[Review] — James Patterson's "COUTDOWN" is a Fluff Thriller

The last few years have seen a decline in my enthusiasm for James Patterson's thrillers. The coauthors—the actual writers—more or less had something to do with the poorly handled execution of some of his works, despite their intriguing setups. In conclusion, these books have felt hurried and have had too many one-dimensional characters. All of this leads me to Countdown, a thriller by Patterson, and Brendan DuBois, a regular Patterson writing partner. I've read at least one of their works, Blowback, which I gave two stars, so I wasn't too impressed with their writing. 

In Countdown (available on Hardcover and Kindle), Agent Amy Cornwall only has five days to save the world and four days to rescue her family. Amy is great at operating in the shadows, but after a disastrous field operation, she learns that her employers were engaging in questionable transactions with an informant. Then there's a terrorist genius's covert plan that could result in the deaths of thousands of Americans — and Amy's daughter and husband are among them. She has to hide because "The Division" wants to obliterate her. They are fully aware of her background, family, and identity. The clock is ticking for Agent Cornwall.

Have I read The Cornwalls Are Missing, book one? If I did, I can't recall even one narrative detail from it, even though I'm sure I have a copy of it someplace in my extensive book collection. Countdown, as best as I can determine, is a standalone story with a returning protagonist, Amy Cornwall.

Will you enjoy reading Countdown? Everything depends on the standards you have for literature. This novel might be up your alley if you like one-dimensional characters, cliché speech, and hazy descriptions. If you're searching for a highly clever, well-written thriller, look elsewhere because you won't find it here.

James Patterson's books are only "fluff" reading these days, but there's nothing wrong with reading this kind of literature. For what it is, Countdown was one of his better outings. Let me rephrase that; it's one of the better novels written by Brendan DuBois. It's nothing more than a formulaic CIA thriller; the story and the characters feel like they could have come straight out of any recent genre novel. Tiresome? Yes, the plot is familiar, one done better by other writers. The single distinguishing feature of Countdown is James Patterson's name emblazoned at the tip-top of the cover. ╌★★★✰✰