This is the third book in Dean Koontz’s Jane Hawk series. Again, Jane, the rogue FBI agent, is out to save the world, but it’s a pretty monumental task being as how she’s America’s Most Wanted criminal and all over the news. The dystopian aspect of the story is an injection that sends little nanorobots into the brains of people where they take over the people’s bodies. I’m eating this book up because I don’t see that part of the story as total fiction. I think that if not now, then in the very near future that this could be a real possibility. Anyway, back to the story of The Crooked Staircase…I don’t often write reviews before I finish a book, but I feel I need to write a little bit right now (at 68%)…in case my heart explodes!! This definitely has to be the most exciting of the three books…and it raises my pulse rate as I read it, which is crazy in itself. Jane’s son and the people who have been hiding him are under pursuit. And I can’t read the book fast enough!!! I will come back and add additional comments when I finish. Definitely read the books in order. The Silent Corner, The Whispering Room, and now, The Crooked Staircase. I’m not finished yet, but I certainly hope there will be a number 4 book………………………………………….Well, now I am at 86% and I cannot for the life of me figure out where this can go…what kind of a happy conclusion it could possibly have. And now that I’ve finished reading, I find that this one is a gigantic cliffhanger…with a gigantic promise of a 4th book in the series. I couldn’t be happier! 😊 The writing is superb, and it completely surpasses the retired teacher disposition in me to find and correct errors…I found NO errors of any type. It seems the reoccurring people have been fleshed out even more and the new ones I could recognize on the street. This is such an exciting series, I wish I could give it a 6 star rating.

Jane Hawk is back in this third novel evolving to a remarkable series. The rogue FBI agent is tested to the limit attempting to discover the roots of the secret cabal Arcadians. The path to the crooked staircase and Brook Hendrickson, the sociopath in the Justice Department is dark and twisted. Jane's allies are being picked off slowly but surely. There are new innocents on the "Hamlet" list and I enjoyed the introduction of the twins. I expect alot when I read a anything by Dean Koontz and once again he has hit it out of the park!! Eagerly awaiting the next book.

More good stuff with Jane vs. the Techno Arcadians. I hope #4 has more material and less review though from D.K!!!

Dean Koontz continues the saga of Jane Hawk, rogue former-FBI agent who has uncovered the dastardly plot to overtake the world by a group of power hungry villains known as the Techno Arcadians. With implanted nanotechnology, they have taken control of a vast number of people that they deemed either a threat to their power grab, or else individuals that were not contributing sufficiently, in their estimation, to society. Their goal is a Utopian society that they control.
Jane’s husband Nick had become one of the adjusted people and had committed suicide as the Arcadians controlled his mind. That is their method of eliminating those who they fear will impede their growth. Now Jane is bent on destroying this cabal, both to stop their insidious encroachment and to save her 5-year old son Travis, who has been threatened. In the earlier book, The Whispering Room, Jane has killed David James Michael, who was one of the founders of this evil organization. Next on her list is Booth Hendrickson, a supercilious attorney high-up in the Department of Justice.
As Jane plots to destroy Hendrickson, she discovers that the Arcadians have many hydra-like cells. She also discovers that Booth’s mother, Anabel, is the only other person that he knows of in the structure—she was an original investor. And Anabel is Cruella Deville personified. She has molded Booth to be like Nietzsche’s race of supermen. Anabel’s cruelty to a younger Booth has deep psychological effects on the imperfect adult Booth.
I found Tanuja Skula to be an interesting character in this book. We meet Tanuja, a writer of magical realism, standing in the yard during a severe rainstorm. She is trying to experience what her lead character would feel during a long journey in a storm, on foot. I wonder if this immersion is a glimpse into Dean Koontz’s method of creating atmosphere. His ability to observe enhances his descriptions of weather, topography and nature. He visualizes scenes in such detail that I feel as though I’m in the setting. He makes the surroundings become minor characters in his books.
I felt that the operative word in The Crooked Staircase was “dark”. A Kindle search shows 29 pages of excerpts with that word. And this is a dark story. Decidely dark. And as Jane meets Anabel at the bottom of the crooked staircase, the world begins to darkle. As Jane says, “Anabel in distant La Jolla was a threat for another day.” And another book. I can hardly wait, Dean Koontz.

Ok, y'all, this series....this, is awesome. I have loved Dean Koontz' work for a long time. I believe the first book of his I ever read was "Watchers" - a great blend of a tantalizing plot and just enough scary, then on to "Lightening", which not only grabbed my by the heartstrings, but made me use the phrase "Mulepuke" for a good 3 months, and quandry paradoxes for quite some time. "Sole Survivor" and "Life Expectancy" are more of my favorites....then I met Jane Hawk. I can't say Jane knocked out my top 3, but they have definitely expanded my number of top favorites. My family gave me "The Silent Corner" for Christmas, the first in this series, and I devoured it. Sometimes when a book is written about a strong female lead, they must make her almost unhuman to be strong, but in this case, Jane is just a person - a strong person, but a person with weaknesses, a person with a background that gives her an edge over us "normal" everyday people, but she's so much less powerful than those she fights against. Its a David & Goliath story from the very beginning. In the true Dean Koontz fashion, through "The Silent Corner" and the second book, "The Whispering Room", people from different places come together in coincidental ways, and lend each other support during Jane's journey. She must keep herself safe, alive and hidden, protect her son's location and identity, and those who hide him, protect any who support or assist her, while seeking out the head of the snake while they use seemingly endless resources to track her down. You don't think of all the ways you can be seen in such a digital age, but Jane has too - and if she doesn't, or she forgets, for even one split second - someone usually dies. She's on a mission to prove that her husband's suicide wasn't of his own volition, and that many other people in particularly strategic or influential positions haven't died of natural causes. But will anyone believe her? Does anyone want to believe her? To believe that they can be controlled by such a large high ranking deception by a large group who could potentially control the course of the world? Well, I don't know yet, because this is an ARC, and it doesn't finish Jane's journey - I'll be waiting with baited breath for the fourth installment, "The Forbidden Door", and praying that Mr. Koontz will randomly ask me to be a preview reader of this latest gem.
I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Release date is May 8, 2018.

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Dean Koontz is a great writer, but his novels are too violent for me, and this negative apocalyptic vision is difficult for me to read. If you like conspiracies, apocalypse, and scary visions for the future, this would be for you.

Let me start by saying that, despite the 3-star rating, Jane Hawk is still my alter ego. Like her, I’d do anything (and I do mean anything) to defend the once I love. Lol – I just think she looks better doing it!

The book is so full of action and heartbreak. I tore through this in a couple of hours, wishing and hoping there was more once it was over. Readers should know that it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I was so mad that that he left it there and so excited for the next book. (Seriously, I can’t wait.)

Our villains take on some new and very interesting dimensions, and we meet someone who is just stone-cold evil.

So why the three stars?

There’s a rather large subplot that I loved. It had characters that were simply iconic and who added immensely to the book. It’s dark, edgy, and riveting. And that subplot ends in a cinematic fury that so blisteringly intense that, were it on the big screen, the audience would gasp and then be utterly silent as they contemplated it.

And that subplot was completely and totally unimportant.

Seriously. It never connects with Jane. It never connects with our other important characters. The entire purpose of that subplot is to tell us that our baddies are still doing bad things.

It’s utterly glorious and utterly disappointing because the whole time you’re reading it, you’re waiting for a connection – some import to it – that never comes. It’s an aside masquerading as an epic plot point.

I still liked the book. I want – no, need! – the next book.

But for God’s sake, if you’re going to entice your readers that much, don’t make it much ado about nothing.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Please, just finish already! The Crooked Staircase is the third novel in Koontz's Jane Hawk series. And, once again, he delivers a well-written thriller. The only problem here is that too much of this novel is repetitive of the first and second titles in the series.

Once again, innocent, talented individuals are deemed too dangerous to continue with their lives so they are turned into murderers; allies of Jane Hawk are hunted down and killed; cruel participants in the Arkadian "take over the world" programs are discovered by Jane and dealt with in rather inventive manners. Childhood traumas experienced by Jane and her foes are brought to the forefront while Travis, Jane's little boy, is presented as a too bright, too industrious, too aware five-year-old who is cognizant of the dangers that surround him. But little new is really learned about any of the characters.

Koontz's writing manages to take readers into another world. His description of the "crooked staircase" and the eras of horrors displayed there makes the Arkadian future of controlled, robotic beings just an all-too-possible tread on this staircase. But, still, it is time for fewer examples of humanity's decline and time for Jane Hawk to bring evil to bay. It's time for Jane and Travis to be reunited.

Even though I believe The Crooked Staircase to be redundant and therefore not a great read, I am invested in Jane and her cause so I will continue to read this series. But, please, finish it already!!

The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz
The Crooked Staircase (Jane Hawk, #3)
by Dean Koontz (Goodreads Author)
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review
Jan 29, 2018 · edit

it was amazing

Koontz hits the Trifecta! "The Crooked Staircase" is his third non-stop thriller featuring rogue FBI
agent, Jane Hawk. Jane's badass nature and investigative skills where first introduced in"The Silent Corner" and reprised in "The Whispering Room" Although all 3 novels can stand alone ... the reader is driven to read all after exposed to the underlying premise of a secret cabal. The gestalt of the total is more impressive than the singularity of each individual novel.
Jane has "gone off the grid" to investigate the inexplicable suicide of her War Hero husband, Nick.
She uncovers incontrovertible evidence of an conspiracy leading to multiple unexpected suicides. Her coast to coast journey uncovers data pointing to a cabal of high placed people responsible for these events.
This secret confederacy intends to remake the nation into a "desirable" utopia. They rely on a computer model to target undesirable individuals in the arts, journalism, academia, sciences, politics and military for placement on the "Hamlet List" .... to be either "adjusted" and controlled or eliminated (usually by suicide). Those on the list are injected with nanomachines which ultimately cross into the brain and set up a web-like network allowing their control like a mindless marionettes. The denouement leads Jane down into a subterranean "crooked staircase" descending into hell in an attempt to provide the necessary proof to expose the cabal and their intentions. Koontz weaves another gripping thriller with his captivating prose and plotting. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for providing an Uncorrected ebook for my immense pleasure in exchange for an honest review!
P.S. I can easily see Jennifer Garner ("Alias") playing Jane Hawk in a Netflicks series!!!

All I can say is that this series keeps getting better and better , with that said thinks netgalley for giving me the chance at reading and review The Crooked Staircase.

Of all Dean's books these of Jane Hawk are my favorite! A woman as the main subject who is tough, strong and a loving mother who will do anything to keep her child safe. How could you go wrong with this? I am sitting on the edge of the book thru the entire story but when I get close to the end then I don't want it to end!! I have been so lucky to get a chance to read this book before being published. Thank you so much! I finished it within 2 days. Jane has such bad evil people she is facing down but she is so tough and nothing will stop her! The story never gets boring or slow, just keeps you in suspense. I really recommend reading in order if possible but if you can't it is still a great read. Keep writing and hurry up. LOL FANTASTIC!

This is one of my favorite new series! I recommend it to our patrons! This book had some sadness though. I can’t wait for the next one.

Every Dean Koontz book I have reviewed has received a five star rating. This book was a disappointment. Two main areas that led me to a three star rating. The first was the whole storyline with the twins. It did not add to the story but just took up pages. It was never integrated into the total story. Seemed like the purpose was to take up pages in order to provide a reason for a follow up book. Secondly, towards the end of the book there was no reason why Jane did not kill Hendrickson after he was no use to her and he had turned violent again. Only served the purpose of adding more pages to the book. Despite these negatives, I will be looking forward to the next book in this series.

Big name author usually means t the very least good writing, and this for sure does not disappoint. For all her agony, I loved Jane and how smart she was. I get so tired of incredible heroes who get outsmarted just before the end. She was thoughtful and thorough and didn't let herself get in trouble despite plenty opportunities to slip up.
Its a great, if horrifying story, well told. It was a bit long and tragic in lots of ways.
Good to read, thanks netgalley.

Having not read the previous two book was I uncertain if I would be able to read this and enjoy it but was happy to find out it COULD be read as a stand alone if need be. There was enough background information provided to limit any confusion for first time readers new to the character Jane Hawk. The writing, as always, was well done and the pace was such that I could barely put it down and finished it in a day.

Jane Hawkins returns in her third storyline. She’s still doing her best to uncover and end a conspiracy that has caused a spate of murder suicides, including one that took the life of her husband. This time, Jane is aiming at the very pinnacle of the conspiracy, a man with a ferocious private army that will stop at nothing to see Jane dead. Koontz knows what readers want, and he’s been providing it for over thirty years. This series proves the guy still has his mojo and readers will eat it up

The Crooked Staircase is the third fast-paced thriller in the Jane Hawk series written by author Dean Koontz. Jane kicks a** and takes no prisoners. Eagerly looking forward to book four. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the advance copy.