Book Talk I…4/13/18

Traci Kenworth

The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz. Bantam 2018. Netgalley.

As always, Amazon blurb: 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 new 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.

Advance 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 

My review: Jane Hawk is still on the run, still trying to keep one step ahead of her enemies. And what enemies: those who will stop at nothing to make the world its plaything. As Jane gets to Booth Henrickson, two writers are kidnapped and turned by nanotech into killers. This society seems to target teachers and writers. I guess those two professions would seem to inspire the world more than any others. It’s kind of scary to think about people monitoring you and deciding to take you out because they think you’re a threat to their world view. I like to stay positive and believe most people are good. I know there are some out there that are beyond words evil but it’s my hope that the good will root them out. This is a fast-paced thriller and keeps you turning the page. Dean Koontz definitely knows how to write these type of stories. I didn’t find anything I was skeptical about in this book, like the last. It was a pretty, straight-forward rush against time. It left me on a cliffhanger as to what happens, so I’ll look forward to the next book.