A merciless killer on the hunt...an innocent child in his sights...a woman driven to the edge to stop him...
The killer knows Eve Duncan all too well. He knows the pain she feels for her murdered daughter, Bonnie, whose body has never been found. He knows that as one of the nation's top forensic sculptors she'll insist on identifying the nine skeletons unearthed on a bluff near Georgia's Talladega Falls. He knows she won't be able to resist the temptation of believing that one of those skeletons might be her daughter's. But that is only the beginning of the killer's sadistic game. He wants Eve one on one, and he'll use his ace in the hole to make sure she complies. And he won't stop playing until he claims the prize he wants most: Eve's life.
Amazon.com Review
Eve Duncan returns as the popular heroine of Iris Johansen's latest suspense thriller, The Killing Game. After the murder of her daughter Bonnie and years of work as a forensic sculptor, Eve had hoped to find some solace in semi-retirement. But when her friend Joe Quinn informs her of the unearthing of multiple bodies, including those of children, Eve cannot resist getting caught up. Those bones may be Bonnie's, and somewhere out there is a dangerous serial murderer. With Joe's loyal help, Eve grimly sets out to find a killer.
Determined to remain objective, Eve begins to reconstruct the face of one of the victims. But the killer wants her to become involved, and manipulates Eve's life like a puppeteer. Terrified of the killer but spurred on by her memories of Bonnie, Eve takes a gamble with her life. She will do whatever the murderer demands: she will be the bait, betting her life for the chance to save others.
As a great suspense novel should, The Killing Game keeps the action and the plot twists coming. Eve's job as a forensic sculptor is the perfect profession for a suspense heroine: she has official access to technical information and the emotional flexibility to react to the drama. Eve's grieving over the loss of Bonnie--and over her romantic complications--helps keep the story complex and appealing. Turn on all of the lights and keep the phone nearby--you won't want to be alone in the dark while reading this one. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien
From Publishers Weekly
Johansen is at the top of her game with this sinuous thriller. Emotionally damaged and self-contained forensic sculptor Eve Duncan (The Face of Deception) makes a return appearance, along with her old friend, the cynical, coolly smart cop Joe Quinn. At the start of the book, EveAdevoted to forensic reconstruction since her eight-year-old daughter was murdered in Johansen's previous novel, her body never foundAhas abandoned the day-to-day world for life on a Tahitian island. Eve's tropical exile is interrupted, however, when Joe shows up to tell her that a pile of bodies has been discovered in the Georgia woods, including that of a young girl he believes may be Eve's daughter. Determined to reconstruct the skull and hoping to lay her daughter to rest, Eve returns to the U.S. Her arrival draws the attention of Dom, the psychotic serial killer responsible for the Georgia murders. Random attacks on social outcasts don't produce the rush they once did for Dom, and now he needs to up the ante, by stalking and murdering more prominent people and interacting with his victims before he attacks. Eve, whose story he has long followed in newspaper accounts, becomes his next target. Delaying their confrontation until he feels it will have full impact, he interrupts her reconstruction work, plants doubts in her mind about the details of her daughter's death and threatens to kill a young foundlingAa redheaded girl like her daughterAwhom she befriends. An enthralling cat-and-mouse game ensues, throughout which Johansen maintains perfect pacing, always revealing just enough to keep the reader turning the pages. Aided by smart and realistic dialogue, the suspense holds until the very end. Major ad/promo; BDD audio. (Sept.)
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