Countdown (Eve Duncan)

Jane MacGuire, the adopted daughter of forensic sculptor Eve Duncan, is almost kidnapped and her friend is murdered before her eyes. The roommate who betrayed them is killed in a suspicious hit and run. Trevor, who she hasn't seen in four years since they caught a serial killer in the ruins of Herculaneum, the ancient city destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius' eruption, brings them to the castle he is renting in Aberdeen, Scotland. Dr. Reilly, a brainwashing specialist, wants Jane who is the mirror image Cira, a slave girl who escaped with a treasure when Herculaneum was destroyed. He also wants the gold and coins that she smuggled out the day Vesuvius blew.

Grozak, a hate filled racist who detests the United States is prepared to go to any lengths to kidnap and delver Jane and find the gold and coins and bring them all to Reilly if he will brainwash people into becoming suicide bombers for an attack on the United States that will make 9/11 seem small in comparison. Trevor who cares about Jane is determined to protect her just as he intends to stop Grozak from carrying out his plan. Jane joins the mission to stop the man knowing it might coast her everything if they fail.

COUNTDOWN is a fantastic action-packed thriller where the stakes are high and failure could result in the death of millions. Over the course of the Eve Duncan forensic thriller series Jane has evolved from a street wise delinquent into a beautiful headstrong adult who will do whatever it takes to save her country. Trevor, an ex-mercenary operating on both sides of the law, meets his match in Jane and their relationships promises to intensify in future novels. Iris Johansen has written another winner that is heading for the New York Times bestseller list.

Harriet Klausner

This book is really a continuation to "Blind Alley" as the Cira legend is back. Eve Duncan's ward, Jane MacGuire, is now at Harvard and is 21 so 4 years have passed since the last book. She is close to Mike who is a ward of Eve's mom. Jane is always helping people out of scrapes and feels particularly responsible for Mike. His roommate calls her that Mike is drunk and morose at a bar. Jane goes to get him and take him home but on the way to the car they are attacked and Mike is shot and killed.

It turns out the kidnappers were really after Jane and Mike was just in the way. Mark Trevor, from "Blind Alley", has been keeping an eye on Jane due to the search for Cira's gold. He decides to "rescue" her and persuades her to come with him to Scotland where he has a translator working to discover where Cira's gold is.

Lots of secondary characters are introduced including the laird of the castle, MacDuff, his ward, Jock who is a very disturbed young man, and Mario Donato, the translator. Back from the last book also is Barlett who is a very loyal and funny character.

While we do know the villain(s) in this book early on, the possible tragedies setup and the dicey situations keep the suspense going. Also, the bit of mysticism with Jane's strange and realistic dreams of Cira also keep the story very interesting. We get to know Jane and Trevor quite a bit better although I would still like to know them more.

Eve and Joe have only minor parts while some of the secondary characters are developed pretty well and play major roles. If you liked "Blind Alley", you will probably like this book. If you didn't like it or don't like any "mysticism", this will not be a good plot for you.

I loved it and recommend it!!

What a tangled mess of would-be thrills! The author introduces us to a rather unlikeable heroine and draws us into a tepid plot that combines ancient history and suicide nuclear bombers. The heroine, Jane MacGuire, is unsympathetic; instead of being feisty, she just seems contrary. The dialogue in this book is full of small but continuous argument that becomes very, very tiresome.
I listened to the book on CD and found myself skipping to the next track again and again. Here's the most telling point - I really didn't miss anything by fast-forwarding. The plot was predictable and the dialogue as well.
After all was said and done, nothing 'happened'. Most unforgivable of all, the author's attempt to create a believable love story fell flat as well. It's really a bad book if even the sex scenes aren't exciting.
A must-miss!

This is a continuation set years after Blind Alley, but it lacks the plot and mystery of the first book. Main character Jane is a few years older now and living on her own when she is targeted again. The unfortunate decision to bring back her "love interest" from the first book was longlasting. Most of the book is spent on arguements between the two,flirting, and sex scenes. I did a lot of skimming. Worst of all was that the matchup of the two lacked any chemistry and bordered on being a disgusting age difference especially considering they had met when Jane was a minor. Stick to the first book, this adds nothing but romance under the guise of mystery.

This is yet another great addition to the Eve Duncan life. I love how she brought you into Jane's life. I never get tired of reading about her life. Eve and Joe are of course my favorite characters, and now Jane can be added to the list, that Iris has created. I love the awesome balance that Iris can always seem to create between action and love to keep her audience on the edge of their seat. This is a great story. This is a must buy and a must read.

I'm only halfway through this book and becoming very bored. I wondered if it was just me so I decided to check reviews from other readers and found that several others found their minds wandering as well. The characters are just not believable, especially the main character of Jane at age 21. Her attitude and manner of speech just don't seem realistic for a young woman.

Iris Johansen seems to have veered into a different direction with this book. It feels like the setting should have been a hundred years earlier.

Disappointed after listening to the tape to the end and finding that there was no conclusion to what happened to the Gold??. What happened to Jock? what happened to the proposed terrorist attack? We know it did not happen, but what specifically prevented it from happening?? Not pleased with leaving the reader or listerner with many unresolved issues. Jane's response to possibly knowing her lost heritage and family seemed unlikely. Why wouldn't she be interested in connecting with family and in this day of DNA, finding out the results seemed more than possible so that reader's would know one way are the other. Is she a decendent of Cira? Is that why, she has the dream connections? When she told Trever about Decometis(spelling?), why didn't she mention Pea as well? Since, Pea had shown up in the translations? And she had wondered who Pea was? Bad way to leave this part. Many area's left unresolved? Is this the writer's way of setting up the next book? Very unsatisfying for someone who has paid to enjoy the beginning, middle and END of a book (of a story). There appears to be no end. Feel a little cheated. Not sure I will attempt another one of her books due to the discomfort of thinking that I may be "cheated" again.

"Off with the author's Head" for this one --it did not quite make my "good book list".

This book takes way too long to get anywhere. Also, the heroine of the book, Jane MacGuire, is annoyingly tough for a 21 year old. Yeah, yeah...she was a street kid, yada, yada, yada, but no 21 year old really acts like that. The sexual obsession between her and much older man, Mark Trevor, is rather gross.
This book was a waste of my time.

During the week, my job requires me to travel. I pass the time listening to books on tape. I have listened to several of her books, and I have enjoyed them. In this recent book, I was so bored with the characters and the plot that I constantly rewound the tape to keep up with the weak story development...my mind wandered. I kept listening for the problem in the story but it didn't happen until the middle, and then the terrorists were injected into the story. The thread was so weak; I kept waiting for another plot to develop. It never did. I thought I had missed something so I rewound and listened again. I didn't miss anything; the main problem was weak and the subplot was weaker.

I guess I will have to add her to my growing list of writers who have gone so commercial that they publish, publish, publish with no thought to the content.

After Blind Alley, I swore I'd never read another Johanssen novel, but I thought I'd give her one more chance. Big mistake. What happened to this author? Why has her writing gone downhill so badly? Is it because Jane (a very immature, unlikeable character) is now the focus? Is it because the plots have become goofy and implausible? Does she have a guarantee that she'll be published no matter what she writes? If "Countdown" and "Blind Alley" are the best she has left, she's running on empty.

Countdown continues on the story from Blind Alley, with Trevor reuniting with Jane in order to protect her from yet another terrorist. I am glad to see the return of Trevor, and the supporting character MacDuff was very interesting too. You barely see any of Eve or Joe in this novel. The problem with this novel and well as Blind Alley is that Iris is making the plots increasingly overblown and unbelievable. Killing Game at least had believability, unlike the constant terrorists, 2000 year old legends, and trained assassins found in this book. The other problem I had with this book was that Jane's dialogue is very unrealistic. She speaks like a 40 year old instead of a 21 year old college kid..........I am not much older than she is and no 21 year old I know uses phrases or speaks as formally as she does. However, the book was still interesting enough to hold my attention and is worth it to buy it you are an ardent fan of the series.

I picked up this book because someone recommended it. Don't bother! The whole premise is that a woman in ancient Greece, who was a stage actress, hid a chest of gold that is being searched for in modern times.
Bosh! Women in ancient Greece were not permitted on stage---all roles were acted by men in women's dress. Do your research more carefully Ms. Johansen.

I have to agree with most of the other reviewers. I'm only halfway through this book and I'm having to force myself to finish it. The main character, Jane, Is not believable at all. Her life is in danger and she's not scared? Instead, she's bold, smart-mouthed, and cocky... and she's only 21! The plot is stupid and I don't care what happens next. Very disappointed. Not sure if I'll be able to finish it or not.

here's the story.... his lips twisted, her lips twisted, his lips tightened, her lips tightened. Jock turns into Jack for one page. where is the editor? this author was out to lunch when she wrote this book. what a waste of time. no entertainment value!

I have read all of the Eve Duncan books. Although Eve is certainly not warm and fuzzy she is sympathetic given her past. Not so the lead in this book, Jane MacGuire. I flat out don't like this character! She is surly and rude at every turn, and comes across as a spoiled 21 year old know-it-all. I can't imagine what Trevor would ever see in this spoiled brat. I honestly think she is the most pugnacious character I've ever read about. By the end of the book I was actually hoping Jane would get caught by the enemy just so they would shut her up and stop her whining!

I agree with previous reviewer, Iris let me down. I was anticipating a great ending, but was left with Eve and Jane reminising over better days. No conclusion to the gold, the romance with Trevor.... suspect a lead into the next book. I was disappointed.

Was very excited and practically breathless waiting for another Eve Duncan book...Very disappointed. This story has drug on and on and could easily been written and finished in 4 chapters. What is wrong Iris? Please do not expect us to trust our hard earned monies to half hearted retoric.If you need a vacation, take one to find more inspiration in giving what gift you have in full.

I used to really enjoy Iris Johansen books. Well no more. This has to be the worst book I have read in a very long time. Predictable plot, trite language, superficial characters. Just awful. I read it to the end only because I started it and even then, it was less than rewarding. Don't bother !

This book says it's an Eve Duncan thriller. NOT!!! It was all about Jane with a far fetched plot, actually ridiculous.. If you like the forensic aspect of Eve don't by this book. I'm sorry I bought it.

I found Countdown did not live up to previous books by Iris Johansen. I grew bored with the main character, Jane MacGuire and the contrived "sexual tension" between Jane and Mark Trevor. The storyline about "Cira" is ludricrous and not believable. I don't recommend this book.

Ms. Johansen continues with the story of Jane and weaves a very captivating story of mystery and twisted fates. I'm very impressed at her ability to keep the facts from past books straight and weave them into the current story. An excellent book, I highly recommend it.