Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - The Key to Midnight

The Key to Midnight
The Key to Midnight
Author: Dean Koontz
Joanna Rand left America almost ten years ago to become a singer in a Japanese nightclub. Still, she can never escape the strange dream that has haunted her night after night: a single, disturbing image of a man with steel fingers, reaching for a hypodermic syringe. When she awakens, she feels violated, used--and terrified. Alex Hunter desperate...  more »
ISBN: 123208
Publication Date: 1995
Pages: 300
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 3

4 stars, based on 3 ratings
Publisher: Berkley Books
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Key to Midnight on
Helpful Score: 4
Very good book. Not one of the very best, but not the worst by Koontz. It is somewhere in the middle.
reviewed The Key to Midnight on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Dean Koontz deals in horror--the horror of the mind. Are those real memories, or just a recurring nightmare? Read this one in a pleasant place, when you're not alone.
reviewed The Key to Midnight on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Oooohhhh Koontz is one freaky dude! Chilling!
reviewed The Key to Midnight on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is a tightly written book about brainwashing. It a fast paced page turner.
reviewed The Key to Midnight on + 21 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
a classic work of fiction. chilling
Read All 37 Book Reviews of "The Key to Midnight"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

reviewed The Key to Midnight on
Another good one by Koontz.
IllOU1book avatar reviewed The Key to Midnight on + 12 more book reviews
This book has been all but rewritten. reflects his aged and total ability to hold ones interest and is as smooth as butter when it switches from scean to scean thus a joy to read. The suspense and solutions are just right. All of the elements are taken on and leaves nothing uncovered. you will fully enjoy this book.
One exciting stem-winder,'many keys to midnight', or 'roll back time' ... maybe, 'dreams without memory,' any of those could have been a title for this book. A grand read, nearly an experience.
reviewed The Key to Midnight on + 579 more book reviews
joanna rand was not who she thought she was, and there was only one way to unlock the dark secret of her soul. the key to midnight, alex delaware
luv2cnewthings avatar reviewed The Key to Midnight on + 55 more book reviews
I read "The Key to Midnight" during hurricane Sandy (Oct. 30, 2012) and during the nor'easter almost a week later.

You (the reader) follow Joanna and Alex on a wild goose chase almost all over the world in order to find out ALL the information. First and foremost, what was done to Joanna? Naturally followed by why and by whom?

Coincidentally, it all starts when Alex decides to take a month long vacation in Japan. One of his first stops: Gion. More specifically, the Moonglow Lounge where he discovers one of his unsolved cases walking, talking, and singing in front of him.

Again, all coincidence...or so it seems.

* * *

After all is said and done have to admit it was an entertaining read. I felt small parts were dated and expected, but then it was printed in 1975, 1995 and again in 2010.

Two teeny, tiny points that are slightly unnerving. First, the ultimate bad guys are power hungry and sexual sadists. Second...I'm still questioning whether or not that counts as a "happy ending." Unfortunately, this might be a biased thought since I'm one of those "Disney Programmed" people!

Last and pretty much the least - if you were happy with the book don't read the "new afterward." However, if you agree with my programming and need a good laugh or a happy ending after the read then by all means read the "new afterward."
zengirl avatar reviewed The Key to Midnight on + 6 more book reviews
I had a hard time putting this book down! I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.
dhipwell avatar reviewed The Key to Midnight on + 2 more book reviews
I enjoyed this book very much. A little graphic with some of the violence, but not too bad. I'd read another Dean Koontz book.
Uyulala avatar reviewed The Key to Midnight on + 16 more book reviews
Unpredictable and tense, Koontz' first "stab at an action-suspense romance novel with a background of international intrigue" is a page-turner. Even when you suspect you might be able to predict what's happening, Koontz ensures you'll never figure out the whole of it.

Cautionary note for sensitive readers: a rape scene is described; even without the detail found in other books, it is disturbing.

The afterword in the 1995 edition (released under Koontz, not the pseudonym Leigh Nichols) provides a short, humorous look at the author's thoughts of himself and is a delightful way to finish.

Book Wiki

People/Characters
Joanna Rand (Primary Character)
Alex Hunter (Primary Character)
Thomas Chelgrin (Major Character)
The "Steel" Hand (Major Character)
Anson Peterson (Average Character)
(Show all 9 People/Characters)

Genres: