Abbott's third Sam Capra thriller (after Last Minute) is almost nonstop action with bullets and fists flying throughout and a steadily mounting body count to match. Capra is in San Francisco, checking up on the bar he owns there as cover for his clandestine work for the shadowy Round Table. When a beautiful young woman runs into his bar, chased by two men, Capra chivalrously charges to her rescue. After the melee, a Russian lies dead by Capra's hand and the girl and her other pursuer have vanished. In trying to discover the girl's whereabouts and her pursuer's identity, Capra uncovers another secret network, whose leader has deadly plans in motion at the highest level, and it is up to Capra and his Round Table contacts to thwart him. VERDICT There are enough fights and chases for several blockbuster movies in this thriller, which should please adrenaline junkies. Those seeking something deeper should look elsewhere.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids
Bestseller Abbott packs a lifetime of thrills and suspense into a mere five days in his convoluted third novel featuring former CIA agent Sam Capra (after 2011’s The Last Minute). Soon after terrified Diana Keene hurries into Sam’s San Francisco bar pleading for help, two sinister-looking men enter the place looking for her. One of them pulls a knife and attacks Sam, but in the ensuing fight the thug suffers a fatal stab wound. Sam learns Diana is being sought by agents of John Belias, who controls a widespread network of powerful and deadly agents, including Diana’s mother, Janice Keene. Abbott excels at spinning complex webs of intrigue combining psychological twists and abundant action, though the sheer number of players and their ultimate loyalties can be difficult to track. Sam is both pawn and knight in an exciting chess game that moves from San Francisco to Portland, Ore.; Denver; Las Vegas; and Chicago. Agent: Peter Ginsberg, Curtis Brown. (July)
"Abbott is one of the best thriller writers in the business, and he delivers action and complex characters in an explosive cocktail. The next Capra novel cannot come fast enough."—Associated Press on The Last Minute Booklist on The Last Minute San Antonio Express-News USA TODAY on Adrenaline Entertainment Weekly on Adrenaline Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Adrenaline Associated Press on Adrenaline
"Like Adrenaline, this is a fast-paced thriller with a likable, morally conflicted hero. Sam is in a difficult situation, seemingly forced to commit murder to find his son, and--this is a testament to Abbott's skills as a storyteller--we really don't know whether he will follow through. The book ends on an upbeat note, giving Sam a certain amount of closure. Still, let's hope Abbott isn't through with Sam. He's a very well drawn character, and it would be nice to see him again."
Booklist on The Last Minute
"Abbott is one of the best thriller writers in the business, and he delivers action and complex characters in an explosive cocktail. The next Capra novel cannot come fast enough."
Associated Press on The Last Minute
"Extremely compelling . . . a thriller that will get even the most jaded reader's pulse racing . . . a grand slam home run."
Associated Press on Adrenaline
"[An] edgy, seat-of-your-pants spy caper."
Entertainment Weekly on Adrenaline
"Twisty, turny, and terrific."
"DOWNFALL is a pulsing adventure that will keep readers' attention riveted....Abbott's descriptions are vivid: car chases, fight scenes, interrogations and risky escape scenarios. The narrative shocks, repels, intrigues and ultimately draws the reader in as Sam maneuvers to gain the advantage. This is another Abbott thriller that packs a punch."
Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star
"Often wildly entertaining...Abbott manages to pack a ton of action into a book that covers a mere five days."
Austin-American Statesman
"Filled with action, intrigue, twists, and a variety of locales. At 464 pages, it's perfect for a summer weekend's reading pleasure."
"The Adrenaline rush that won't stop."
"Twisty, turny, and terrific."
"Austin's Jeff Abbott continues his winning streak with Downfall, his third thriller starring ex-CIA spy, parkour runner and man-of-dark-wit Sam Capra...As usual, this Capra thriller's pounding intensity is leavened by Sam's sense of humor, even when he's being hunted, tortured or betrayed."
"Like Adrenaline, this is a fast-paced thriller with a likable, morally conflicted hero. Sam is in a difficult situation, seemingly forced to commit murder to find his son, and--this is a testament to Abbott's skills as a storyteller--we really don't know whether he will follow through. The book ends on an upbeat note, giving Sam a certain amount of closure. Still, let's hope Abbott isn't through with Sam. He's a very well drawn character, and it would be nice to see him again."
"Abbott knows how to slowly ratchet up the tension while maintaining great characters and terrific plot twists...The Sam Capra series gets better with each outing, and DOWNFALL is a "must read" for the action-thriller fan."
"Action-packed, never-stop-for-a-breath storytelling."
"[An] edgy, seat-of-your-pants spy caper."
Nothing in Sam Capra's three short years in the CIA could have prepared him for the series of high-stakes conspiracies he's encountered since then (The Last Minute , 2012, etc.), including this tale of a ruthless Mephisto who promises to fulfill his minions' dreams if only they'll kill at his command. Since getting forced out of the CIA, Sam Capra, 26, has opened dozens of bars around the world. So it's actually statistically likely that he'd be sitting in one of them, San Francisco's The Select, when a pair of strangers tries to kill a young woman before his eyes. Ever chivalrous, Sam comes to Diana Keene's aid, and by the end of the episode, Grigori Rostov is dead and Glenn Marchbanks seriously wounded. Diana's troubles spring from those of her mother, whose successful public relations firm is founded on a fateful deal she cut with John Belias, a modern-day Prince of Darkness. For a price to be named later, Belias arranges through his network of intermediaries for the failure of his associates' business rivals. In Janice Keene's case, the current price is the assassination of three well-known figures in Portland, Las Vegas and Chicago. Though her oncologist has already pronounced her death sentence, Janice soldiers on in the fatuous hope of leaving her daughter a better life. Diana begins to make inquiries that bring her to the attention of Belias' other assassins. And this is just for starters. There'll be many more betrayals, double crosses, noble/dumb sacrificial gestures, orders from A to B to eliminate C, false suspicions that specific killers have killed people that they don't happen to have killed and, the most original feature here, violent deaths of people readers thought were keepers. The criminal mastermind manages to be both repellent and uninteresting, and it's hard to root for anyone, including Sam, when everyone's basically under compulsion to eliminate everyone else. Maybe Abbott and his hapless hero should move on to a new formula.
