Countdown (Eve Duncan, #6) (Eve Duncan Forensics Thrillers)

by Iris Johansen

When it reaches zero, you die.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen sets her readers’ pulses racing once again in this relentless psychological thriller of a young woman caught in a maze of secrets and stalked by a merciless killer. The countdown begins the moment you open this riveting novel that only grows more electrifying as the pages turn, more exciting as time runs out. . . .

“Don’t kill her. She’s no good to us dead.” These words haunt Jane MacGuire after a shocking attack shatters her world in an instant. Was it a random kidnapping attempt–or the countdown to something far more sinister?

Who is after her–and what do they want so badly they’ll kill anyone in their way? That’s what Jane is determined to find out, without the help of the police, the FBI, or her adoptive parents, forensic sculptor Eve Duncan and her husband, Joe Quinn, of the Atlanta PD–because whoever is after her won’t hesitate to hurt those she loves the most. Now Jane will go on the run with the only man who may be more dangerous than those who are pursuing her. A smuggler, a con man, and who knew what else, Mark Trevor had his own mysterious reasons for wanting to keep Jane safe and out of the hands of a killer obsessed with a two-thousand-year-old mystery that could rock the modern-day world.

Orphaned at an early age, Jane grew up the hard way, but she was given a new life, a loving family, and a chance to pursue her interest in one of the greatest archaeological finds ever unearthed. Now someone was trying to destroy that new life before it could even get started. The past is returning with the kind of vengeance that knows no mercy. The countdown has already begun, and it’s approaching zero faster than anyone thinks.

• ISBN10: 0375434437
• ISBN13: 9780375434433
• Publish Date: 10 May 2005 (first published 1 January 2005)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 23 March 2012
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Random House USA Inc
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 613
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amanda]

Although there were a few hiccups along the way (such as the overuse of the phrase “play it by ear”), I was in the mood to be entertained, and this book did the trick. I hate reading other reviews before I write my own, but I made the mistake of doing so for this one. They weren’t very positive. Of the complaints regarding the plots – I didn’t feel as if it was far-fetched. I mean, it was, and likely nothing like that could ever happen, but part of the author’s job is to get you to suspend your beliefs, and get you to believe that whatever is happening in the book is completely possible. It worked for me.

From the Eve Duncan books that I do remember, Jane MacGuire was a young girl, scarred from her past. This gave me the chance to see her as a young woman, wise beyond her years. We also got to [re]meet Mark Trevor. It appears that the two have a tangled past, but this was my first introduction to him. I always seem to end up loving the “seemingly-unscrupulous-guy-who-is-really-actually-good” characters.

There was at least one point in the book (which was never addressed at the end) where I was practically shouting at Jane and Eve as to the identity of a reconstructed skull. I mean, if Jane is supposedly extremely smart, she would have made the connection herself, though she didn’t.

The rest of the remaining side characters were an interesting bunch, and I loved the twist at the very end, and what it now means for Jane.

[wyvernfriend]

Jane is now finished college and running for her life. Mark Trevor is the only person who can help her stay alive. He has more proof of what happened to Cira, some documents, and he's getting them translated. Meanwhile there are more twists and turns.

There's almost too many twists and turns, it's as if Johansen needs to add more excitement to the story but it just seems to drag the story down. Interesting to see what's happening to the characters but really it didn't excite me.