Taking Eve

February 18, 2013
Bestseller Johansen’s fast-paced 15th novel featuring forensic sculptor Eve Duncan (after 2012’s Sleep No More) begins a new trilogy. A gunman taking a shot at Eve’s adopted daughter, Jane, interrupts the quiet life that Eve and her longtime lover, police detective Joe Quinn, have been leading at their lakeside cottage outside Atlanta, Ga. To add to their woes, a madman, Jim Doane, kidnaps Eve and orders her to reconstruct the face of his late son, Kevin, from what he claims is Kevin’s skull. While Eve schemes to escape her captor, Jane and Joe, who discover that the CIA has knowledge of Doane, race to rescue Eve before Doane can do her harm. That Eve can communicate while in a dreamlike state with her deceased daughter, Bonnie, adds some paranormal thrills. Johansen expertly ratchets up the suspense as the action builds to a riveting conclusion. First printing of 300,000. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency.

February 15, 2013
Jim Doane will stop at nothing to get the answers he wants as to what happened to his son, and he knows forensic sculptor Eve Duncan is the key; not only can she recreate Kevin's face from his skull, but she's a character in a deadly game she doesn't even know she's playing. Renowned forensic sculptor Eve Duncan loves her life. She loves her husband, her adopted daughter and the calling she has for recreating faces from skull bones of the dead. Jim Doane only wants one thing--to get answers about his son's death. After years of research, the time has come to act. First step, take Eve--which is complicated, given how fiercely protective the people around her are. But Doane has an answer for everything, and nothing can get in the way of his agenda. He won't hesitate to threaten Eve's loved ones if it means getting her to do what he wants. In the end, she's simply a pawn in a broader chess match than even she knows. Or wants to know. Doane is convinced his son was special, and if anyone can reach beyond the grave to revive his own special kind of magic, it's Kevin. Eve is in danger, and every step closer to recreating Kevin's face brings her nearer to an uncertain future, though even she's shocked when Doane confesses his true intentions and reveals the biggest secret of Eve's life so far. Johansen is known for her tight plotting and suspense-driven storytelling, and this book doesn't disappoint. An interesting conspiracy-theory backdrop, with hints of the supernatural tendrils Johansen is known for--particularly in regard to Eve's connection with her long-dead daughter, as well as a new animal-psychic character, Margaret, and adopted daughter Jane's love interest, Caleb--make for a slightly different take on an Eve Duncan book. An abrupt, not-completely-resolved ending that is a prelude to the second book of the series is annoying but probably a good marketing ploy for fans. A successful Johansen novel, filled with intriguing twists and characters and an overarching mystery that will keep fans coming back for Book 2.

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 15, 2013
When someone tries to poison Jane MacGuire's beloved dog, Toby, no one suspects a plot to distract Jane from the tragedy about to befall her mother, forensic sculptor Eve Duncan. Yet that's just what happens as Jane and Toby fly to the mysterious Summer Island, where an old friend of Eve's breeds and rehabilitates dogs with heightened powers of empathy and longevity. With Toby in good hands, Jane plans to fly home to Georgia to see Eve and her father, Joe Quinn, until a sniper's bullet leaves her in mortal danger. Distraction firmly set in place, Jim Doane can finally complete his diabolic plan to kidnap Eve and force her to reconstruct the skull of his son Kevin, a sadistic child killer once involved with Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Launching yet another spin-off trilogy featuring her intrepid heroine Duncan, with installments planned for July and October of this year, Johansen weaves a complicated plot laden with repeat performers from her best-selling past thrillers. Prior knowledge of earlier works is required for full appreciation. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With a 300,000-copy print run and a seven-figure, yearlong major marketing blitz, the launch of the first book in Johansen's new trilogy will pull in fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)