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Eve Duncan #15
Sleep No More
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen comes a new thriller that will have Eve Duncan questioning everything she thought she knew about her family and her past
One woman held captive for decades…
Another one freed by the truth…
Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan knows what it's like to be haunted by the past. For years after her daughter Bonnie was stolen from her, she fought for closure. But now as she's striving to begin anew, she can't shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen—or maybe already has. When her mother, Sandra, asks for help in finding a missing friend named Beth Avery, Eve is sure that she's hiding something. It’s odd that Sandra would get involved at all, and the fact that she adamantly refuses to go to the police for help reinforces Eve’s suspicions that something is very wrong.
Eve learns that Beth has been locked away in a mental hospital for years, which makes it even harder to understand how she could have disappeared. As Sandra reluctantly reveals small pieces of the truth about Beth's identity, Eve is shocked to discover that their lives are strangely entwined, and Beth's disappearance now puts them all in grave danger.
Desperate, Eve enlists a secret weapon to pick up Beth's trail: rogue profiler, Kendra Michaels. With an uncanny ability to detect clues and solve puzzles, Kendra begins to uncover the bizarre circumstances of Beth's escape from what should have been the safety of her hospital room. Beth is on the run, and as her mind clears--detoxing from the drugs that have held her prisoner--she begins to see the threads of a twisted plot within the powerful Avery family, threatening to destroy Beth and anyone else who might jeopardize the high-stakes game that is already in play.
One woman held captive for decades…
Another one freed by the truth…
Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan knows what it's like to be haunted by the past. For years after her daughter Bonnie was stolen from her, she fought for closure. But now as she's striving to begin anew, she can't shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen—or maybe already has. When her mother, Sandra, asks for help in finding a missing friend named Beth Avery, Eve is sure that she's hiding something. It’s odd that Sandra would get involved at all, and the fact that she adamantly refuses to go to the police for help reinforces Eve’s suspicions that something is very wrong.
Eve learns that Beth has been locked away in a mental hospital for years, which makes it even harder to understand how she could have disappeared. As Sandra reluctantly reveals small pieces of the truth about Beth's identity, Eve is shocked to discover that their lives are strangely entwined, and Beth's disappearance now puts them all in grave danger.
Desperate, Eve enlists a secret weapon to pick up Beth's trail: rogue profiler, Kendra Michaels. With an uncanny ability to detect clues and solve puzzles, Kendra begins to uncover the bizarre circumstances of Beth's escape from what should have been the safety of her hospital room. Beth is on the run, and as her mind clears--detoxing from the drugs that have held her prisoner--she begins to see the threads of a twisted plot within the powerful Avery family, threatening to destroy Beth and anyone else who might jeopardize the high-stakes game that is already in play.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published October 16, 2012
317 people are currently reading
4966 people want to read
About the author
Iris Johansen
226 books7,327 followersIris Johansen is a New York Times bestselling author. She began her writing after her children left home for college. She first achieved success in the early 1980s writing category romances. In 1991, Johansen began writing suspense historical romance novels, starting with the publication of The Wind Dancer. In 1996 Johansen switched genres, turning to crime fiction, with which she has had great success.
She lives in Georgia and is married. Her son, Roy Johansen, is an Edgar Award-winning screenwriter and novelist. Her daughter, Tamara, serves as her research assistant.
IRIS JOHANSEN is The New York Times bestselling author of Night and Day, Hide Away, Shadow Play, Your Next Breath, The Perfect Witness, Live to See Tomorrow, Silencing Eve, Hunting Eve, Taking Eve, Sleep No More, What Doesn't Kill You, Bonnie, Quinn, Eve, Chasing The Night, Eight Days to Live, Blood Game, Deadlock, Dark Summer, Pandora's Daughter, Quicksand, Killer Dreams, On The Run, and more. And with her son, Roy Johansen, she has coauthored Night Watch, The Naked Eye, Sight Unseen, Close Your Eyes, Shadow Zone, Storm Cycle, and Silent Thunder.
http://www.irisjohansen.com
She lives in Georgia and is married. Her son, Roy Johansen, is an Edgar Award-winning screenwriter and novelist. Her daughter, Tamara, serves as her research assistant.
IRIS JOHANSEN is The New York Times bestselling author of Night and Day, Hide Away, Shadow Play, Your Next Breath, The Perfect Witness, Live to See Tomorrow, Silencing Eve, Hunting Eve, Taking Eve, Sleep No More, What Doesn't Kill You, Bonnie, Quinn, Eve, Chasing The Night, Eight Days to Live, Blood Game, Deadlock, Dark Summer, Pandora's Daughter, Quicksand, Killer Dreams, On The Run, and more. And with her son, Roy Johansen, she has coauthored Night Watch, The Naked Eye, Sight Unseen, Close Your Eyes, Shadow Zone, Storm Cycle, and Silent Thunder.
http://www.irisjohansen.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 437 reviews
March 29, 2023
This is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone novel. In fact, this would be a good starting point as the previous book ended a long story arc. In this one Eve finds out that and that she is in trouble.
In my review of the last book in this series I mentioned how this series isn't doing it for me. I stated how I loved the series at the beginning and not so much anymore and I should probably not continue. I wish I listened to myself. This book continues the trend that I have noticed recently in this series. There is a lot of repetition. Eve finds a situation. Joe tags along. Somewhere during this situation Eve and Joe will do something on their own and the other one will get angry. They will explain they did it to keep the other one safe and all is forgiven. I will say the mystery and the conspiracy was interesting. I liked that part of the novel. I wish we concentrated on that more instead of the characters as I did not like the new characters. The reason for this was the dialogue. It was really bad. It just did not feel authentic at all especially Eve's . I understand she was out of action for some time but the author portrayed her like this was the first time she ever interacted with anyone for her whole life.
I know this offering has a lot of positive reviews. I keep waiting for this series to get on track for me. It looks like I have to wait for another book for that to happen. This book had potential with the mystery. Unfortunately it could not deliver because of the characters and their dialogue. This goes for the new and established characters. I really did not care for anyone in this book and not what you want when you are reading a book.
In my review of the last book in this series I mentioned how this series isn't doing it for me. I stated how I loved the series at the beginning and not so much anymore and I should probably not continue. I wish I listened to myself. This book continues the trend that I have noticed recently in this series. There is a lot of repetition. Eve finds a situation. Joe tags along. Somewhere during this situation Eve and Joe will do something on their own and the other one will get angry. They will explain they did it to keep the other one safe and all is forgiven. I will say the mystery and the conspiracy was interesting. I liked that part of the novel. I wish we concentrated on that more instead of the characters as I did not like the new characters. The reason for this was the dialogue. It was really bad. It just did not feel authentic at all especially Eve's . I understand she was out of action for some time but the author portrayed her like this was the first time she ever interacted with anyone for her whole life.
I know this offering has a lot of positive reviews. I keep waiting for this series to get on track for me. It looks like I have to wait for another book for that to happen. This book had potential with the mystery. Unfortunately it could not deliver because of the characters and their dialogue. This goes for the new and established characters. I really did not care for anyone in this book and not what you want when you are reading a book.
February 12, 2013
A few years ago, before I joined GoodReads, I read 2 or 3 of the Eve Duncan books on the recommendation of a friend--can't remember titles, as they all seemed pretty formulaic. Haven't picked one up since then.
And maybe this wasn't the right one--but...very unimpressed.
There are problems all through what should be a taut thriller: a massive overdose of goes-nowhere, inane dialogue; a plotting timeline that doesn't make any sense; lead characters who do things no sane person would do; a kitchen-sink approach to cramming random stuff into the story--like a villain who appears to come from another series, perhaps just because there wasn't any voodoo in the book already. Plus--Johansen's characters never hang up a phone. They "press disconnect" (four times, in three chapters).
I immediately remembered Eve Duncan, and her little girl, and her passion for recreating the faces of victims. Maybe Johnansen's tired of Eve and can't find anything more for her to do, but this book was a mess.
And maybe this wasn't the right one--but...very unimpressed.
There are problems all through what should be a taut thriller: a massive overdose of goes-nowhere, inane dialogue; a plotting timeline that doesn't make any sense; lead characters who do things no sane person would do; a kitchen-sink approach to cramming random stuff into the story--like a villain who appears to come from another series, perhaps just because there wasn't any voodoo in the book already. Plus--Johansen's characters never hang up a phone. They "press disconnect" (four times, in three chapters).
I immediately remembered Eve Duncan, and her little girl, and her passion for recreating the faces of victims. Maybe Johnansen's tired of Eve and can't find anything more for her to do, but this book was a mess.
November 12, 2012
The book was hard to stay with after the first 200 pages when conversations became stilted and repetitive. Some of the murders may have happened with the movement of a wand, as they were dismissed with a sentence or two, and not credible.
I think I'm finished with these characters. Perhaps Ms. Johansen will invent a more believab;e plot with a new group of people, but I won't be rushing to read this author any time soon.
I think I'm finished with these characters. Perhaps Ms. Johansen will invent a more believab;e plot with a new group of people, but I won't be rushing to read this author any time soon.
December 14, 2012
Characters are stilted and formulaic. Dialogue dull. If I had to read one more "dammit" by joe and eve, or read one more scene where one protects the other by going it alone.... It's the same thing over and over. Eve has evolved into an almost unlikeable character, and yet everyone loves her and does her bidding. I think I will be finished with this series.
February 26, 2013
This is only getting 3 stars b/c of the suspense...it kept me sucked in. But I'm really not sure why: Johansen is getting a bit repetitive with her plots. Family member in trouble? Check. Eve putting herself in danger against Joe's advice? Check. Presidential candidate involved? Check. Crazy dangerous killer? Check.
Seriously, didn't Catherine Ling just save a good presidential candidate? Guess that doesn't count since it wasn't technically an "Eve Duncan" book.
The timeline really bugs me too. It's been totally thrown off. Eve had Bonnie when she was 16, and Bonnie died at age 7. That puts Eve at 22. I'm pretty sure it had been 7 years since Bonnie's death when the FIRST Eve Duncan book came out. That puts Eve at 29. She was with Logan for a year. 30. She finally gets with Joe and adopts Jane (little cloudy on the timeline here since it's been awhile since I read the early books)...we'll be generous and say she's still 30. Jane was 10. Pretty sure at last count, Jane was in her mid-twenties. Again, I'll be generous and say early 20s. That puts Eve at least at 42. And if I was being more accurate, probably older than that.
So let's look at "Sleep No More." Beth had her accident at 17. At one point, it says she's been in the hospital for two decades, which would make her 37 (although they lose a decade halfway through the story and say she's been in the hospital for ten years). She's at least a year older than Eve, so that makes Eve 36. See why this drives me crazy???
And really...I could go on. Don't get me started about Catherine Ling and John Gallo and THEIR ages!!!
So as you can see, I spent most of the book stewing about Eve's age discrepancy. If Johansen had put a little caveat at the beginning and said she messed with the timeline a bit (SEP did it and I was fine with it), I would have accepted it and moved on. Grrr.
Seriously, didn't Catherine Ling just save a good presidential candidate? Guess that doesn't count since it wasn't technically an "Eve Duncan" book.
The timeline really bugs me too. It's been totally thrown off. Eve had Bonnie when she was 16, and Bonnie died at age 7. That puts Eve at 22. I'm pretty sure it had been 7 years since Bonnie's death when the FIRST Eve Duncan book came out. That puts Eve at 29. She was with Logan for a year. 30. She finally gets with Joe and adopts Jane (little cloudy on the timeline here since it's been awhile since I read the early books)...we'll be generous and say she's still 30. Jane was 10. Pretty sure at last count, Jane was in her mid-twenties. Again, I'll be generous and say early 20s. That puts Eve at least at 42. And if I was being more accurate, probably older than that.
So let's look at "Sleep No More." Beth had her accident at 17. At one point, it says she's been in the hospital for two decades, which would make her 37 (although they lose a decade halfway through the story and say she's been in the hospital for ten years). She's at least a year older than Eve, so that makes Eve 36. See why this drives me crazy???
And really...I could go on. Don't get me started about Catherine Ling and John Gallo and THEIR ages!!!
So as you can see, I spent most of the book stewing about Eve's age discrepancy. If Johansen had put a little caveat at the beginning and said she messed with the timeline a bit (SEP did it and I was fine with it), I would have accepted it and moved on. Grrr.
March 5, 2021
Sleep No More
is part of the long-running Eve Duncan series by Iris Johansen. However, in this book readers are introduced to profiler Kendra Michaels. Therefore, this book is also marketed as #1.75 of the Kendra Michaels series. Eve is a forensic sculptor and has proved instrumental time and again at bringing closure to families as she restores faces of their lost and missing, mostly children. In this case, she is asked by her mother Sandra to help her find a missing friend named Beth Avery.
Eve questions her mother as to why she won't just go to the police. Sandra is determined not to and continues to appeal to Eve for help. As Eve, along with husband Joe, a cop, yet so much more, they discover the woman's location. Sandra is slow to providing answers about Beth, but Eve soldiers on to try and find answers. Coming up dry, Eve seeks the help of Kendra Michaels. Kendra is a remarkable woman, blind for years but due to a surgery has had her sight restored. During her years in the dark she honed her other senses to near perfection, thus having amazing deductive skills. Now, with the power of sight restored, Kendra is sharper than ever and proves invaluable to helping Eve find answers.
I love getting to know Kendra and her exceptional ability to decipher clues. Her relationship with Eve is wonderful and they work well together. As is always the case in these books by Johansen, danger is always close at hand. Bonnie, Eve's deceased daughter, has a role in this book as she has in most of the Eve Duncan stories. This was a thrilling fast-paced read that I actually read while reading the first series.
Eve questions her mother as to why she won't just go to the police. Sandra is determined not to and continues to appeal to Eve for help. As Eve, along with husband Joe, a cop, yet so much more, they discover the woman's location. Sandra is slow to providing answers about Beth, but Eve soldiers on to try and find answers. Coming up dry, Eve seeks the help of Kendra Michaels. Kendra is a remarkable woman, blind for years but due to a surgery has had her sight restored. During her years in the dark she honed her other senses to near perfection, thus having amazing deductive skills. Now, with the power of sight restored, Kendra is sharper than ever and proves invaluable to helping Eve find answers.
I love getting to know Kendra and her exceptional ability to decipher clues. Her relationship with Eve is wonderful and they work well together. As is always the case in these books by Johansen, danger is always close at hand. Bonnie, Eve's deceased daughter, has a role in this book as she has in most of the Eve Duncan stories. This was a thrilling fast-paced read that I actually read while reading the first series.
November 14, 2012
Is there life after Bonnie for Eve? Apparently so. In this latest installment in the romantic suspense series, Ms. Johansen introduces us to a new character - Beth Avery. Beth's tie into Eve is a surprise to all. It's a nice addition and Bonnie's visit to Eve is lovely.
There has to be a suspense of disbelief for many of the "woo woo" stuff in these stories. Once that happens, these stories are quite lovely. I enjoyed this well edited if predictable plot. Joe and Eve are like a pair of comfortable slippers for me. See them together again while trying to solve a mystery is great. I'm a bit surprised how often Joe can just take off from work though. I didn't realize cops, even detectives could do it so easily w/o losing their job.
What I really enjoyed about this story is the fact that there are several strong women in this book and they aren't bitches to each other. Sure, they rub each other a bit, but they aren't fighting for male attention. New character Kendra is one I really like and I wish it were true. Kendra's ability to process information from all her 5 senses is impressive and I liked how Ms. Johansen wrote her. Kendra's interaction with Eve is realistic and fun to sit back and watch. Eve's relationship with Beth is also one of realistic ups and downs. This is probably what I like best about Ms. Johansen's characters. While they may have some "woo woo" stuff, their actions and responses ring true to how she created them. They don't behave in illogical manners.
This story is recommended to romantic suspense readers.
There has to be a suspense of disbelief for many of the "woo woo" stuff in these stories. Once that happens, these stories are quite lovely. I enjoyed this well edited if predictable plot. Joe and Eve are like a pair of comfortable slippers for me. See them together again while trying to solve a mystery is great. I'm a bit surprised how often Joe can just take off from work though. I didn't realize cops, even detectives could do it so easily w/o losing their job.
What I really enjoyed about this story is the fact that there are several strong women in this book and they aren't bitches to each other. Sure, they rub each other a bit, but they aren't fighting for male attention. New character Kendra is one I really like and I wish it were true. Kendra's ability to process information from all her 5 senses is impressive and I liked how Ms. Johansen wrote her. Kendra's interaction with Eve is realistic and fun to sit back and watch. Eve's relationship with Beth is also one of realistic ups and downs. This is probably what I like best about Ms. Johansen's characters. While they may have some "woo woo" stuff, their actions and responses ring true to how she created them. They don't behave in illogical manners.
This story is recommended to romantic suspense readers.
October 26, 2012
This book will be far more interesting if you first read Close Your Eyes which she wrote with her son Roy Johansen, but you won't really lose anything if you don't. Eve receives the extraordinary news that she has an older half sister who has recently escaped the sanitorium that she has spent the last 17 years. Eve is stunned but can't help but be drawn into her unknown sister's plight, particularly when it becomes clear her sister has been medicated and hypnotized into submission for years. Her father is a man on the verge of political greatness, perhaps the presidency. Except for nagging habit of liking pre-teen girls. When a hitman goes after Eve's sister and bungles the job, a lot of other people start dying. The plot is preposterous (except for the secret sister angle) but it was fun and action-packed and Kendra Michaels, from Close Your Eyes, is a great character and I was happy to see her again. The plot may not have been so crazy if the political angle had been a central facet of the story but since we didn't see any of that, it didn't hold together for me. But since I couldn't put it down, that deserves credit too.
February 28, 2023
Gotta finish the series. Not great. Eve and her ‘you have to do what I say all the time’ attitude annoys me more and more. Earlier books were 10000x better.
March 1, 2015
Sandra reveals that she had a illegitimate child (Beth Avery) before she gave birth to Eve. Beth's Father came from a wealthy family and they were desperate to cover up the fact he liked young girls. Sandra was forced to give Beth up and was warned never to speak of the child, and she didn't for years. But after Bonnie was kidnapped she hired a private detective to find Beth.
Beth was given to relatives of Rick Avery (Beth's Father) to raise, and they packed her off to boarding schools as soon as she was old enough. Rick refused to stay away from him and she knew he was her Father, but understood it had to be a secret. Then she was supposedly in a skiing accident and was packed off to a mental institution from which she has now escaped, with help from Billy Newell. Sandra begged Eve and Joe to help find her. Eve and Joe leave for California and enlist the help of Kendra Michaels. Not only is Beth missing someone is trying to kill her.
Eve and Joe barely get to Newell in time to save his life, with his help they find Beth but then the killer starts tying up lose ends and the people that can confirm that Beth was kept drugged up and confined against her will start dying. Someone is terrified that Beth will remember what happened the night before her accident.
Rick Avery comes to California and contacts Beth he insist on seeing her alone, but Eve insist on going with her to meet him. Beth realizes everything Eve told her about Rick liking young girls is true and insist on leaving but the killer is waiting in their car, when Rick intervenes the killer shoots and kills him against his orders. He takes Eve and Beth to his shack where he has a particularly horrifying death in store for Eve, if Bonnie can't summon help in time.
Event though Eve and Beth manage to survive the mastermind behind the killings gets away as no one can prove her involvement.
Beth was given to relatives of Rick Avery (Beth's Father) to raise, and they packed her off to boarding schools as soon as she was old enough. Rick refused to stay away from him and she knew he was her Father, but understood it had to be a secret. Then she was supposedly in a skiing accident and was packed off to a mental institution from which she has now escaped, with help from Billy Newell. Sandra begged Eve and Joe to help find her. Eve and Joe leave for California and enlist the help of Kendra Michaels. Not only is Beth missing someone is trying to kill her.
Eve and Joe barely get to Newell in time to save his life, with his help they find Beth but then the killer starts tying up lose ends and the people that can confirm that Beth was kept drugged up and confined against her will start dying. Someone is terrified that Beth will remember what happened the night before her accident.
Rick Avery comes to California and contacts Beth he insist on seeing her alone, but Eve insist on going with her to meet him. Beth realizes everything Eve told her about Rick liking young girls is true and insist on leaving but the killer is waiting in their car, when Rick intervenes the killer shoots and kills him against his orders. He takes Eve and Beth to his shack where he has a particularly horrifying death in store for Eve, if Bonnie can't summon help in time.
Event though Eve and Beth manage to survive the mastermind behind the killings gets away as no one can prove her involvement.
November 20, 2012
Having read all of the Iris Johansen books detailing Eve Duncan's search for her missing daughter Bonnie, I wondered where she would take the story and the characters once the mystery of Bonnie's disappearance was solved. In Sleep No More, she introduces a new character into Eve's life, a character who adds more mystery to the story of Eve, Joe and Eve's mother.
The story is fast-paced as Eve tries to understand and relate to the new member of her family, and the high stakes game of murder intended to protect the political aspirations of a powerful family bent on burying old secrets forever. The story brings the regular "good guys" and several obvious bad guys together in a battle to protect Eve's new family member...though there seem to be some other bad guys behind the scenes. In the end, good seems to win, but evil is not totally erased. So, is the victory final or is there more to come?
Well worth the read. I look forward to future stories of Eve Duncan and seeing how the new characters, good and bad, develop and their impact on Eve's life.
The story is fast-paced as Eve tries to understand and relate to the new member of her family, and the high stakes game of murder intended to protect the political aspirations of a powerful family bent on burying old secrets forever. The story brings the regular "good guys" and several obvious bad guys together in a battle to protect Eve's new family member...though there seem to be some other bad guys behind the scenes. In the end, good seems to win, but evil is not totally erased. So, is the victory final or is there more to come?
Well worth the read. I look forward to future stories of Eve Duncan and seeing how the new characters, good and bad, develop and their impact on Eve's life.
December 29, 2012
This book had a great story line and I greatly enjoyed it. It really snags the reader into being fearful for the life of the young girl they've kept sedated and mentally out of it for more than a decade. One questions whether/not her father truly loves and cares for her, and particularly since he hasn't been to see her for many years because of the pressure from his mother to avoid having any ties to the girl, for fear it will damage his political career. Sort of makes one wonder how any father could be that heavily influenced by anyone to detach himself from his daughter in a mental institution to that degree. It is shocking to learn the girl is also Eve's sister, and Eve and Joe take her under their wing while trying to investigate and get to the bottom of what truly happened.
I enjoyed the actual story but was not impressed with the writing style....very simplistic in my personal view, and this is the reason for only giving it 4 stars rather than a 5 star rating.
I enjoyed the actual story but was not impressed with the writing style....very simplistic in my personal view, and this is the reason for only giving it 4 stars rather than a 5 star rating.
September 1, 2012
This was a quick read with an interesting storyline. I liked it!
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur magazine in the October issue. http://affairedecoeur.com.
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur magazine in the October issue. http://affairedecoeur.com.
October 18, 2012
I adore this book. It was so great to be with Eve and Joe again soling a mystery. Love the new twist with Beth. It was an amazing read. I read it straight through. Wonderful. Will read again!
November 26, 2018
I really like these books. All of them I have listened to so far have had a great meaning. They all have told a story that showed how important family is, no matter the situation.
October 14, 2018
"Sleep No More" is yet another book with a good premise that was ruined by mediocre writing. Or, if not completely ruined, not nearly as good as it could have been.
It will be tough to describe this book without spoiling anything, but I'll do my best. I will say that the question of Beth Avery's identity is answered at the end of Chapter 2. Despite what the summary may suggest, that is not the main conflict in the story.
Beth Avery has spent most of her life in a psychiatric hospital after a skiing accident she had at age 17. One night, she escapes. It turns out someone is planning to kill her in a way that would make it look like an accident. When Eve Duncan's mother, Sandra, shows up on Eve's doorstep to ask Joe Quinn for help in finding Beth and making sure she's okay, the couple find themselves involved in yet another deadly situation. Kendra Michaels, the heroine of her own series, also makes an appearance, using her almost supernatural skills of observation to try and track Beth down.
I was surprised by how immature and unlikable Sandra was in this book. I remembered her being a little flaky, but ultimately a decent person, in other Eve Duncan novels, except for the time before Eve had Bonnie. I guess she didn't really play a big enough role in the other ones for me to see how awful she actually was. She's selfish and emotionally abusive to Eve. It kind of annoyed me how she talked about how Eve was "stronger" than she was. It seems that the only kinds of people who admit they're weak are people Iris Johansen wants to portray negatively. Sadly, that in itself doesn't surprise me.
Beth was a fairly interesting character, if only because Johansen rarely portrays characters with mental disorders. And Beth does have a mental disorder, even if she doesn't belong in a psychiatric hospital. She has PTSD, if nothing else. She also has some repressed memories.
I did think that her portrayal was strange, however. She has a life before her accident that she can remember, yet she thinks that people don't care about who they have sex with, and thinks that Eve will be okay with her having sex with Joe. I'm pretty sure that even if she just learned everything about sex from TV shows, she'd learn pretty quickly that most people consider that cheating.
Of course, there are the typical Johansen repetitions. "His/her lips twisted." "She threw back her head and laughed." "She stiffened." "The hell I will/I won't/you do."
We have a Depraved Bisexual character, a sociopath who was a teenage sex worker and was raped--yes, I'm saying raped because of the power difference--by her therapist. I really should be numb to stereotyping at this point, but I keep expecting Johansen to do better. Sigh.
We do get a female villain who isn't entirely a femme fatale. She even calls out the above character for only relying on sex when there are many different ways a woman can be powerful. Yay...I guess. I don't know. There's just so much bad character design that the occasional decent character design doesn't really take away from it.
There's another character named Newell who just sticks around to "protect" Beth, even though Even and Joe are really the ones who do everything. He's so boring that I can't even remember his name. At least he wasn't rapey towards Beth, but he might get that way if Johansen is setting him up to be her love interest. And if he isn't her love interest, she'll probably say she loves him like a "brother" or something.
There's another pedophile in this story (I say "another" because pedophiles often show up in Johansen's novels), but he's actually portrayed as "normal"--as in, he actually wouldn't be a bad person if he weren't a pedophile. I think this kind of portrayal is helpful, because it shows you that pedophiles aren't always obvious, so "He couldn't be a pedophile, he's so nice" isn't a valid argument. The only thing that bugged me was how incredibly stupid he was as he defended himself. Instead of denying the allegations, he just shrugged and insisted that the children he molested wanted it. I mean, yes, pedophiles do that in real life, but only after they've been caught! In this case, the character he was speaking to wouldn't have believed he was a molester until he defended himself! If that's not bad enough, his mother, who is supposed to be super smart and excellent at staying out of trouble, does the exact same thing later when she admits to bringing young girls to him. In a HOSPITAL. What. And we're supposed to believe she's an expert at covering her tracks?
Well, we've got a new character to add to Eve Duncan's world. We've also got at least one villain who's still alive. I'm a tad interested in what Eve is planning to do with Beth, if anything. I don't remember much about her from "The Naked Eye," the one other book I recall having her in it.
Oh, and why is everyone always smiling when the heroines are rude to them? It's dumb. Like, okay, Beth I can understand; she doesn't really know how to socialize after all those years in doped-up isolation. But why is everyone always glowing about Eve and Kendra? It's obnoxious.
Whatever. I actually don't have too many books of Johansen's left...
Knock on wood.
It will be tough to describe this book without spoiling anything, but I'll do my best. I will say that the question of Beth Avery's identity is answered at the end of Chapter 2. Despite what the summary may suggest, that is not the main conflict in the story.
Beth Avery has spent most of her life in a psychiatric hospital after a skiing accident she had at age 17. One night, she escapes. It turns out someone is planning to kill her in a way that would make it look like an accident. When Eve Duncan's mother, Sandra, shows up on Eve's doorstep to ask Joe Quinn for help in finding Beth and making sure she's okay, the couple find themselves involved in yet another deadly situation. Kendra Michaels, the heroine of her own series, also makes an appearance, using her almost supernatural skills of observation to try and track Beth down.
I was surprised by how immature and unlikable Sandra was in this book. I remembered her being a little flaky, but ultimately a decent person, in other Eve Duncan novels, except for the time before Eve had Bonnie. I guess she didn't really play a big enough role in the other ones for me to see how awful she actually was. She's selfish and emotionally abusive to Eve. It kind of annoyed me how she talked about how Eve was "stronger" than she was. It seems that the only kinds of people who admit they're weak are people Iris Johansen wants to portray negatively. Sadly, that in itself doesn't surprise me.
Beth was a fairly interesting character, if only because Johansen rarely portrays characters with mental disorders. And Beth does have a mental disorder, even if she doesn't belong in a psychiatric hospital. She has PTSD, if nothing else. She also has some repressed memories.
I did think that her portrayal was strange, however. She has a life before her accident that she can remember, yet she thinks that people don't care about who they have sex with, and thinks that Eve will be okay with her having sex with Joe. I'm pretty sure that even if she just learned everything about sex from TV shows, she'd learn pretty quickly that most people consider that cheating.
Of course, there are the typical Johansen repetitions. "His/her lips twisted." "She threw back her head and laughed." "She stiffened." "The hell I will/I won't/you do."
We have a Depraved Bisexual character, a sociopath who was a teenage sex worker and was raped--yes, I'm saying raped because of the power difference--by her therapist. I really should be numb to stereotyping at this point, but I keep expecting Johansen to do better. Sigh.
We do get a female villain who isn't entirely a femme fatale. She even calls out the above character for only relying on sex when there are many different ways a woman can be powerful. Yay...I guess. I don't know. There's just so much bad character design that the occasional decent character design doesn't really take away from it.
There's another character named Newell who just sticks around to "protect" Beth, even though Even and Joe are really the ones who do everything. He's so boring that I can't even remember his name. At least he wasn't rapey towards Beth, but he might get that way if Johansen is setting him up to be her love interest. And if he isn't her love interest, she'll probably say she loves him like a "brother" or something.
There's another pedophile in this story (I say "another" because pedophiles often show up in Johansen's novels), but he's actually portrayed as "normal"--as in, he actually wouldn't be a bad person if he weren't a pedophile. I think this kind of portrayal is helpful, because it shows you that pedophiles aren't always obvious, so "He couldn't be a pedophile, he's so nice" isn't a valid argument. The only thing that bugged me was how incredibly stupid he was as he defended himself. Instead of denying the allegations, he just shrugged and insisted that the children he molested wanted it. I mean, yes, pedophiles do that in real life, but only after they've been caught! In this case, the character he was speaking to wouldn't have believed he was a molester until he defended himself! If that's not bad enough, his mother, who is supposed to be super smart and excellent at staying out of trouble, does the exact same thing later when she admits to bringing young girls to him. In a HOSPITAL. What. And we're supposed to believe she's an expert at covering her tracks?
Well, we've got a new character to add to Eve Duncan's world. We've also got at least one villain who's still alive. I'm a tad interested in what Eve is planning to do with Beth, if anything. I don't remember much about her from "The Naked Eye," the one other book I recall having her in it.
Oh, and why is everyone always smiling when the heroines are rude to them? It's dumb. Like, okay, Beth I can understand; she doesn't really know how to socialize after all those years in doped-up isolation. But why is everyone always glowing about Eve and Kendra? It's obnoxious.
Whatever. I actually don't have too many books of Johansen's left...
Knock on wood.
December 16, 2012
Title: Sleep No More (Eve Duncan Series #12)
Author: Iris Johansen
Synopsis:
Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan knows what it’s like to be haunted by the past. For years after her daughter Bonnie was stolen from her, she fought for closure. But now as she’s striving to begin anew, she can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen—or maybe already has. When her mother, Sandra, asks for help in finding a missing friend named Beth Avery, Eve is sure that she’s hiding something. It’s odd that Sandra would get involved at all, and the fact that she adamantly refuses to go to the police for help reinforces Eve’s suspicions that something is very wrong.
Eve learns that Beth has been locked away in a mental hospital for years, which makes it even harder to understand how she could have disappeared. As Sandra reluctantly reveals small pieces of the truth about Beth’s identity, Eve is shocked to discover that their lives are strangely entwined, and Beth’s disappearance now puts them all in grave danger.
Desperate, Eve enlists a secret weapon to pick up Beth’s trail: rogue profiler, Kendra Michaels. With an uncanny ability to detect clues and solve puzzles, Kendra begins to uncover the bizarre circumstances of Beth’s escape from what should have been the safety of her hospital room. Beth is on the run, and as her mind clears—detoxing from the drugs that have held her prisoner—she begins to see the threads of a twisted plot within the powerful Avery family, threatening to destroy Beth and anyone else who might jeopardize the high-stakes game that is already in play.
My thoughts: Welcome to the 12th installment of Iris Johansen’s Eve Duncan series which chronicles the life and work of Eve, a forensic sculptor. Overall, I really enjoy this series and really enjoyed this book. My only huge complaint with this book is the author’s clear lack of research about what a music therapist is which I will go more into below.
This book was definitely a fast read for me. As someone who has read this entire series including the Bonnie, Eve, Joe trilogy in between, I am very happy that we have finally solved the Bonnie issue and that the author is moving on. I felt the series was just getting bogged down by the the “who killed Bonnie?” storyline and was losing its excitement. Bonnie was certainly still mentioned and a part of this book, but certainly not to the level as past books. I was glad that the author started introducing some new charachters in this book as well including Beth Avery, Eve’s half-sister who was unknown until this book. I see this storyline developing in future books. This book also introduces us to Kendra Michaels, a music therapist, who has special sensory abilities since being cured of her 20 year blindness. I did not know that Kendra was actually introduced in another book, Close to You, I believe. Had I known this I definitely would have read this first to get to know her better. I see the author breaking off to another series starring Kendra in the future as well as she did with the character of Catherine Ling. These new characters are exciting to me and am looking forward to how they are incorporated into future books in the series.
Now that we have taken care of the Bonnie situation, I am wishing that the Eve Duncan books would go a bit more back to focusing on her forensic sculpting cases. I know this is why I fell in love with this series reading about how she did a reconstruction and the case that developed from this missing person. The series seems to have drifted away from this which is disappointing.
Now, all that being said, I have to comment on my huge frustration with the author’s clear lack of research on music therapy and music therapists. Yes, I myself actually am a board certified music therapist (MT-BC) who works with patients in a hospital setting, so I know what I am talking about. Yes, this makes me a bit more in tune with this issue, but I think authors have a responsiblity to research and characterize people correctly. Music therapists and music therapy as a field is already highly misunderstood in the world, so mischaracterizations in popular media is not helpful. So here goes my education and advocacy for all who care. The author fell right into some common misconceptions about music therapy throughout the book. It seems that this charachter Kendra, a music therapist, has all sorts of education in psychology, etc. (PhDs), but no formal education in music therapy specifically. Yes indeed to be a music therapist you must actuallly study and get a degree in Music Therapy, not simply related fields. A very small point, I know, but it bugs me. Also the author committed a carnal sin in the music therapy world by having one of her characters refer to Kendra as a “musical therapist”. This phrase drives us MUSIC therapists crazy, it is music therapy, not musical therapy. This book doesn’t really talk much about Kendra’s clinical work, which is fine, but also which brings up the question for me, why did she even make this character a music therapist? It seems out of place since her work in this area is not at all important to the book. Was it because music therapy has been more in the media lately with Gabby Giffords, etc? Does she know a music therapist in real life? Did she want to jump on the band wagon on other popular authors having characters in their books who were music therapists, i.e., Jodi Picoult in ”Sing You Home”, who by the way did a FANTASTIC job of realistically portraying a music therapist? I don’t know the answer, but if you aren’t going to do the research, don’t put it into your book. Ok, I’m off of my Music Therapy education and advocacy soap box . . . for now
Overall, a strong offering in the Eve Duncan series. Can’t wait for the next ones to come out in 2013!
Happy reading,
And remember,
Books are Life,
Heather
Author: Iris Johansen
Synopsis:
Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan knows what it’s like to be haunted by the past. For years after her daughter Bonnie was stolen from her, she fought for closure. But now as she’s striving to begin anew, she can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen—or maybe already has. When her mother, Sandra, asks for help in finding a missing friend named Beth Avery, Eve is sure that she’s hiding something. It’s odd that Sandra would get involved at all, and the fact that she adamantly refuses to go to the police for help reinforces Eve’s suspicions that something is very wrong.
Eve learns that Beth has been locked away in a mental hospital for years, which makes it even harder to understand how she could have disappeared. As Sandra reluctantly reveals small pieces of the truth about Beth’s identity, Eve is shocked to discover that their lives are strangely entwined, and Beth’s disappearance now puts them all in grave danger.
Desperate, Eve enlists a secret weapon to pick up Beth’s trail: rogue profiler, Kendra Michaels. With an uncanny ability to detect clues and solve puzzles, Kendra begins to uncover the bizarre circumstances of Beth’s escape from what should have been the safety of her hospital room. Beth is on the run, and as her mind clears—detoxing from the drugs that have held her prisoner—she begins to see the threads of a twisted plot within the powerful Avery family, threatening to destroy Beth and anyone else who might jeopardize the high-stakes game that is already in play.
My thoughts: Welcome to the 12th installment of Iris Johansen’s Eve Duncan series which chronicles the life and work of Eve, a forensic sculptor. Overall, I really enjoy this series and really enjoyed this book. My only huge complaint with this book is the author’s clear lack of research about what a music therapist is which I will go more into below.
This book was definitely a fast read for me. As someone who has read this entire series including the Bonnie, Eve, Joe trilogy in between, I am very happy that we have finally solved the Bonnie issue and that the author is moving on. I felt the series was just getting bogged down by the the “who killed Bonnie?” storyline and was losing its excitement. Bonnie was certainly still mentioned and a part of this book, but certainly not to the level as past books. I was glad that the author started introducing some new charachters in this book as well including Beth Avery, Eve’s half-sister who was unknown until this book. I see this storyline developing in future books. This book also introduces us to Kendra Michaels, a music therapist, who has special sensory abilities since being cured of her 20 year blindness. I did not know that Kendra was actually introduced in another book, Close to You, I believe. Had I known this I definitely would have read this first to get to know her better. I see the author breaking off to another series starring Kendra in the future as well as she did with the character of Catherine Ling. These new characters are exciting to me and am looking forward to how they are incorporated into future books in the series.
Now that we have taken care of the Bonnie situation, I am wishing that the Eve Duncan books would go a bit more back to focusing on her forensic sculpting cases. I know this is why I fell in love with this series reading about how she did a reconstruction and the case that developed from this missing person. The series seems to have drifted away from this which is disappointing.
Now, all that being said, I have to comment on my huge frustration with the author’s clear lack of research on music therapy and music therapists. Yes, I myself actually am a board certified music therapist (MT-BC) who works with patients in a hospital setting, so I know what I am talking about. Yes, this makes me a bit more in tune with this issue, but I think authors have a responsiblity to research and characterize people correctly. Music therapists and music therapy as a field is already highly misunderstood in the world, so mischaracterizations in popular media is not helpful. So here goes my education and advocacy for all who care. The author fell right into some common misconceptions about music therapy throughout the book. It seems that this charachter Kendra, a music therapist, has all sorts of education in psychology, etc. (PhDs), but no formal education in music therapy specifically. Yes indeed to be a music therapist you must actuallly study and get a degree in Music Therapy, not simply related fields. A very small point, I know, but it bugs me. Also the author committed a carnal sin in the music therapy world by having one of her characters refer to Kendra as a “musical therapist”. This phrase drives us MUSIC therapists crazy, it is music therapy, not musical therapy. This book doesn’t really talk much about Kendra’s clinical work, which is fine, but also which brings up the question for me, why did she even make this character a music therapist? It seems out of place since her work in this area is not at all important to the book. Was it because music therapy has been more in the media lately with Gabby Giffords, etc? Does she know a music therapist in real life? Did she want to jump on the band wagon on other popular authors having characters in their books who were music therapists, i.e., Jodi Picoult in ”Sing You Home”, who by the way did a FANTASTIC job of realistically portraying a music therapist? I don’t know the answer, but if you aren’t going to do the research, don’t put it into your book. Ok, I’m off of my Music Therapy education and advocacy soap box . . . for now
Overall, a strong offering in the Eve Duncan series. Can’t wait for the next ones to come out in 2013!
Happy reading,
And remember,
Books are Life,
Heather
April 10, 2022
Another thrilling, chilling addition to the Eve Duncan saga. The premise of being in a mental institution drugged for more than ten years merely because she was a witness to murder is horrifying. Beth is not an easy character. She is physically one age and emotionally and experientially much younger, so it is hard to react normally to what she says and feels. It takes some delving into what is behind the words, so in that sense the book is not an easy read. You cannot just breeze through it. Too, the ending is not totally satisfying, but perhaps it will lead into future books, so I am holding my thoughts on that in reserve.
February 9, 2022
Sleep No More
Eve Duncan series, Book 15, Kindred Michaels series, Book 1.75
Iris Johansen, author
Excited and spectacular.....
With this story, a new and interesting new character is developed, Kendra Michaels. This previously blind psychic works with Eve and Joe to find Eve's half sister.
Another entertaining novel that I definitely recommend. Enjoy!
Eve Duncan series, Book 15, Kindred Michaels series, Book 1.75
Iris Johansen, author
Excited and spectacular.....
With this story, a new and interesting new character is developed, Kendra Michaels. This previously blind psychic works with Eve and Joe to find Eve's half sister.
Another entertaining novel that I definitely recommend. Enjoy!
January 5, 2025
Terrible. The entire book was dialogue that went on for way too long. Murders would happen with a couple of sentences and very little detail or explanation. It was so difficult to keep reading and actually understand the plot.
June 16, 2023
#51 - More Than Meets The Eye, Close Your Eyes, Double Blind and Blink of An Eye by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. More Than Meets The Eye is the tenth book in the Kendra Michael series. Kendra is a FBI consultant who was blind until she was 20, when she had surgery so she can see. Since she was so long without her sight she has a more heightened awareness of her other senses. I guess it's because of her previously having been blind that each title
in the series include a reference to eye or vision with titles like Close Your Eyes, The Naked Eye, Sight Unseen, Hindsight, etc. While Iris Johansen writes most of her other series by herself for this series her son, Roy, joins her. Earlier in her career Iris switched from writing romance to writing thrillers, which was clearly a good move. And clearly this prolific author is good at crime writing.
"Unbelievably tense and terrifying," RT Book Reviews writes of one of the books in the series while Suspense Magazine describes another book in the series this way: "This read goes from good to great to spectacular." Lastly, Publishers Weekly writes: "Johansen delivers the goods."
As More than Meets the Eye begins a serial killer, James Michael Barrett, has just made a plea deal: No death penalty if he showed law enforcement where he left his first victim. When they arrive at the spot Barrett mentions something looks different about the site since he left the body there two years ago. They proceed to dig anyway and that sets off a bomb killing 12 people, including the serial killer and many law enforcement officers, and injuring others.
Kendra was not present at the bomb but knows some of those injured and killed and insists she will pursue all angles to find out what happened, even if that means dealing with some bruised egos from those who try to interfere. She finds something in Barrett's cell that others
have missed: Prescription swimming goggles. Some analysis determines the goggles belong to a college swimmer named Tricia Walton, who is the only survivor of attacks by Barett. She is not sure how Barrett could have gotten her goggles - the attack was about four years ago and the goggles are less than two years old. Walton wants to get to the bottom of this and offers Kendra her help. Kendra arranges to get protection for Walton for three days since she may be in danger.
Kendra is increasingly convinced that Barrett's death was not a suicide but rather another killer arranged the bomb and is now murdering people in a style similar to Barrett's. Obviously there are some who initially don't believe what Kendra is suggesting.
This was a good thriller keeping me on the edge of my seat. I give it an 8.
I liked this book enough to go back and read the first book in the series, which is called Close Your Eyes. As it starts Kendra, a music therapist, is approached by a former FBI agent named Adam Lynch, who wants her help in finding and stopping what appears to be a serial killer. She is not interested but he tells her that the latest possible victim is Kendra's last boyfriend, who has disappeared without a trace. She agrees to help.Lynch is also in the other book I read so this must be the start of their business relationship which at some later points turns into a romantic relationship.
All of the victims have some kind of obscure chemicals in them but Kendra, Lynch and the FBI are unsure how this relates to the murders and how those killed are related. Kendra has her ways of reading rooms and people which is helpful to Lynch and the FBI as they try
to stop the killings, and possibly find her ex-boyfriend.
I give this one an 8 also.
Hooked now I read one more book by this duo. Double Blind, the sixth book in the series, has quite an exciting start: A woman, Elena, is running toward Kendra's condo, bleeding from a gunshot to her torso and being chased. She runs into a road to avoid capture and is hit and killed by a car.
The FBI come to Kendra to ask for her help on a case and she initially refuses, which is when they explained that the woman killed was trying to get to Kendra to give her something: a flash drive. The flash drive contains a 20-minute video of a wedding reception. The FBI and Kendra are stumped as to what message this woman was trying to impart to Kendra. Along with Lynch, the FBI and private investigator Jessie Mercado, Kendra begins investigation. Part
of the puzzle might involve the newly married couple but before they can talk to the bride she is abducted from her home.
The killer, who may have been a serial killer working in other geographic areas before, begins a pattern of kidnapping and killing members of the wedding party. Then he does something to someone very close to Kendra, but I can't say more than that without giving away spoilers.
This is another good thriller. I give it an 8.
I decided to read one more book by this duo: Blink of An Eye, the 8th book in the series. A pop star named Delilah Winter has become a fan of Kendra's and attended the school where Kenda does her musical therapy work. She invites Kendra and their mutual friend, Jessie Mercado, a detective and the singer's former bodyguard, to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. In the middle of the show, everything stops and Delilah has seemingly disappeared and two members of the security staff are found dead. They realize she has been kidnapped.
Jessica and Kendra began investigating the situation but this time it's not just a case, but one involving their mutual friend. In this book, Lynch plays more of a minor role than usual with Jessie playing more of a major role than usual and I really like her as a character. I was surprised when I learned who was behind the kidnapping. Excellent plotting. I give it an 8.
I decided to take a break from this series to read one of her other series, this one written by herself, about Eve Duncan, a forensic sculptor. Eve's daughter was taken from her years ago but she uses that experience to help other families who have had a similar loss get
as close to closure as possible.
I was very underwhelmed by the two Eve books I read, Shattered Mirror and Sleep No More, though I liked the latter better than the other because it also included Kendra's character for part of the book. I don't like the Eve series as much as the Kendra series so I'll be sticking with the Kendra series from now on. The characters in the Eve series are not as interesting, the dialogue is more stilted, the plotting not as good, and thus more
predictable, as in the Kendra series. It makes me wonder if her son's involvement is what makes the Kendra series.
Speaking of which, the acknowledgments page for Sleep No More says this: "Many, many thanks to my son, Roy, for all his help with creating our very special Kendra. She is difficult, complex, and definitely a challenge, and yet he handled her with cleverness and originality. Working with him to meet that challenge was one of the great joys of writing this book."
I give the two Eve books 6's.
in the series include a reference to eye or vision with titles like Close Your Eyes, The Naked Eye, Sight Unseen, Hindsight, etc. While Iris Johansen writes most of her other series by herself for this series her son, Roy, joins her. Earlier in her career Iris switched from writing romance to writing thrillers, which was clearly a good move. And clearly this prolific author is good at crime writing.
"Unbelievably tense and terrifying," RT Book Reviews writes of one of the books in the series while Suspense Magazine describes another book in the series this way: "This read goes from good to great to spectacular." Lastly, Publishers Weekly writes: "Johansen delivers the goods."
As More than Meets the Eye begins a serial killer, James Michael Barrett, has just made a plea deal: No death penalty if he showed law enforcement where he left his first victim. When they arrive at the spot Barrett mentions something looks different about the site since he left the body there two years ago. They proceed to dig anyway and that sets off a bomb killing 12 people, including the serial killer and many law enforcement officers, and injuring others.
Kendra was not present at the bomb but knows some of those injured and killed and insists she will pursue all angles to find out what happened, even if that means dealing with some bruised egos from those who try to interfere. She finds something in Barrett's cell that others
have missed: Prescription swimming goggles. Some analysis determines the goggles belong to a college swimmer named Tricia Walton, who is the only survivor of attacks by Barett. She is not sure how Barrett could have gotten her goggles - the attack was about four years ago and the goggles are less than two years old. Walton wants to get to the bottom of this and offers Kendra her help. Kendra arranges to get protection for Walton for three days since she may be in danger.
Kendra is increasingly convinced that Barrett's death was not a suicide but rather another killer arranged the bomb and is now murdering people in a style similar to Barrett's. Obviously there are some who initially don't believe what Kendra is suggesting.
This was a good thriller keeping me on the edge of my seat. I give it an 8.
I liked this book enough to go back and read the first book in the series, which is called Close Your Eyes. As it starts Kendra, a music therapist, is approached by a former FBI agent named Adam Lynch, who wants her help in finding and stopping what appears to be a serial killer. She is not interested but he tells her that the latest possible victim is Kendra's last boyfriend, who has disappeared without a trace. She agrees to help.Lynch is also in the other book I read so this must be the start of their business relationship which at some later points turns into a romantic relationship.
All of the victims have some kind of obscure chemicals in them but Kendra, Lynch and the FBI are unsure how this relates to the murders and how those killed are related. Kendra has her ways of reading rooms and people which is helpful to Lynch and the FBI as they try
to stop the killings, and possibly find her ex-boyfriend.
I give this one an 8 also.
Hooked now I read one more book by this duo. Double Blind, the sixth book in the series, has quite an exciting start: A woman, Elena, is running toward Kendra's condo, bleeding from a gunshot to her torso and being chased. She runs into a road to avoid capture and is hit and killed by a car.
The FBI come to Kendra to ask for her help on a case and she initially refuses, which is when they explained that the woman killed was trying to get to Kendra to give her something: a flash drive. The flash drive contains a 20-minute video of a wedding reception. The FBI and Kendra are stumped as to what message this woman was trying to impart to Kendra. Along with Lynch, the FBI and private investigator Jessie Mercado, Kendra begins investigation. Part
of the puzzle might involve the newly married couple but before they can talk to the bride she is abducted from her home.
The killer, who may have been a serial killer working in other geographic areas before, begins a pattern of kidnapping and killing members of the wedding party. Then he does something to someone very close to Kendra, but I can't say more than that without giving away spoilers.
This is another good thriller. I give it an 8.
I decided to read one more book by this duo: Blink of An Eye, the 8th book in the series. A pop star named Delilah Winter has become a fan of Kendra's and attended the school where Kenda does her musical therapy work. She invites Kendra and their mutual friend, Jessie Mercado, a detective and the singer's former bodyguard, to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. In the middle of the show, everything stops and Delilah has seemingly disappeared and two members of the security staff are found dead. They realize she has been kidnapped.
Jessica and Kendra began investigating the situation but this time it's not just a case, but one involving their mutual friend. In this book, Lynch plays more of a minor role than usual with Jessie playing more of a major role than usual and I really like her as a character. I was surprised when I learned who was behind the kidnapping. Excellent plotting. I give it an 8.
I decided to take a break from this series to read one of her other series, this one written by herself, about Eve Duncan, a forensic sculptor. Eve's daughter was taken from her years ago but she uses that experience to help other families who have had a similar loss get
as close to closure as possible.
I was very underwhelmed by the two Eve books I read, Shattered Mirror and Sleep No More, though I liked the latter better than the other because it also included Kendra's character for part of the book. I don't like the Eve series as much as the Kendra series so I'll be sticking with the Kendra series from now on. The characters in the Eve series are not as interesting, the dialogue is more stilted, the plotting not as good, and thus more
predictable, as in the Kendra series. It makes me wonder if her son's involvement is what makes the Kendra series.
Speaking of which, the acknowledgments page for Sleep No More says this: "Many, many thanks to my son, Roy, for all his help with creating our very special Kendra. She is difficult, complex, and definitely a challenge, and yet he handled her with cleverness and originality. Working with him to meet that challenge was one of the great joys of writing this book."
I give the two Eve books 6's.
November 21, 2012
I'm even surprising myself with that 1 star rating..but I can't in good conscience say it was "ok"...This is labeled as an Eve Duncan novel and I think it would have worked SIGNIFICANTLY better if it had been a stand alone...the premise is that Eve Duncan finds out that she has a long lost sister, Beth Avery, who has spent 20 years in a sedated state in a mental hospital. The news makes its way to Eve after Beth has managed to escape the hospital. Without spending an hour explaining all the details that made this possible and necessary, I'll just say that the book revolves around Eve finding Beth and trying to stop the violent cycle while understanding the reasons that Beth was shut away. What ruined this story for me is the lack of believable reason for Beth AND her boyfriend Joe to go on this wild bloody goose chase. They risk their lives and careers on more than one occasion (shocker) and almost every time justify it with the reason "I can't allow someone to have been treated like this". Ok, that makes sense as a statement once. But over and over and over? Not to mention the 10 other characters that were thrown in the story for a small role that links one shoddy set up to another. It was like characters used as band aids for a lousy story. This story would have been ten times better if 1 of 2 things had happened: 1) Eve had always known she had a sister, loved her, but just didn't know the evil reason she was institutionalized. or 2) The story had been a standalone where the sisters knew of each others existence. Obviously, you can't rewrite the entire Eve Duncan series to include this sister storyline, so it would have to be a standalone....Iris Johansen, you had a great story idea. But you bungled it by trying to capitalize on a popular series character. You sell enough books that you didn't have to do Eve the disservice of attaching her to this mess. More than disappointing.
July 22, 2021
I found this storyline to be very intriguing. Many twists and turns along the way. Kidnappings, murder and many other surprising adventures. Loved this book.
May 24, 2013
This is the first book I've read in this series. It sounded good on the back cover, kind of like a Kathy Reichs style of characters but that is where the similarities ended. I hated this book. The characters were moody and immature. At first her police officer/lover wants to be kept out of anything that would bypass the law, then he gets peeved (a whines about it for the rest of the book) that he wasn't included in the illegal break-in they conducted. Also, if a killer is after you and you know you just shot him badly enough to send him for medical help wouldn't you have gotten the hell out of dodge? He knew where you were holed up but NO, don't go back and say, "Quick! We gotta get out of here!" Instead take a shower and let everyone sleep through the night. Really? There were also too many characters in and out. And a Sherlock Holmes type character that was blind but got her sight back and now can use all her super senses to easily lead the main characters along is a bit silly. Especially, when that character is in and out conveniently. This book is a mess.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2016
I was in the back seat of a car and it was a long drive so I picked this up and I have to say the first couple of chapters snared me. This is not a book I would ever pick up on my own at the store or anywhere except in a period of bored desperation and I wouldn't recommend it. The whole thing is just one huge cat and mouse game with characters that at times were so unbelievable I feel like this should be considered fantasy. I read the whole thing going back and forth between "good guys" and "bad guys" and when I got within the final thirty or so pages the ending was still nowhere in sight. Then, out of nowhere, the finale is just thrown together and forced on the reader. 340 pages of chasing each other and a bunch drek later, BOOM it was over. It ended in the most anti-climatic way possible and wouldn't you know it the ending was a happy one. This book made me feel like I could be a writer, as long as I didn't care that well read people would give this sort of review to my books.
November 14, 2012
If you get past the formulaic plot (and with Johansen, you HAVE to get past the formulaic plot because every single one of her books follow the same formula), this book wasn't half bad. I enjoyed learning about Sandra's past and it'll be interesting to see what she does with the two sisters. What I really don't like is the jilted dialogue and personality each new female character takes on. They are always stand-offish, bossy and generally someone you don't want to be around, although Eve ALWAYS wins them over, and their dialogue sounds as if it belongs on a day-time soap opera. You can be a strong, determined person without the attitude and the "I don't need help from no one" personality her characters always seem to portray.
March 28, 2015
Surprised this book has such a high rating as I didn't think it was very good. The characters were just too ... out there. Not a single character is normal, even though the story is to be odd and extreme but possible in today's world. And very much a let down on major events in the book, the author builds up the situation and then disposes of it in a couple of sentences. Overall, I read the whole thing so it wasn't so bad I didn't want to finish it but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
October 20, 2012
I told myself I was going to drop this author because these novels have lost their emotion and rely more and more on slick tricks to pull the story along.
I gotta say the writing is tight ,moves fast and has some red herrings, but I'm not hanging on every word. Eve is started to bore, and new character Kendra is a little too woo-woo to be believable.
At least I got it at the library.
I gotta say the writing is tight ,moves fast and has some red herrings, but I'm not hanging on every word. Eve is started to bore, and new character Kendra is a little too woo-woo to be believable.
At least I got it at the library.
May 21, 2012
It is a Eve Duncan book, what more do I really need to say. I felt like I learned more about Eve and Joe as a couple outside of the impact Bonnie had on them. I wasn't sure how the series was going to continue after Bonnie had been found, but this was a great way for that to happen.
February 13, 2015
I really think this author should go out into the world and meet other people. other women who don't say "dammit" or ball their hands into fist or are constantly argumentative. its annoying that all of the women in this series are the same exact personality!
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