, Hawk has hidden him with friends in Arizona. Beautiful, brilliant, and supertough, she gains a valuable running partner in lovable pal Vikram Rangnekar, a recently resigned FBI employee who has acquired a pile of government secrets with his "back door" hacking skills. While they pursue the baddies, Jane in her latest disguise, the billionaire behind the conspiracy hunts a young filmmaker he has enticed to his Colorado spread for sport, la "The Most Dangerous Game," only on snowmobiles. The crowded plot also features an Arcadian "missionary for the truth of random cruelty" who is after Vikram and a mob-connected misfit who has his own reasons for going after Travis. The book could stand to lose one of its narratives (and stay more with Hawk), and Koontz tends to take too long to do something with a plot point. But this is still the best installment in the series since the first. Vikram, who has an impossible crush on Hawk, is a very good addition. And there are some neat gadgets to ponder, including camera-operated facial recognition eyeglasses (though the book contradicts itself on how quickly they can establish a match). Just when it seemed like Koontz had run out of gas with this quickly knocked-out road series (it debuted with The Silent Corner in 2017), he revs it up with entertaining encounters and offbeat humor. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Can it be true? Is this really the final novel about FBI Agent Jane Hawk and her single-minded pursuit of the conspirators who murdered her husband and who are plotting to take over the world? It sure looks like it. While readers might be disappointed that this intense, captivating series is ending after only five books, they will surely be thrilled by the way Koontz orchestrates the spectacular finale to Jane's story. Knowledge of the first four books in the series is pretty much mandatory here; the author frequently alludes to people or events from the earlier novels without full clarification. On the other hand, this drama-filled conclusion, in which Jane reaches a final confrontation with the cabal she has been stalking through the previous volumes, will hit series fans with all the impact of a carefully calibrated hammer blow. Koontz's writing style has evolved over the years he published his first novel 50 years ago and the Hawk novels feature some of his finest, most elegant prose. The Night Window is a fitting conclusion to Jane's story, but readers will no doubt find themselves wishing this superb series could continue for another five volumes. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This just in: the High Commissioner of Language has officially declared that the word Koontz can be used as a synonym for high demand.--David Pitt Copyright 2019 Booklist