The Crooked Staircase, book three in Koontz's Jane Hawk series, has all the action, intrigue and delightfully sinister psychopaths as the first two but this one ramps up the intensity of the drama even more as Jane's young son and his caretakers are forced to go on the run when the secret organization working to enslave all of society finally locates his whereabouts. Koontz continues to do a masterful job of introducing new and interesting characters that add depth and richness to the series even as you mentally cringe at some of their actions. I've always been a Koontz fan but this series is some of his finest work as he taps into all our fears about the invasiveness of modern technology in our everyday lives.

The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz is by far the darkest thriller I've read in awhile. That's a good thing...however, there was not a ray of sunshine in this book. I felt like any hope for the main protagonist and her son were none to slim. There should have been a feeling of a fifty-fifty chance that Hope was possible for them. The bad guys were looming over them like giants. It felt as though they had already lost way before I got too deep into the plot.

The protagonist, Jane, has potential as being well-liked. I liked her personality and determination to win even if there was not any chance of coming out alive. She made me want to believe that there was a rainbow at the end...yet, I got more danger than I bargained for instead. Dark, intense, and deadly...just one wrong move and it felt that the whole book could have ended a lot sooner than it did.

The suspense was great. Dean Koontz definitely knew how to wield power of intrigue and fear into his readers. I was frightened enough that I wouldn't want to read this novel twice. But it was good. Those who are always searching for that darker, more powerful thriller...this is it!

3.5-stars

This is the 3rd book in the Jane Hawk series that I have read. I loved the first two. This one moved a bit slower for me, but I still enjoyed it immensely. The book centered around 3 main plot points. Most of these plots seem to be setting us up for the 4th book in the series. The book had plenty of action and plenty of areas that kept the reader on edge. I love the main character. She is very strong and no BS, but there is also a sentimental, empathetic side to her. Another great addition to this series. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.

What if there was a vast conspiracy aimed at keeping humanity enslaved by killing off the best and the brightest? What if your husband, a decorated Marine combat veteran killed himself for no reason? What if you are an FBI agent, trained to notice anomalies? And you are determined to bring down the cabal directing this conspiracy? You would be Jane Hawk, former FBI agent and now America's most wanted. She has killed her way through the top ranks of the Techno Arcadians, who conspire to keep mankind subjugated. But like the Hydra, new heads keep popping up. This installment of the saga features a brother and sister Indian-American writing team who are brought under the cruel control of the Techno Arcadians and perform a spectacular murder-suicide and Jane kidnaps one of the prime directors of the movement in an attempt to find out more about the conspiracy. But, Jane's son's life may be jeopardy as the friends who are keeping him have to go on the run. Breath-taking pacing keeps the reader turning pages long into the night.

Dean Koontz is my favorite author and Jane Hawk is a great, strong female character. I loved The Whispering Room and couldn't wait for this one. I just wish there had been a little more action. My mind wandered a bit during the interrogation of Booth at the funeral home.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for this title - thank you! I was so enthralled in this plot that I actually became suspicious when a car drove too slowly down my street. I was panicking over the fate of Jesse and Gavin and Travis - will they be ok? Read the book! Hopefully Koontz will wrap this up in the next installment because I don't think I can take anymore!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2339507505

I wasn't so sure that I was going to think much of this book because I didn't particularly like the 2nd in this Jane Hawk series. I WAS WRONG!!!!!!! This is a fast paced, action filled thriller that I had a hard time putting down.

The Jane Hawk series must be read in order to be able to weave your way through effortlessly. I am looking forward to #4.

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House/Bantam books for this advanced readers copy.

Didn't know this was from a series and I haven't read the rest yet... so can't read this... sorry!

Koontz never disappoints! The Jane Hawk series is my favorite work of his. So hard to put it down. I couldn't wait for this next chapter of her story and I'm so thankful that I didn't have to, thanks to Netgalley!

While I enjoyed the first two books of the Jane Hawk saga, I was disappointed in “The Crooked Staircase”. It reminded me of a “filler episode” of my favorite television series, where the showrunners don’t want the plot to progress much so they throw in whatever stalling mechanisms they can to lead up to a penultimate and finale climax episode.

There’s a secondary plot involving writer twins that has nothing to do with Jane except to waste pages to show what we already know – the bad guys can inject lethal weapons to alter brain activity and consciousness. It was never clear why the twins were weapons, how their writing was so subversive to the bad guys. So many pages are wasted on this storyline so that by the time we got to their final manipulated rampage, I had lost interest.

My major complaint is the mood of doom and gloom throughout this novel. While the previous books had me cheering for Jane and her clever tactics, in this book she goes as low as they have to gain intel from one of their own. We spend hours in the car with an Arcadian leader whining about his “mommy issues”, and I lost interest again. When we get to the “crooked staircase”, I admit I skimmed through just to get to the end to see if Jane gets out intact.

While the Washingtons, who are safely harboring Jane’s son, Travis, are supposed to be highly intelligent, military trained and always alert, they do something that makes no sense and is totally uncharacteristic, that it appears to just be thrown in with no motivation except as a plot device to hurry things along.
I am unaware of how long Koontz is planning to keep this saga going. As trilogies seem to be the current trend, I thought this was the end. Not so – warning to readers. There’s another cliffhanger at the end.

Thank you NetGalley for offering this ARC. I wish I had liked it better.

Another great addition to the Jane Hawk series - looking forward to the next!

I didn't realise that I had not read book 2 in the series but as I had really enjoyed book 1 and I started to read this one, it was good enough that I didn't want to put it down and go get book 2...So I kept reading and enjoyed the book.
A great techno/thriller story that continues where book 2 leaves off and thankfully book 4 will continue from where this one ends - incidentally I was not happy with the ending - a cliff hanger like the season ending of your favourite tv show and a long wait until the next episode is available.....

As per the other books, there is quite a bit of violence in this book so not for the faint of heart!
Now I'm off to go read book 2 and hopefully it won't be too confusing knowing what the future holds!

I have mentioned in other reviews how big of a Dean Koontz fan I am. So I am not going to bore you all with my gushing over his books. Let it be known that I love his books. The Crooked Staircase is no exception. I was on the edge of my seat while reading it. Very rarely does a book make me sit on the edge of my seat and keep me there the entire book.

The Crooked Staircase is the 3rd book in the Jane Hawk series. The plot is continuous from the other books in the series. Jane is tracking down the top member of the secret cabal that is orchestrating murder/suicides all over the country. She has tracked down the top two members of this cabal and she is determined to find out what started this. Meanwhile, Gavin and Jesse are still protecting Travis. But, the cabal has found out where he is hiding. It is a race to rehide Travis. With the cabal breathing down their necks, Gavin and Jesse hide in the last place that anyone would expect.

I like Jane. I thought she was pretty good at keeping two steps ahead of the cabal. She had what seemed like an endless supply of burner phones, identities, and cars that didn’t rely on GPS. I did liken her to Wonder Woman during the middle of the book. She didn’t quit. She also was like quicksilver. The cabal couldn’t catch her, even though she did have a few close calls.

Can something become even eviler? Because the cabal reached new heights of evilness in this book. I can’t even explain it because I am still reeling from some of the things that they did. I loved it. I also liked that the real figurehead, Anabel, was introduced. I am looking forward to seeing where her character is going and what she will do.

Travis, Gavin and Jesse’s storyline was as good as Jane’s. Gavin and Jesse were tough cookies. They were prepared for anything. I wasn’t ready for what happened in their storyline. I can’t get into it but I was pretty shocked by what happened.

The twins’ storyline confused me at first. While I was confused by the storyline, I was upset when it ended. Very upset because I thought the twins had a chance. But, there is also something in that storyline that made me go “Hmmm“. It was at that point where I understood why the author chose to include them in the book.

I did wonder where the characters from book 2 disappeared too. I thought that they would be mentioned. That drove me nuts. I hope that they are in the next book. Because I need closure.

The end of the book was great. Everything was left up in the air. The author left me wondering “What will happen now”

What I liked about The Crooked Staircase:

A) It is scary intense and action-filled

B) Well developed characters

C) Great plotlines

What I disliked about The Crooked Staircase:

A) The twins storyline. Didn’t get it at first

B) Booth’s revelations. I actually felt bad for him

C) The dropped storyline in the beginning.

I would give The Crooked Staircase a rating of Adult. There are graphic violence and language. I would not recommend anyone under the age of 21 reading this book.

There are trigger warnings in The Crooked Staircase. They are: talk of past child abuse, torture, and implication of rape. If you are triggered by those, I would recommend to not read the book.

I would recommend this book to family and friends. I would include a note about the triggers. This is a book that I will be rereading.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House – Ballantine, and Ballantine for allowing me to read and review The Crooked Staircase.

All opinions in this review of The Crooked Staircase are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Jane Hawk is still fighting the bad guys and the bad gals, but book #3 was some what predictable, and seemed to be a set up for book #4. I will wait to read reviews before continuing onward with book #4 - disappointing given how strong the first two books are in this unusual fast paced, character driven series.

While I loved The Silent Corner and enjoyed The Whispering Room, this third Jane Hawk adventure definitely underwhelmed me.
While Jane is still attempting to unmask and defeat the people responsible for the death of her husband and so many others, the poor woman did not seem to make much progress in her latest adventure. Frankly, not much happened in this book. You got the know a character, and then they died. Repeat. Jane tracked down a bad guy, fought with them, and barely escaped with her life. Repeat. There weren't even any mind-blowing revelations or insane/fun layers of the conspiracy uncovered to keep my attention.
I was disappointed, but am willing to give Jane another try when The Forbidden Door (book 4) comes out. Here's hoping she regains her mojo.

Yeah!!!! The Jane Hawk crusade has not ended!!!! Jane will live on into another novel!!! Sorry to spoil things.

Dean continues Jane's crusade to end the Evil Empires aspirations to control the world. Jane's work leads her into the gates of Hell, but she keeps going, while she hopes her son is still safe. The Evil Empire has many tools, but can't seem to pin Jane into a corner.

Dean has added a few characters that just add to the story line.

If you've read the first two Jane Hawk novels, you will want to pick up a copy of The Crooked Staircase. It is Awesome!!! If you are new to the Jane Hawk series, start with the first novel and you'll have many hours of enjoyable reading.

Dean Koontz has the gift of storytelling. As I read his books I can see the story taking on substance until I can clearly see what he is describing. His descriptions are fresh and my vocabulary grows as I pause to look up unfamiliar words. "Sociopaths were good actors. Lacking all feelings other than self-love, they were nevertheless able to fake a panoply of emotions that in other people were real.... Sociopaths were as efficient in the human ocean as sharks in their water world. They were humming engines of need, untroubled by any doubt about their rightness and imbued with such a strong sense of superiority that they could not conceive that failure might be a possibility. They were empty vessels." Absolutely delightful writing!

Our protagonist, Jane Hawk, is a strong woman who knows she is fighting evil. She's looking for definitive proof that her husband did not willingly kill himself, leaving her a widow with a five year old son to raise alone. Jane knows the suicide rate has risen dramatically in America. She has discovered a conspiracy whose members call themselves The Arcadians. They believe they can build a Utopia by erasing (killing) certain people who are likely to achieve positions to influence others with wrong ideas. It seems they don't have a problem with killing eighty four hundred people a year in the U.S..

The horror in The Crooked Staircase is not supernatural and that's what makes it so horrifying. This may disappoint some people but the evil that people have inside themselves and how they use it to victimize others is scary enough for me. There is a cliffhanger ending. I think Mr Koontz subscribes to the old saying, "always leave them wanting more." I definitely want to know what happens next.

I’ll preface this review by saying Dean Koontz is my favorite author and I’ve read nearly 40 of his novels.

Unfortunately, he missed the mark with The Crooked Staircase.

As usual, I have made an effort to avoid spoilers, but simply knowing my opinion in a couple areas could be considered a spoiler, so proceed at your own judgment.

The third installment of the Jane Hawk series, this is the worst of the first three novels. I think the biggest way Koontz missed the mark was with pacing. This sucker moved slow. Things didn’t really pick up and move until the 40% mark. Up to that point, I waffled back and forth on quitting.

The other issue was that I think Koontz was trying too hard to produce a literary-style work with fancy prose and extensive scenery descriptions. Nearly every scene began with extensive scenery descriptions. The pace was also bogged down by long descriptions of travel routes by Jane’s pursuers; it just wasn’t relevant to the plot.

But I stuck it out, only to be pissed off by the ending.

After the 40% mark, things slowed down again. From there, the pacing was very much like a roller coaster: fast-slow, fast-slow.

Undeterred, I slogged through.

The plot continues to follow Jane, whose son is sheltered with close friends while she battles those who seek to take over the world through mind-control mechanisms. Sound familiar to the Frankenstein series? Yeah, there’s that, too.

(Smaller issue while we’re here: Jane’s son, Travis, is much too mature in action and vocabulary for a five-year-old.)

When I reached the end, I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to throw my kindle across the room. I spent all that time slogging through the varied pace only to arrive at an ending that was unfulfilling to say the very least. There’s no closure, only what is supposed to serve as a hook for the next novel. Which, for me, is not the way to end a book.

Unfulfilled, dissatisfied, displeased, and frustrated accurately summarize my feelings when I reached the end of this one, and I’m pretty sure I won’t be returning to the Jane Hawk series.

Liked:
- Honestly, not much in this one. Usually a fan of Koontz’s prose, I can’t even say that this time.
- That it followed the plotline begun in the first two novels.

Disliked:
- PACING!
- Prose–it felt Koontz was striving to be literary, rather than just letting the words (and pace) flow.
- Too many extensive descriptions of scenery/setting and travel routes.

Special thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this title.

Another good book in this series! Can't wait to see what's coming next.

These just keep getting better and better as the series goes on! I can't wait for the next one, It already has me on the edge of my seat!