A REVIEW OF "THE KEY TO MIDNIGHT BY DEAN KOONTZ"
Hypnotising. That's how I would describe this thriller. The novel explores interesting concepts in a new and exciting way, from mind-control and brainwashing to memory reprogramming and hypnosis. That was what kept me glued to The Key to Midnight, one of the first books written by Dean Koontz under the pen name Leigh Nichols in 1979. Ten years later, the story is rewritten and re-released.
The book tells the story of Joanna Rand, a singer and the owner of the Moonglow Nightclub in Kyoto, Japan and Alex Hunter, millionaire owner of a private detective agency in Chicago. Hunter finds himself in the Moonglow Nightclub and is instantly captivated by the beauty and voice of Jonna Rand.
He, however, also notices a resemblance between her and a certain Lisa Chelgrin, whom he was hired to find twelve years earlier.
On the other hand, Jonna has repeated nightmares about a man with a metal hand. After she tells Alex about it, they realise, with the help of a psychiatrist, that she had been reprogrammed to live a fictitious life. She recollects how it happened and how the man with the metal hand, Dr Rotenhausen, raped her repeatedly while reprogramming her memories. They both journey to find out why her memories were tampered with.
I really like how the author describes Japanese meals with such beauty and colour. The characters are so skillfully developed that I could feel what they were feeling (their internal conflicts, pain and all that). The pacing is good, and the excitement heightens as the plot progresses.
Nonetheless, while there were some great plot twists at the end, I do not think they were good enough. I also do not think this novel qualifies as suspense. The Key to Midnight was a good read, nonetheless, and would I recommend it? YES. I'll give the book a 6.5/10 rating: it explores concepts I find interesting, the characters are well written and have a somewhat happy ending.
