Rating: 
Summary: A different type of Koontz novel...
Review: Joanna Rand left America ten years ago, and is now the owner of a nightclub in Kyoto, Japan. The one thing that she could not leave behind however, is a terrifying nightmare that she has on a nightly basis involving a man with steel fingers. When Joanna wakes up, she feels physically violated and terrified beyond comprehension. A private detective named Alex Hunter is vacationing in Kyoto and becomes instantly captivated with Joanna. However, he also knew that he had seen Joanna before in news photographs of a senator's daughter who had dissapeared 10 years ago. Alex becomes determined to help awaken Joanna to the fact that she is not who she thinks she is, and that her life, her memories, and her mind had been created for her.The Key to Midnight is definately a different type of Koontz novel. He usually specializes in horror and suspense. That is why I was very unsure about reading this book. However, as soon as I began, I knew that it would turn out to be one of the best Koontz books that I ever read. The book is an extremely well written and action packed chase novel. The story is paced extremely well because you learn about Joanna's past and why her life was messed with, slowly over the course of the story. You are also kept on the edge of your seat, because there are many different people who do not want Joanna to discover the truth. This book really emphasizes the phrase "trust no one" because anybody could be in on it. Koontz also does a wonderful job of illustrating the different countries that the story takes place in. Overall, The Key to Midnight is one of Koontz's best books. It is an action packed chase novel filled with paranoia, conspiracies, and many great characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Bad at All .......
Review: Koontz tries his hand at the spy and detective genres in this wild, twisting yarn about a detective who takes a job for a sleazy Senator and blunders into Things Better Left Alone. While its no *Manchurian Candidate,* its quite a bit better than average paperback paranoia stimulator; featuring a scary top-secret research foundation dealing in government corruption, mind control drugs other nasty things. It was the Soviets in the original version, but since he updated the plot for the 90s, he had to make it a former KGB project turned private project with lots of political and financial clout worldwide. I'd give the story itself 3 stars, but the excellent writing and realistic international settings push it well into the 4-star range.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Reccomended!!!
Review: Let me start off by saying that this is one of Koont's best novles ever, if anyone thinks differently than they must have been reading a different novel! THE KEY TO MIDNIGHT was filled with laughs, drama, love, and of course as in most Koontz books..chilling nail-biting horror. The Key to midnight took place in Japan unlike the usual Southern California area where most of his books take place. This might be the reason some people didnt like it...well it's not like the talk jappenese so who cares where the story takes place it is still great! The book is about A woman that keeps on having the same horrifying dream every night. You'll see why after finishing the epic classic, THE KEY TO MIDNIGHT. If you enjoyed THE KEY TO MIDNIGHT consider reading STRANGERS by Dean Koontz.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Lost a few nights of sleep on this one. Koontz does it again.
Rating:
Summary: Dean Koontz At His Best
Review: Mr. Koontz originally wrote this book under the pseudonym of Leigh Nichols (I didn't even know he had one). As Mr. Koontz explains at the end of the book, he spent quite a lot of time editing this book prior to re-releasing it under his name. This book was definitely Koontz at his best. Though not your typical Dean Koontz plot, he did a wonderful job crossing in the the Spy Novel Genre. I read this book in one day on the beach. I found it to be wonderfully written, and I really liked the characters. I was certainly surprised to find out who was and wan not one of the bad guys. Boy did it fool me. Some of the characters I expected to be corrupt wern't and some that I expected not to be were. The plot unfolds in Japan, and ends in Switzerland. Mr. Koontz does a great job of describing these locations without getting lengthy and boring yet making them colorful. If you like Dean Koontz, don't leave this book off of your must read list. I have read many of Mr. Koontz's novels and I rank this as one of his best.
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Summary: One of the most stunning & breath-taking horror novels ever
Review: Ok - I know what your thinking - surely not, "The Key to Midnight"...one of the best horror novels ever made??? Well yes - I think so, read it then try criticising it - you can't - I guarantee it. The characters are near perfect - Alex Hunter, Joanna Rand they've got depth and elements within them we all want to have. The settings - Kyoto, Japan..Switzerland..The United Kingdom all perfectly fit the atmospheric tale that spreads around the world - even LA gets it's usually Dean Koontz mention. The real brilliance of this novel is the fact that it has some many elements - so many layers. It's got horror, action, adventure and romance - it's got everything, it ranks highly amongst Koontz's best work in fact it surpasses it.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a re-run in print.
Review: Take one part 'The House of Thunder' (beautiful woman, mysterious past, political intrigue). Add a dash of 'Strangers' (science used to play with people's minds). Mix in two scoops of 'The Door to December' (abusive parent of main character). Blend generously with 'Whispers' (in the course of solving the mystery, hero and heroine fall in love and have wild passionate sex). Bake in hot publishing oven. Serves millions
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Novel; but New Version has disappointing changes
Review: THE KEY TO MIDNIGHT is an excellent spy thriller, but it is absolutely and only a story that makes sense when set during the Cold War. The original novel was one of my favorites (and it was set in the 1970's with the actual Soviet Government as the bad guys). I'm glad to see it come back in print, but quite frankly, I'm not happy with the "time warp." It should NOT be set in the 1990's anymore than the MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE should be. Since when does "back in print" necessarily mean "set in the present"? All this said, I still recommend it! The detective and the nightclub singer are compelling charactes, the international locales are WONDERFUL (especially Kyoto), and the bad guys are very, very scary.
Rating: 
Summary: Twists keep this thriller mostly afloat
Review: The rich and successful private eye Alex Hunter, who doesn't yet know what love is, visits a night club in Kyoto, starts to fall for the Anglo proprietor/singer Joanne Reed, and then realizes she is the daughter of a U.S. Senator, abducted 12 years ago, whom he was unable to locate back then. Reed is really someone quite different, as far as she knows. But then why does she have creepy nightmares every night about a guy with metal fingers and a hypodermic needle? And why is Kyoto all of a sudden the site of the world burglars, sneaks, and thugs convention, all of whom are practicing on Alex? We learn two things about the senator very quickly: (a) while serving in Viet Nam he was held prisoner by the Reds and then miraculously escaped, and (b) Alex doesn't like him. This will start off some trains of thought if you are like me, and the words "Manchurian Candidate" may even come to mind. I should point out, though, that Koontz (as he points out in an afterword) has extensively rewritten this book for the post-Soviet era, so it's not going to be quite that simple. If "House of Thunder" is an example of what his old Cold War pseudonymous novels were like before he rewrote them, it's probably good he did. On the con side, the writing tends to be a big clunky and non-atmospheric, and some of the action sequences read like they are verbal descriptions of what he was hoping the movie would be like, which is not the same as good writing even if it would be a good movie. Also, some of the plot devices are implausible, while the motives of some of the characters are hard to explain: in particular there are several people who have every chance to just kill off Alex before he causes any trouble, and I don't know why they don't. And there is some "talking villain" stuff. Back on the pro side, there are enough plot twists to keep you somewhat fooled until pretty late in the game. The love story is a lot like 15 other Koontz love stories, but it has its sweet side. And he writes about Kyoto as if he knew the place, at least from the viewpoint of someone like me who doesn't. When all is said and done, despite its flaws, and despite the fact that I hate Koontz's politics as much as he hates mine, I have to give it three stars, which is not a bad rating coming from me. Actually it's a better 3-star volume than Darkfall. I won't reread it, and I'm glad I didn't pay money for it, but I don't feel as if reading it was an unenjoyable waste.
Rating:
Summary: One of Koontz's best ever.
Review: This book is a fast paced tale about cover ups, mind tampering and love. Once it takes off, it is hard to put it down. The story of Joanna Rand/Lisa Chelgrin is spun in an artful and suspenseful way. I recommend this book to any hardcore Dean Koontz fan and anyone else who likes mystery
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