ARC Review: The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz

Series:	Jane Hawk #3
Pub. Date:	May 8, 2018
Publisher:	Bantam
Length:	512 pgs
Source:	NetGalley

I have really been enjoying this gripping page-turner series featuring former FBI agent, Jane Hawk. This third installment of the series may be the most action-packed and devastating yet, and it sure to keep you turn the pages until late in the night.

To recap the series so far - Jane is on the run seeking justice for her husband who was murdered with the use of nanotechnology. During her investigation, she uncovered a huge conspiracy to enslave and eliminate a large section of society. The players are so powerful and dangerous that Jane had to hide away her son and go underground. The method for world domination employed by the villains is truly frightening - the implantation of nanotechnology which takes away free will. Forget "it's a tumor" a la Schwarzenneger, the next time you get a headache, your mind will immediately jump to spiders laying eggs in your brain. (((Shudder)))

Jane Hawk has been slowly working her way through the Arcadians conspiracy, seeming to have the top player next on her list for elimination. But each time we see that the compartmentalization of the conspirators is deceiving on the surface and the players extend further and wider than anticipated. In The Crooked Staircase, Jane is moving up the chain to some bigger players and finding out bigger secrets as a result. She faces her most dangerous foes yet and has some very close scrapes where I wasn't sure if she was going to make it to the next scene. 

Jane's family and friends also play a bigger part in this installment, which is both riveting and heartbreaking. We haven't seen the Washington family in action yet, but now they are required to exercise those military skills that played such a big role in their past. Travis proves himself to be a brave little man, and his coping skills definitely impressed me for a child his age. We meet a cousin of the Washingtons as well who proves to be a very interesting addition to the series going forward.

The ending caught me off guard and is a semi-cliffhanger. There is a preview of the next book, The Forbidden Door, for the last 5% of the book. However, I couldn't bring myself to read it because I knew it would make me even more impatient for the next release date.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher, Bantam Books.

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