Cover of The Crooked Staircase
Read Time: ~8.2 hr

The Crooked Staircase

by Dean Koontz (2018)

About this book

"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 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. 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)"-- "In this riveting high-stakes novel, Jane Hawk tracks the powerful DOJ operative at the center of the murderous conspiracy that killed her husband, a decorated Marine, and now threatens others closest to her. Dark, ingenious, utterly relentless, the Jane Hawk thrillers are Dean Koontz at his celebrated best, a brilliant, deeply affecting synthesis of his singular gifts for heart-stopping suspense, unparalleled characterization and atmosphere, and twisting, chillingly topical storylines--all driven by an unforgettable, take-no-prisoners heroine"--

Setting / LocationNew York City
Story EraModern Era
Protagonist / CoreThe Crooked Staircase Lead Character

Readers who enjoyed this also loved

Cover of Black money

Black money

Michael M. Thomas

A low-level government investigator looking at the books of a failed Northern California bank stumbles upon an account that has no explanation. It is a tiny thread that will ultimately unravel a criminal tapestry of unbelievable audacity, complexity, and scope, a conspiracy ranging from the cocaine fields of the Andes to the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. Few other novelists today know as much about the intersection of big money and global crime as Michael M. Thomasand none can match his storytelling power. Charged with action, surprise, and inside knowledge, Black Money gathers an unlikely team of heroes, led by Lee Boynton, a wealthy heiress turned journalist, and Thurlow Coole, a Wall Street wizard turned computer-fraud expert. They find themselves challenging a criminal alliance that, in a diabolically clever scheme, is laundering billions of drug dollars through a skein of businesses ranging from Wall Street firms to fast-food stores. At a relentless pace, Black Money leads us into the inner coils of the vast global web, along whose filaments trillions of dollars move every day, and into the brain of JEDI, the top-secret government computer network the penetration of which lies at the heart of the plot. This is a whole new kind of techno-thriller - one in which the weapon is more awesome than any missile.

Cover of Fire Ice

Fire Ice

Clive Cussler, with Paul Kemprecos

Leader of the NUMA Special Assignments team, Kurt Austin must work with a former KGB spy to save the United States from a lunatic with a generations-spanning grudge in this novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series. Kurt Austin is preparing for an interview while aboard a research vessel in the Black Sea. But his television spot suddenly becomes a rescue mission when the waiting film crew is attacked on a nearby island. With little information on the attackers, and no clue to their true agenda, Austin is forced to turn to an unlikely source: his old KGB Cold War adversary Vladimir Petrov. According to Petrov, the island is actually an old submarine base that’s been commandeered by clever mobster-turned-billionaire-businessman Mikhail Razov. Razov is certain he descends from the great Romanov family and he’s out to reclaim his rightful position as czar of Russia. With a powerful resource called “fire ice”, discovered by his mining company, Razov may just have the ammunition he needs to take over the modern world. To stop him, Austin will have to work with Petrov. And he’ll have to find out fast how much trust he can offer an old nemesis in this thrilling adventure that “goes down like a chilled Stolichnaya martini.”

Cover of Sphere of influence

Sphere of influence

Kyle Mills

Kyle Mills, New York Times bestselling author of Burn Factor and Storming Heaven, takes his readers on a jagged, heart-pounding hell-ride through every American's worst fear...The videotapes arrive at television stations across the nation. Their chilling message: Al Qaeda has secured a rocket launcher on American soil. Their potential targets: U.S. civilians. Their ultimate threat: they will attack. Anytime. Anywhere.Amid national chaos, the FBI calls upon one of its best agents for a final desperate mission. But no one-on either side-realizes how deep or how far the sphere of influence has spread...

Cover of Decision At Delphi (Keith Jennison Book)

Decision At Delphi (Keith Jennison Book)

Helen MacInnes

Just another routine overseas assignment. That's what successful young New York architect Ken Strang thought when a national travel magazine sent him to Europe to sketch Greek ruins. What he did not know, until it was too late, was that from the moment he boarded the ship, he had become the pawn in a murderous game of international intrigue. To Strang, danger was no object. He could take care of himself, but he had reckoned without Cecilia, his beautiful photographer. When he fell in love with her, he gave his enemies the one weapon they needed.

The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz | Literally Just Books