Name: The Crooked Staircase (Jane Hawk Thriller, Book 3)
Rating: 3.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
ISBN: 9780008291570

Dean Koontz

Jane Hawk faces the fight of her life The No.1 New York Times bestseller and master of suspense Dean Koontz returns with a blockbuster new thriller featuring rogue FBI agent Jane Hawk.

The Crooked Staircase (Jane Hawk Thriller, Book 3)

Angi Cox

I really like this series. It's just so much fun, so outrageous. You just have to let go of reality and enjoy it.

Jolie

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**

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Jane Hawk—who dazzled readers in The Silent Corner and The Whispering Room—faces the fight of her life, against the threat of a lifetime, in this electrifying thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling suspense master Dean Koontz. “I could be dead tomorrow. Or something worse than dead.” Jane Hawk knows she may be living on borrowed time. But as long as she’s breathing, she’ll never cease her one-woman war against the terrifying conspiracy that threatens the freedom—and free will—of millions. Battling the strange epidemic of murder-suicides that claimed Jane’s husband, and is escalating across the country, has made the rogue FBI agent a wanted fugitive, relentlessly hunted not only by the government but by the secret cabal behind the plot. Deploying every resource their malign nexus of power and technology commands, Jane’s enemies are determined to see her dead . . . or make her wish she was. Jane’s ruthless pursuers can’t stop her from drawing a bead on her prey: a cunning man with connections in high places, a twisted soul of unspeakable depths with an army of professional killers on call. Propelled by her righteous fury and implacable insistence on justice, Jane will make her way from southern Southern California to the snow-swept slopes of Lake Tahoe to confront head-on the lethal forces arrayed against her. But nothing can prepare her for the chilling truth that awaits when she descends the crooked staircase to the dark and dreadful place where her long nightmare was born. Don’t miss any of Dean Koontz’s gripping Jane Hawk thrillers: THE SILENT CORNER • THE WHISPERING ROOM • THE CROOKED STAIRCASE • THE FORBIDDEN DOOR • THE NIGHT WINDOW Praise for The Crooked Staircase “An absorbing thriller full of fresh touches . . . Writing his unusual heroine, Koontz keeps the pages alive with attitude as well as action. . . . For Hawk, who is as fearless as she is beautiful, no obstacle is too great, especially with the well-being of her hidden-away five-year-old son on her mind.”—Kirkus Reviews “Spellbinding . . . Beautifully plotted and written with notable care and flare . . . The Hawk series . . . is among [Koontz’s] best work.”—Booklist (starred review) “Unrelenting . . . [Jane] rivets readers’ attention. . . . Michael Crichton fans and thriller aficionados who appreciate a fierce female protagonist . . . should be urged to meet Jane Hawk.”—Library Journal

The Crooked Staircase (Jane Hawk Thriller, Book 3)

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