The Crooked Staircase: A Jane Hawk Novel Hardcover – May 8, 2018

“The Crooked Staircase” reminded me of why, for several years, I quit reading Mr. Koontz. I was an avid reader of Dean Koontz’s thriller books many years ago, but then his writing changed with an emphasis less on plot and character and more on how many metaphors and similes he could pack into a paragraph. Also, his books became overly long with far too much description of people, places, and things that one would quickly forget because these elements weren’t applicable to the narrative — they didn’t move the story forward. These negative (in my view) elements of Mr. Koontz’s writing style are all readily apparent in this tome.I read the first and second of Mr. Koontz’s books in this series and really enjoyed them, primarily owing to his return to the writing style that harvested his notoriety. I had read a review in which the reviewer commented that the first book in the series gratefully saw Dean Koontz return to the mannerisms and style of his early prose. And, indeed, with the first two books that was very much the case and I thoroughly enjoyed them.But “The Crooked Staircase” did not continue that return-style of writing. The book is of a protracted length and the story just meandered along with not much happening. And the ending . . . well, there wasn’t one. In fact, the whole series needs to be brought to a denouement with the next offering or certainly with the 5th book, if one is planned.I shall definitely read the 4th book in the series, “The Forbidden Door,” when it comes out in early October of this year with the hope that Mr. Koontz leaves behind his over-focus on depiction, similes, and metaphors. 3-stars for “The Crooked Staircase.”

After reading several chapters I went back to see if this was authored by a lesser writer by the same name. It wasn’t. Not His best, sad to say! The constant jumping between characters through very short chapter was enough to cause vertigo. Overly describing everything down to a leaf seemed to be only to lengthen the book and was annoying, distracting from the story line. I love Dean Koontz and buy all his books. This unfortunately was a great disappointment. Even if purchased from a 10 cent bin at a thrift store, it still would be hard to get through. Dean either go back to how you used to write or retire! You are not endearing your fans with this kind of writing.

I’ve loved reading Dean Koontz since the beginning. Up till now. This book 3 of (who knows) at least 4 was hard for me to finish. Pointless twins story. Dead hero’s. Jane in a hotel drinking. Yawn. I wish there had been less pointless narrative and more winding up the story.

I have read every single book by Dean Koontz, including those published under various pseudoyms. Early on the books were complex, compelling, and involved the reader throughout. Lately the books have become "mass produced stories" with very little depth. The Odd Thomas books (the cook) were entertaining, but lacked depth. Now this new series, Jane Hawk, is even less compelling. The first book was exciting, and although simplistic, kept the reader mostly engaged. This one is terrible. I had to put it down many times just to take a break. Usually his books are so addictive I couldn't put them down. This one is mostly boring. There is little action, excessive description of things that lend nothing to the story, and certainly not very involved. The end is so disappointing in that nothing gets solved throughout the entire book, leading the reader to the next book. It seems that Mr. Koontz is following the money by creating a series of books with little substance to sell to his readers, much like the prolific authors of mass produced romance or murder.

I love Dean Koontz, he's my favorite author. That being said, this series needs an ending. Its being painfully dragged out. I don't need long flowery paragraphs describing a sunset. They're beautiful, I get it. I heard Dean on a podcast, and he said that he thinks that there will be 7 books in the Jane Hawk series. Please no.

While I have enjoyed Dean Koontz books in the past, I am sorry to say that was not the case for “The Crooked Staircase.”Mr. Koontz has crafted a good story, and there are plenty of thriller elements to it. I realize the author was trying to generate tension by having the chapters rotate from character to character. Sometimes this worked, but the constant flipping felt artificial after a while, and the tension that could have been built became ho-hum as I felt more whipsawed back and forth rather than caught up in the separate storylines. This was especially emphasized when a chapter took less than a minute to read, and the powerful lines that might have worked with longer chapters became lost in the massive pile of chapter endings.Losing interest may have caused me to have the time to notice other things that bothered me. The description of weapons –using the full catalog name and part of the description, right down to magazine capacity – sounded more like it was copied from the manufacturer. No sense in alerting us to how many bullets the gun can shoot if it never has a bearing on the story. I did think the author did a good job of involving the reader with his characters so that we cared whether or not something bad happened to them.The bad cop duo of Jergens and Dubose was interesting in the beginning, but the constant banter began to repeat and by the end fell into a pit of banality. I felt that the choice of the ultra-evil villain stretched my usually flexible limits of credibility, and to realize that the entire series is built upon this person was a disappointment for me.However, what really turned me off was the cliffhanger-like ending. Creating a successful series that goes on and on has been done (the 14-book Wheel of Time series begun by Robert Jordan comes to mind), but there needs to be a semi-conclusion, not a weak ending that leaves me incredulous when I turn the page to find an ad for the next book. I guess I will never find out what happens to Jane Hawk, because my interest died with the book three non-ending. Two stars.

I've been a fan of this author for a long time, but sorry, this is the 3rd and last book featuring Jane Hawk I'll read. I was hoping after the 2nd it wouldn't be dragged out with too much descriptive prose to fill the pages, but I was disappointed. The three books could have been condensed which would have saved the readers from being too much out of pocket.

I absolutely loved the first two books in this series and downloaded this one straight after finishing the whispering room. I've put it down halfway through as I'm bored and am currently reading something else. It's a great storyline and idea but it's just too long.A lot of people have commented about it being overly descriptive but this didn't initially bother me but after two and a half books worth, I think I'm done.I want to know how it ends up but can't bring myself to start back up on it.

I’ve read the first two books in the Jane Hawk series and have read the final book. I am not good a reading a series in the right order and often read books years apart. I will re-read the Jane Hawk series in order someday. I remember what happened in the books I did read so it’s not like I was clueless when I read The Crooked Staircase. I loved this book. I love the series overall, the premise of controlling people who will bring about unprecedented change in society using nanomachines to remove their free will chills me to the bone. I’ve been reading Koontz for decades and he often writes about similar concepts. This is long book but the chapters are very short so the book is fast paced and quite a fast read. I didn’t want to stop reading it. My heart was in my throat as I wondered what would happen.

How very annoying to end a story a chapter before it should end, the only reason being to force buying of the last in the series! I understand a series tells a full story beginning to end but this takes ir one step too far. I love the language used and usually the characters created, but i'm getting a sense that I've read the best of Dean and now the plan is to churn out books. Hope I'm wrong.

This is a great read, filled with action, horror and meaning, but it's a shame that it didn't end...is this just a money-making idea?It's an intriguing and chilling concept and all too real - with what the world of humans is like, this story is all the scarier. Though it does have hope at its core, and to that, we can only hold tight.Great writing, if a little protracted at times, with a style that flows and hooks from one page to the next. The characters are fascinating and believable, while the plot floods the mind with terror.Good v evil - who knows who the victors will be?Recommended.