Sophie and Tennant, two young girls who's family lives off the grid on a remote mountain, are caught up in an explosion but survive as their parents push them into a safety cellar they had built. When they emerge, Sophie is not herself, but nor is anyone else in the vicinity as they are hearing a noise that drives them to run - over streams, throwing themselves off chasms and generally appearing to lose all sense.

Dr Chan is one of a number of 'experts' recruited by the government to find out what is happening, and stop it. However, it soon becomes clear that they are dealing with an exceptional phenomenon likely to change all life on earth.

Up to here I was enjoying the book - Sophie was making pronouncements in an 'other worldly' voice, the team of specialists was under attack as the noise increased and threatened to draw them all in. Then it began to lose me. I was supremely irritated that the President insisted that the army could not fire on 'American citizens' as if somehow they were superior beings to be preserved at all costs, but firing on any other nationalities was fair game. Which was rather two-faced given the eventual origin of this disaster. I also felt towards the end that the authors had rather painted themselves into a corner, and the final chapters did little to tie the story up for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Noise terrified me - it was a book I couldn't put down, mainly as I was too scared and just needed to know what happened! But it was also addictive, fast-paced and a thrilling read. Just don't read it before you sleep!

Now this pains me greatly bit this is one of the first ever JP novels that I haven't given the full 5* treatment to!

Whilst, as expected, the execution, the character development and actual writimg style were spot on, I just found the while storyline a bit bizarre. It felt more like a book from JPs Daniel X series, which is the only series I don't particularly like.

I hadnt heard of the author JD Barker previously but have since looked him up and you can see where his influence shines through in this novel.

It does feel quite repetitive at times and my interest did waver for the first time in all the years I have been reading JP but I had to keep going, I had to know what the end result was so it did grab my attention and hold it for the majority.

Unfortunately I do think that I would bypass any other books that collaborated with Barker, purely for the fact I'm not a sci fi fan at all.

3.5* 😰

Huge thanks to netgalley and Random House UK for the ARC.

This book is way too long. I was excited for it - and there was a long going on BUT the characters. Who are they? There is no real substance to them, which kind of ruins a book for me when it's about people and what they are experiencing. If I can't feel it, I can't see it happening.

A let down for me

Sadly, I found this book dreadful. It crosses a science fiction and post apocalyptic genre. It was so far-fetched and went on way too long. I was surprised at this being by such a prominent author. Not his finest work at all.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for giving me this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I'm a big fan of disaster/horror movies so this book was right up my street. I loved the chaos and confusion, the fear of the unknown, the race against time. I enjoyed seeing the teams of experts brought in to analyse the "anomaly", as they call it, and seeing the process they follow as they try to understand what's happening. The action starts straight away and the reader is propelled along at breakneck speed through short, snappy chapters. Pure popcorn reading!

Tennant and her younger sister Sophie are seemingly the only survivors of a strange noise that engulfs everything around them - only alive because there father dropped them down into a cellar. There is nothing left…

I love JP books but this one was one I really struggled with.

The Noise is a mystery thriller about a phenomenon connected to a noise that causes catastrophes.
I was really drawn by the premise, which has some similarities with another book that I really liked - Border Post by Dimitry Glukhovsky (not sure if that ever came out in English, original title Пост in Russian).
The Noise turned out to be a bit of a slow burner for a thriller, which I didn't necessarily love, so it took me a while to get through the book - sometimes nothing happened for a while and my interest would diminish. But the characters and premise kept drawing me back in.
The ending was decent for a sci-fi/fantasy book, it wasn't my favourite and I expected something a bit different, but I was more or less satisfied, which is much more than I can say for many books in the same genre from the last years.
I genuinely recommend the book if it seems like something up your alley - it's pretty realistic, it's a curious story and a very good idea overall.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for providing me with an free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.*

An explosion rips through the heart of a little settlement in rural Oregon leaving only two survivors, sisters Sophie and Tennant.
How did they survive, is the question a group of the best minds in the country have been asked to find out?
The results are incredibly complex and, after rigorous studies of both girls, it seems they have a bigger problem than they could ever imagine. It all started with the explosion which has resulted in a noise that is controlling everyone that hears it and the noise is spreading quickly causing death and carnage as the people infected do nothing but run destroying everything in their wake. Could one of the sisters have the answer to solve this catastrophic problem before it takes over the whole country?
An mind blowing story that is fast paced, tense and immensely terrifying. A novel that flows brilliantly with a cast of characters that are captivating throughout and an ending that will blow the reader’s mind. This book its unputdownable and one I highly recommend.

Ok I’ll admit it, I’m a massive JP fan........it’s started with The Women’s Murder Club and an affair with Alex Cross soon started!

Anyway back to the point.......The Noise.......what can I say! I was unprepared for this book, it was nothing like any of the previous JPs I’ve read. So the plot is basically an out of control mob that cannot stop running, they don’t stop for any obstacles, including people, buildings, rivers etc. They seem physically unable to stop and also unaware of any injuries they pick up on the way. Death is the only way out

Scientists and researchers and experts in various fields plus the US Army are brought in to figure out the problem and how to save the population as it seems as soon as the zombie like mob gets close to others they are infected too, the crowd grows bigger and closer to major US cities.

The cause of the problem seems to be a noise that controls the people. Two survivors of a town that was flattened by the crowd as they were in an underground cellar are studied. The younger sister Sophie seems to be more affected by the noise than her sister Tennant. The team of experts use the two girls to learn about what is controlling them and how to over come the hold it has on people.

I did enjoy this book, If I had the time I would have read it all in one sitting. It is the first time I’ve had to put a book down as I became uneasy, probably because I was reading it at night in the dark in an unfamiliar room while we were away for the weekend!!

It did feel like the characters could have been developed a bit more, especially in regards to the ‘experts’. Also some of the behaviours the younger sister Sophie exhibited seemed to be more for shock value rather than context but overall I did find the book very intriguing! It kept my interest in a sense that I wanted to get to the end quickly to see what happened!

4 stars given as I felt some things could be better, With the exception of the sisters none of the other characters were really developed as much as I would have liked, also with each chapter of the book was written from a different persons perspective I found myself having to flick back to the beginning of each chapter quite often to remind myself which characters point of view we were reading about

May thanks to NetGalley for this arc! It

A gripping thriller, which kept me reading long after I had intended to put the book down. It's not the greatest work of literature, but definitely a great read.

A group of experts are taken to a remote area usually inhabited by survivalists where an inexplicable event has taken place. They will discover the explanation may involve something more than human intervention.
I am a huge fan of James Patterson and his co author J Barrett and this story didn’t disappoint. If you are anything like me you will find it hard to put this one down.
This book isn’t about a marathon but I will never be able to look at a large group of runners in the same way again! Terror does have a new sound and it comes from this book! This is my number 1 page turning thriller for 2021.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free uncorrected advance proof of the ebook in return for an honest review.

The story starts with two sisters Tennant and Sophie who are in a cellar. Their poppa had locked them in there to try and keep them safe. They are the only two people to withstand a massive explosion that destroys their community. What is the Noise? This book is quite scary but very enjoyable unlike anything i had ever read before.

Rounded up from around 4.5 stars ⭐️ I’ve never before read a book like this one but I absolutely loved it.

Two young sisters find themselves caught up in a whirlwind when a sudden loud noise alters their lives. The noise follows the perspectives of five of the people caught up in this mysterious anomaly.

I’ve been desperately hunting for a spooky/horror book for the autumn months and the beginning of this book absolutely gave me that. I didn’t want to put it down, but was also nervous to keep reading! I absolutely love books from multiple points of view when they are done well. This book did it seamlessly and it really helped add depth to the complicated scenario. Seeing the anomaly from all different perspectives was so enjoyable.

I’ve never before read a book that seemed to combine so many genres but it worked so well. It also didn’t feel completely outlandish which added an additional ominous layer to the book. The only reason I deducted half a star was because I wasn’t fully sold on the ending, I don’t know what I had expected but I almost wanted something slightly more. I also would have loved to have known all of the characters a little deeper, they almost seemed one dimensional. Luckily, I loved the storyline so much that these little gripes didn’t do much to dampen my enjoyment!

I would recommend this book to any horror/thriller fans who fancy an added layer of sci-fi. I want to thank Netgalley, Random House UK and James Patterson & J.D. Barker for allowing me to read this book and give my personal thoughts.

Really good read - and a different type of post apocalyptic kind of tale. A little scary really in that you could almost imagine this happening. Well written and keeps you engaged right to the end.

A different kind of story but intriguing none the less. Characters are interesting and the plot complex. How do you even imagine something like this. A good read.

An odd but compelling tale very well written and would make a great film. Would love a proper epilogue

This book didn't feel like a James Patterson novel but rather like a mix between Stephen King and Michael Crichton. A very mysterious thing, noticeable by a strange sound, either kills people immediately or turns them literally into 'walking deads'.

Since the reader wasn't any wiser than all the experts that were gathered to analyze the anomaly it was very suspenseful from the very beginning until the end. What is this noise, why is it happening, and the most pressing question: how can it be stopped?
My only criticism is: it could have been a bit shorter or a bit more condensed in the last third of the story. There we have just more of the same, and a tiresome way until the final.

I may not be a huge Patterson fan as I honestly think he's a bad writer, but from time to time I enjoy picking up his books as they're sort of palete cleansers for me. They're fast reads, you don't have to think much. Sometimes one just needs a book like that, so sue me.
I was intrigued withe The Noise blurb, it honestly sounded interesting an and I thought "we'll it's not like JP wrote it, he probs just put his name on it" so I thought i'd give it a go.
That was a mistake.
Every chapter was a chore. I swear, it took me forever to read it.
The characters are wafer thin, I didn't care for any of them.
The writing is disjointed, dialogues feel forced and unnatural.

Unfortunately this whole book was just a waste of time

I have read a lot of James Patterson's books, enjoyed most of them but The Noise was a weird departure for him. A collaboration with a horror writer meant some of the story and characters were rushed and off balanced. The ending was unsatusfactory.