Life or death.
"I've taken on a lot of our responsibility myself. I know you think it's because I don’t trust you to handle it. But that isn't true, Dan. I’ve been trying to spare you from pressure, and from danger. But I know you're smart, and strong, and capable. You can make the big decisions. You can lead the family."
— Amy Cahill
Countdown is the third book in the third series of The 39 Clues, Unstoppable.
The clock has run out for thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill. As head of the Cahills, the most powerful family the world has ever known, he and his older sister Amy have been in the crosshairs for too long. Dan and Amy have always managed to stay a step ahead of their enemies, but it was only a matter of time until luck failed them.
Now Dan is hopelessly trapped and nothing can save him. Nothing except unleashing an evil into the world even worse than the enemies closing in. As Dan hovers between life and death, Amy has a terrifying decision to make. Just how far is she willing to go to save her little brother?
Tropes:
- A Death in the Limelight: Pony gets more focus in this installment of the Unstoppable series, and is considering joining the Cahills full-time. Not long after, he dies in a botched rescue attempt for Dan.
- Downer Ending: Although Jake, Jonah, Ian, Hamilton and Atticus get the third ingredient (Riven quartz crystal), Amy and Dan end up walking into Pierce's trap to retrieving Olivia's book, with Pony being too late to warn them. When the three try to escape, Dan is kidnapped and Pony dies from trying to hold onto a helicopter in an attempt to save him. Amy finds Pony's body and begins to walk back to the hotel, now a teary, defeated and weakened mess.
- Freak Out: Amy screams in frustration and anguish after Dan is stuck in the middle of the zip line, with no hope of escape and one of Pierce's goons about to cut the zip line down with a machete.
- Hallucinations: One of the side effects of the serum, as Amy ends up seemingly attacking an invading jaguar in her room, even though it's actually Jake.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Amy's stance towards using the Master Serum to rescue Dan from a failing zip line.
- Killed Off for Real: Pony tries to hang on to a flying helicopter to save Dan. Unfortunately, since he is someone who is a Big Eater of junk food and spends most of his time on computers, he isn't physically fit like the other Cahills. As a result, his shoulder dislocates and he plummets to his death.
- Series Continuity Error: Cara answers a trivia question involving naming cities that hosted the Republican National Convention, with one of them being Tampa, 2012. However, the events of Unstoppable take place in 2011.
- Take Up My Sword: Just look at the page quote. Amy makes Dan the Cahill leader after the serum's side effects begin to affect her mind.
- Wham Episode: Amy drinks the original serum, meaning she's going to die. Pierce gets Olivia's book, and starts trying to make a serum without side-effects. Nellie and Sammy are captured by Pierce's company. Finally, Pierce uses the book to set a trap for the Cahills and kidnaps Dan, and Pony is killed trying to save him.
