Description
In the little South Californian town of Suavidad Beach, Jeff Coltrane is raising his daughter Amity on his own, ever since his wife Michelle went missing seven years ago. He's doing a pretty good job of it, and though Amity misses her mom she pours her excess love into her pet mouse Snowball: she's on a promise for her own puppy if she proves she can take good care of the mouse.
Then one day their itinerant friend Ed - known locally as 'Mr Spooky' - hands into Jeff's care a small box containing 'the key to everything', with the warning that it's worth around $76 billion, and that he has a demonic posse on his tail searching for it, and that because it's both so powerful and so valuable, they'll never give up their quest to get their hands on it. He'll come back for it in a year: but on no account during that time is Jeff to open the box. Jeff quickly hides it away, which is just as well, since some sinister 'federal' agents soon turn up on his doorstep, making threats and looking for Ed.
With his beloved wife missing, having the key to everything in his possession proves to be just too much of a temptation for Jeff, and not long afterwards he opens the box and activates the key.
It seems, to begin with, that nothing has changed; but then he starts to notice subtle differences around the house, and outside, the weather has changed and they appear to have different neighbours. Down in the town, everything is a little more shabby. In the park, Amity kicks over some pebbles, before realising they are bloodied teeth. There's the smell of burning books on the air. And up on the ridgeline overlooking the town, thirteen large crows are perched like the living totems of a clan of malicious wizards...
The screen of the key reads ELSEWHERE 1.13.
It offers three options: HOME, SELECT or RETURN.
Somewhere out there in the multiverse, Michelle - adored wife and mother - is still alive. But dare Jeff and Amity - and Snowball - use the key to track her down, with the demonic posse after them and unknown terrors in the other versions of their world?
from the No.1 Sunday Times bestseller comes a gripping new science fiction crime thriller for 2020
About the Author
Dean Koontz is the author of more than a dozen international No. 1 bestsellers. His books have sold over 500 million copies worldwide, and his work is published in 38 languages.
He was born and raised in Pennsylvania and lives with his wife Gerda, and their dog Elsa, in southern California.
Reviews
Praise for Dean Koontz:
An incredible saga ... terrific.' Washington Post
'Part sci-fi, part mystery, all thriller... one to anticipate' The Courier-Mail
Praise for The Crooked Staircase:
'A gripping read ... a page-turner to dive into this summer' Washington Post
'Koontz's leanest, meanest thriller ... introduces a smart, appealing heroine who can outthink as well as outshoot the baddest of bad dudes' Kirkus Reviews
'Humour, humanity and horror, the classic Koontz concoction' The Times
'Dean Koontz is not just a master of our darkest dreams, but also a literary juggler' The Times
'A terrific pursuit story ... clever, up-to-the-minute, and riveting' Guardian
'There's surprise after surprise, including a killer finale ... a read-in-one-go novel' Independent on Sunday
'Psychologically complex, masterly and satisfying' The New York Times
'A master at the peak of his powers' Matt Haig, author of How to Stop Time
'A mind-bender filled with satisfying surprises' People
Book Information
ISBN 9780008291273
Author Dean Koontz
Format Paperback
Page Count 368
Imprint HarperCollins
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 260g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 23mm
