SILENCING EVE by Iris Johansen

Publisher:   St. Martins  

Published:   October 1, 2013

ISBN:  978-1250020024

Genre:   Thriller, Contemporary

Format:   Hardback

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com

THREE HEARTS

Kevin Doane is perhaps the ugliest of killers.  Not his own physical looks, but he, himself, from deep inside is the most despicable of creatures.  Now, even though Kevin is dead, his father, James, carries on his horrific legacy.  First he kidnaps forensic sculptor Eve Duncan—they he blows both Eve and himself up.  Only James is more devious than simply killing himself.  Rather he sets up a situation to appear that he and Eve have been destroyed.  Now, on the run, he plans to destroy Eve’s family while at the same time raining nuclear destruction on two American cities. 

Despite the years since her daughter Bonnie was taken from her and killed Eve Duncan keeps Bonnie’s memory alive as she reconstructs the faces of deceased children and returns at least a part of their physical bodies to their families.  There have been times over the years killers have manipulated her into reconstructing faces for their own reasons.  But this time, Doane’s insistence that she reconstruction Kevin, is the most horrific of all.  Yet in that reconstruction Eve might be able to let her loved ones know she is still alive.

Her adopted daughter, Jane Maguire doesn’t believe Eve is dead.  Neither does her long-time lover, Joe Quinn.  It is Jane who is on the trail to find Eve.  Will she succeed or this time will the killers win?

Not long ago a friend asked me what I thought of Iris Johansen’s Eve Duncan series.  While the stories can move along at a good clip and some of the characters are likeable, I’ve never warmed up to Eve.  She’s just too two dimensional and not a very sympathetic character.  Pretty much if you’ve read one Eve Duncan book, you’ve read them all—at least the ones where the story is built around Eve.  Characters like Catherine Ling, Mark Trevor and a few others are pretty good to read.  Eve is locked in the time when her daughter, Bonnie, was taken from her.  Yes, I know people can grieve to the point that they will never move on—some losses can be so painful that we freeze in that time and can never move on.  Despite other people in her life, people who love her, Eve continues as a prickly, not very likeable character. 

Johansen relies heavily on dialogue with minimal narrative and almost never describes the setting the characters are in.  They talk at each other and the reader seldom experiences any of their visceral actions. 

SILENCING EVE is one of the better reads in this series.  I did not read the first two in this sub-trilogy of the Eve Duncan series and there is minimal to no back story, but you do not have to have read any of the other books to keep up with this story. 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

THE TREASURE by Iris Johansen

Publisher: Bantam
Date published: Reprint, November 2009
ISBN: 978-0553571820
Historical romance
Paperback
Reviewed by Valerie
Obtained by publisher



Reformed assassin Kadar Ben Arnaud helped Lady Selene Ware escape a harem where she was a slave. The sheikh who claimed her as his now forces Kadar on a quest. Selene doesn’t want to let Kadar go, so she goes along with him. They are to steal a religious relic, one that is powerful and dangerous. They find Tarek, the keeper of the relic. He has his own agenda with Kadar and Selene. The truth of the relic is more than they ever dreamed possible and it could cost them their lives. Kadar will have to go over to the dark path to save Selene. As they discover the secrets of the relic, they come closer to losing each other. As love and vengeance clash, Kadar and Selene have choices to make that could change their lives forever.

This is an interesting story. It held me captive until the last page, even though I had a few questions that the story didn’t answer for me. Nonetheless, I did look forward to picking up the book to see what would happen next. I enjoyed the relationship between Kadar and Selene, particularly their bantering. The dialogue between them is very sharp and witty. One thing I believe this story was lacking in, and that was sexual tension and more in-depth emotional love scenes. The love scenes were skimmed over and the emotional relationship between Kadar and Selene came over a bit two-dimensional. I enjoyed the secondary characters and of course, the antagonist was quite the character too. If you are looking for a light read on a winter afternoon, I could recommend this one.


THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF THIS BOOK. THIS IS AN OBJECTIVE UNBIASED REVIEW

THE TREASURE by Iris Johansen

Publisher: Bantam
Date published: December 2008
ISBN: 978-0-553-80731-8
Historical Paranormal Romance
Hardback

Reviewed by Pam



Lady Selene Ware is very headstrong and finds herself on a dangerous journey, to a place she’d hoped never to see again. Unfortunately for Haroun, the young man who was supposed to look out for her, he ends up on board the ship too.
Ex-assassin Kadar Ben Arnoud, knew that one day he would have to travel back to the man he’d called master. What he hadn’t bargained on, was having to care for Selene and Haroun along the way. He has been waiting for Selene to age a little before asking for her hand, but with their lives at stake, things have changed.
When they find themselves involved in an erotic affair to entertain an old man, the stakes suddenly become higher and the struggle deadly. They escape one trap to land in another, as two men threaten and fight over who should be the guardians of a treasure that has cost many lives. The situation becomes lethal as they become pawns in a sorcerer’s plan, as lives are bargained for and lost. Now Arnoud fights to retain his status in the light, before the dark forces take him over.

THE TREASURE is a tale of ruthless assassins, star-crossed lovers and a deadly struggle for control. The reader will travel from a castle in Scotland to fortresses deep in the mountains where Nasim an evil Sheik waits. Kadar finds he is to be a pawn between Nasim and Tarik, the keeper of the treasure.
The plot is intriguing, and the characters varied, with some interesting betrayals. The deaths are inevitably gory, so not a tale for the faint at heart reader. It is in some respects another type of De Vinci Code, as they seek the grail, which is only known as being magical. Those who would own it are both ruthless and cruel, which means the characters are aligned with good or bad as they balance light against the dark.
The heroine was a little over the top in this reviewers eyes, but Kadar the gallant hero was one many women would adore. Protective, cool at all times and attentive to his lady’s needs, as he teaches her the art of love and sex, he is what most women would desire in a partner.

Pam@Loveromancesandmore.com