Cabals be caballing. In The Crooked Staircase, Jane Hawk is hunting more of the cabal that used brain nanobots to force her husband to kill himself.
In this series entry, Simon Yegg is the so-mean-it-is-unbelievable type of villain. He tortures his ex-wives up to, and including, gang rape to get them to give him more than 50% of their money during the divorce. Simon is independently wealthy so it appears he tortures just for fun. Jane is coming for him as she works up the org structure of the cabal. In an alternate story arc, two twins are being chased through Northern Orange County California by the brain-controlled police and a NSA agent. The twins are young authors who have an unbelievable ability to drive and hide in plain sight almost as well as Jane.
This, the third book in the series, is beginning to wear me out. I don’t see a light at the end of Jane’s tunnel. How can one woman take on an entire cabal of rich men and their brain-controlled subordinates? The Crooked Staircase reads like a movie thriller. It is easy to picture the scenes up on a darkened movie screen. However, the characters’ motivations are increasingly murky. I still sympathize with Jane but at some point before this book’s end, I would have just taken my son and run away to Uruguay or someplace. Move on, Jane!
The second in the Jane Hawk series was recommended with 4 stars. However, this one left me cold. 3 stars! Mr. Koontz, I know this is a bestselling series. I can see by the teaser at the end that there will be a fourth Jane Hawk book. But please write some more of those excellent horror/paranormal novels like Watchers and the Odd Thomas series.
Thanks to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.