The Crooked Staircase (Jane Hawk Series #3)

by Dean Koontz Narrated by Elisabeth Rodgers

Overview

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

Editorial Reviews

JULY 2018 - AudioFile

Mind-controlling Techno Arcadians have increased their grip on society in Koontz’s latest Jane Hawk thriller, which will captivate audiobook listeners from beginning to end. Elisabeth Rodgers’s narration is outstanding. She propels the story with an effective style that creates unique personas for the book’s central characters, including Hawk, and those who pursue her, Dubose and Jergen—who are as dysfunctional as they are ruthless. Rodgers’s most memorable portrayal is Booth Hendrickson, an Arcadian leader who finds himself controlled by Hawk and others, a situation that leads to a memorable showdown between the competing forces. While the story would benefit from a more definitive resolution, overall, listeners will enjoy this entertaining work from Koontz and Rodgers. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

PRAISE FOR DEAN KOONTZ’S JANE HAWK NOVELS

“Gripping . . . The paranoia and mystery increase as the story unfolds. . . . Koontz has created such a wonderful character in Jane Hawk that . . . readers will clamor for more. . . . Koontz rocks it again.” —Associated Press

“Vintage Dean Koontz: paranoia-fueled suspense . . . sleek and highly realized action, developed characters, and more twists and turns than any two ordinary novels combined . . . as relevant to current events as it is audacious . . . amongst Dean Koontz’s finest contemporary work.” —Mystery Scene

“Perhaps Koontz’s leanest, meanest thriller, [The Silent Corner] introduces a smart, appealing heroine who can outthink as well as outshoot the baddest of bad dudes.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Kirkus Reviews

2018-03-20
Former FBI agent Jane Hawk continues her no-holds-barred campaign against the mind-control conspiracy that caused the suicide of her decorated Marine husband.In past adventures (The Whispering Room, 2017, etc.), Hawk dispatched some of the baddies responsible for creating and injecting brainwashing nanotech implants—and dramatically raising the national suicide rate. With the cabal entrenched in government agencies and private industry, she got indicted for espionage, treason, and murder and is now the most wanted person in America. Continuing her mission to restore her husband's good name and nail Booth Hendrickson, the corrupt Department of Justice figure behind the conspiracy, she must evade all manner of sophisticated surveillance technology. Her path to Hendrickson is through his half brother, Simon, a mother-obsessed sociopath who tortures and psychologically breaks women. To get to Simon, Hawk must tame his naïve spitfire girlfriend, the memorably named Petra Quist. For Hawk, who is as fearless as she is beautiful, no obstacle is too great, especially with the well-being of her hidden-away 5-year-old son on her mind. There is seemingly nothing she doesn't know, from intricate details about alarm systems to the functions of the three pairs of saliva glands. She's also a skilled pianist. With many pages devoted to a less compelling parallel mind-scrubbing story about brilliant young fraternal twins, the book sometimes bogs down in the padding. But writing his unusual heroine, Koontz keeps the pages alive with attitude as well as action.The third book in Koontz's lively series tends to rehash scenes from the first two, but it's still an absorbing thriller full of fresh touches.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171354213
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	05/08/2018
Series:	Jane Hawk Series , #3
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	706,838

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Excerpted from "The Crooked Staircase"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Dean Koontz.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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