Book Review: The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!

  Jane Hawk was introduced to me in the novella the Bone Farm. From there I went on to read the Silent Corner and the Whispering Room. I became that reader that needed to keep going with this series, because I knew that they would keep getting better and better. This adventure-espionage series has taken me on a roller coaster ride that I am not too eager to step off of. 

    The Crooked Staircase is the third full-length Jane Hawk novel by Dean Koontz. It is published by Bantam Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. As we careen off the cliff of the second book's revelations, Jane Hawk is on the trail of Booth Hendrickson, another Techno Arcadian hell bent on controlling the country. Through injections the Arcadians have devised a control mechanism that takes over its host once the self-assembling technology forms a web over the victim's brain. Through key words the adjusted person is at their mercy to commit suicide, murder, or to blindly serve the Arcadians' doctrine that those who oppose them must be controlled or eliminated. Jane's husband was at their mercy and committed suicide. And her son, now in hiding, was threatened by them. Tired and low on resources, Hawk devises a plan to kidnap Hendrickson to get to another head Techno Arcadian mastermind. The road to the truth ends at the crooked staircase and a revelation that will send Jane further into the depths of the Techno Arcadians' plans.

  The Crooked Staircase continued the story line introduced in the Silent Corner quite well. It was exciting and action-packed, but there were a few aspects that I was unhappy with. But first the good. This book introduces the series' worst villain yet in quite the gory fashion. As I continue with the fourth novel I will definitely be wary for Jane as she faces this character. I enjoyed the introduction of more of Jane's allies, which added depth to her character. I loved the hidden ancient staircase filled with fossils where the book's final battle took place. Koontz created an amazing location for a lot of tense moments. But I found the last few chapters to be so full of activity that the end of the book suffered a bit. I was happy that the paperback edition had some chapters from book four, which made the shortness of the ending a little better. I was introduced to several characters that I grew attached to. But ultimately they were not meant to live by the book's end. I did feel cheated by this aspect, but this is my personal opinion. I give Koontz a lot of credit for giving me these characters and instilling in me a desire to care for their welfare. Characters have died before in this series, but this set of deaths shook me. I exited this book still wanting more and feeling very satisfied overall with the progression of this series.

  Elisabeth Rodgers returned to narrate the audio book, which is her fourth reading in the series. Her delivery of accents, voices, and her intense storytelling was a perfect fit for a 1.2x or 1.5x speed on my Audible app. I look forward to her often soothing voice in book four. She is an accomplished narrator that I will seek out other books read by her.

  The Crooked Staircase was a four star read for me. Regardless of my disappointment of the demise of characters that I grew to love, I was entertained and thrilled nonetheless. It had excellent character development. And the final showdown between Hawk and Hendrickson was made more exciting with the introduction of the ancient staircase. If espionage and adventure is your thing, this series will be a perfect fit for you.

  Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading this week.

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   Xepherus3 



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