The Cornwalls Are Gone by James Patterson / Book Review

She Has Forty-Eight Hours To Save Her Family

Author: James Patterson with Brendan DuBois
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (March 25, 2019)

Genre: Mysteries / Thrillers
Series: Amy Cornwall Series, #1

Hardcover: 352 pages

Description

Captain Amy Cornwall’s family is missing. She’ll do whatever it takes to bring them home.

In her career as an Army intelligence officer, Amy Cornwall has seen haunting sights half a world away. None compare to the chilling scene at her Virginia home. It is empty.

A phone rings with a terrifying ultimatum: locate and liberate an unnamed captive in forty-eight hours, or her kidnapped husband and ten-year-old daughter are dead.

Now, and in open defiance of Army Command, Amy must employ every lethal tactic she has to save them. To succeed, she must discover not only who dispatched her on this mission, but why. Without her family, she’s dead anyway.

(by publisher)

My Thoughts:

This is yet another story that feels hard to evaluate. I listened to an audiobook, which probably in retrospect caused me to like it far better than if I’d read it. Narrators Lauren Fortgang, and Edoardo Ballerini truly brought the story to life. But the narration alone just wasn’t enough.

Though I like stories to start with a bang, I’m not sure it worked for me in this book. The start focused almost entirely around the clock that was ticking and Amy’s need to solve everything herself since she wasn’t to contact anyone. It was hard to get drawn in just by her nerves and concerns. Even her constant reiteration that losing her family would mean she would lose herself was a bit hard to completely sympathize with since we never witnessed their relationship beforehand. It felt like only words since there were no flashbacks or anything to display examples. Yes, I know a family is a family, but actions can help make a point.

And would Amy, a seasoned soldier, and intelligence officer, immediately go AWOL? Of course, realizing her family is at stake can cause some quick knee-jerk reactions, but she became something near to Super Woman, as she defeated many around her who might slow her mission. In all fairness, she did also show a sentimental, empathetic side as well on a few occasions.

Meanwhile, as Amy is frantically trying to meet her deadline, her husband and daughter are being held by pretty much clueless kidnappers. But like Amy, the kidnappers seem to be following instructions set by someone higher up.

Amy manages to cross the country and secure the target she’s been sent to kidnap. But will the police and military interfere with her plans to deliver the man to his destination, since they are also attempting to track their newly AWOL member?

Toward the end, the pace does speed up. And the conclusion wraps up nicely. I do have a warning, however. Toward the last, there is a very brief torture scene.

All and all, it is a fine mystery, but I would never rate it a thriller.

What Concerned Me:

Though many reviewers are rating The Cornwalls Are Gone very high, for me the storyline was fairly predictable and the characters were flat.

What I Loved Best:

This was definitely good writing. If the characters are fleshed out, and Amy doesn’t become overly adept at everything, I see the possibility of this being a very good series to follow.

About the Author

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The Cornwalls Are Gone by James Patterson / Book Review