Down the Staircase

by Pamela J. Castrucci, Miroslav Smiljanic (Illustrator), Hannah Magnusson (Editor)

Cara Stone, a Boston-based Assistant U.S. Attorney on the sex-trafficking task force, seeks the help of a unique therapist to overcome chronic pain stemming from her time in the military. Promised a gentle and healing experience, Cara is jarred when instead her life is turned upside down by the onslaught of repressed emotion. While her personal life unravels around her, her professional life is put to the ultimate test by the potential discovery of an international crime syndicate.
Will Cara's insatiable thirst for truth prevail over the exposure of old wounds, or will time run out for the victims that she's staunchly dedicated her life to saving?

A contemporary tale that combines elements of Magical Realism, Crime, Suspense, and Metaphysical and Visionary fiction, Down the Staircase whets readers’ appetites for the next books in The Staircase Series.

204 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 4, 2018

Reviews

[Sarah Ransom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was certainly a page-turner! The details drew you in to want to know what was going to happen next and Pamela did a great job mixing two worlds into one. The artistry in which she blended real-life issues, with emotional, spiritual and physical challenges was stunning. I enjoyed every minute of this book.

[Joy RS · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'll be glad you read this! Full of suspense, with an intriguing plot-line and well-crafted characters, I couldn't put the book down! It’s a compelling read that highlights some very serious issues as well. An excellent debut novel - I'm looking forward to seeing more from this author.

[Grace Herrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars! I really enjoyed this first novel in the Staircase series by Pamela Castrucci, and can’t wait until the next book in the series is released! Cara Stone is an intelligent, passionate, and hard working Assistant United States Attorney who fights for justice for victims of sex-trafficking. With elements of adventure and fantasy, Cara’s journey is exciting and suspenseful, with lots of twists and turns throughout. I highly recommend this novel!

[Aza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Down the staircase is a good debut law and order crime novel! After reading into chapter one, I began to like the main character Cara but got a little irritated by the other 'subconscious' story that came in as a subplot and intertwined with the main plot. But slowly, chapter after chapter, it weaved nicely together and as we approached the story's climax it definitely made sense, especially towards the almost unexpected ending. I did see it coming but I wasn't 100 % certain.
What I truly connected with was the theme of the story, the urge to rectify things, the urge to seek justice. The deep burning inside Cara to fight for the innocent girls, the victims and make evil pay for it. The theme of the novel of 'human trafficking' also runs through a screenplay I've been co-writing for the past four months, so, reading this story naturally really grabbed me. It's a subject that has been on my mind for such a long time... and I've been researching all the way to hell and back. So, reading this book felt very close to my heart. And these stories need to get out.
The style of writing in this book is very well executed: good and easy to read, a great flow, quite a page turner in the main plot; one really feels the main character Cara, a driven attorney, being out there for the truth! We want her to succeed! An otherwise slightly confused and starts out as a perhaps weak character when it comes to her boyfriend and her private life she really turns around and gets a grip on things in the second half of the book and even her love life gets paid off nicely at the end. The fact the author is also an attorney and has experienced such cases in real life has really gotten to me. It took her twenty years to write about her experience but she eventually did, and the author did a good job. We need more books on this subject matter because it happens all around us. Every single day girls are kidnapped and sold into slavery, an unthinkable crime. It's so close... we sometimes don't even assume it.
Five stars for the topic. Five stars for making the monsters pay. Can't wait for the next one.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This amalgam of superb plot, time travel, and a serious social issue of sex trafficking held my interest and honestly made me long for a sequel. I could have hoped that this intelligent and inventive author had had an editor with better skills in writing dialogue, for that is, at the very first, a weakness of this book. The compelling plot, however, helped me complete the book. I hope an agent will find the merits of this story and connect author and publisher; she deserves an excellent editor.

[nuin giliath · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was overly bizarre and not well put together. Other than Cara, only a few of the characters were given much attention so I ended up not caring about them or their problems. There was a lot of background information dumped onto the reader but seldom did this provide any sort of emotional connection. The POV changed from one sentence to the next which made it hard to stay engaged. The only part that I did like was the idea of time traveling via hypnosis therapy. I wish the time travel had been more of a focus than it was.

[Kirsten Migliore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very compelling and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book. I love the main character's crusade and development throughout the novel. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys many twists and turns and engaging plot developments.

[Fran Aceto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book and the characters were awesome! A well written story that has you turning the page for more!!
Two thumbs up!!!

[Amy Rorer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

This is a great story with many twists and turns. Ms. Castrucci’s debut novel always keeps you guessing - and wanting more!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unusual and original book with twists and turns that I'm not about to reveal. Exciting new author.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real page turner. Loved (& hated) the characters. Can’t wait for the second book to come out.

[Natasha Asali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!!! Cannot wait for the second book!

[M.K. Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful debut

Perfect for fans of time-travel or paranormal, this mystery hits all the boxes with a strong female protagonist. An accomplished debut with a sequel in the works.