Smokescreen (Eve Duncan Series #25)

by Iris Johansen

Overview

In this pulse-pounding thriller from #1 New York Timesbestselling author Iris Johansen, forensic sculptor Eve Duncan journeys to Africa to help families torn apart by a violent attack deep in the jungle — but she may be putting herself in more danger than she knows.

A journalist shows up on Eve Duncan's doorstep with a plea for help. Jill Cassidy has just come from a small African village with a heart wrenching story: half the villagers — many of them children — have been killed in a horrific attack by guerilla soldiers, the bodies burned beyond recognition. Now, the families desperately need Eve's help to get closure and begin to heal.

But when Eve arrives in the remote jungle, she begins to suspect that Jill's plea may have been a cover story for a deeper, more sinister plot. Isolated and unsure who she can trust, Eve finds herself stranded in an unstable country where violence threatens to break out again at any moment and with only her own instincts to rely on if she hopes to get home to her family alive . . .

#1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen is back with one of her most exhilarating and dangerous adventures yet in this "riveting" high-stakes thriller (Publishers Weekly).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538713082
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	07/30/2019
Series:	Eve Duncan Series , #25
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	364,598
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Iris Johansen is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 30 consecutive best sellers. Her series featuring forensic sculptor Eve Duncan has sold over 20 million copies and counting, and was the subject of the acclaimed Lifetime movie, The Killing Game. Along with her son Roy, Iris has also co-authored the New York Times bestselling series featuring investigator Kendra Michaels. Johansen lives near Atlanta, Georgia.

Editorial Reviews

★ 06/03/2019

Early in this riveting standalone from bestseller Johansen (Vendetta), journalist Jill Cassidy, who has recently returned from Maldara, an African nation torn apart by civil war, arranges to see forensic sculptor Eve Duncan, the heroine of the author’s main series, at Eve’s home in Atlanta. Jill, who witnessed a massacre in the village of Robaku, Maldara, offers Eve the job of reconstructing the skulls of 27 schoolchildren killed by rebel soldiers. Moved by the stories of the victims, Eve agrees after some initial hesitation. Soon after arriving in Robaku, Eve discovers that Jill also wants her to reconstruct the skull of Nils Varak, the mercenary responsible for the uprising that caused the children’s deaths. Jill is convinced that the Maldara government is engaged in a cover-up claiming that Nils is dead, and that the body they assert belongs to him is not his. Readers will keep guessing about the complex characters’ underlying motivations as the plot races toward the stunning conclusion. Best known for her paranormal romantic suspense, Johansen should win new fans with this more realistic page-turner. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"In SMOKESCREEN, Johansen's Eve Duncan must outwit a vicious psychopath in the middle of the jungle. I really enjoyed this rip-roaring thriller."—Catherine Coulter, New York Times bestselling author of Paradox

"Dive into the explosive world of Iris Johansen, where villains get exactly what they deserve and the good guys - eventually - win the day. That's a world I want to live in!"—Tami Hoag, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"SMOKESCREEEN is supercharged, combustible and totally addictive. There's no one like Iris Johansen!"—Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author

"A master storyteller, Iris Johansen brings characters to life like no other. A tension filled novel...her plot is intricate, her characters compelling. SMOKESCREEN is great fun."—Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author

"Johansen keeps readers on the edge of their seats."—Booklist

"Just by seeing the Iris Johansen name....you know [it] will be an explosive, unforgettable story."—Suspense Magazine

"Mega-star Johansen is a true master."—RT Book Reviews

From the Publisher

2019-05-13
An emotional and highly deceptive plea entices forensic sculptor Eve Duncan from Atlanta to Africa, where all hell promptly breaks loose.

Journalist Jill Cassidy wants Eve to drop what she's doing and book passage to the fictional country of Maldara, where an attack by Botzan rebels on a village school has left 27 children dead. Eve can render the bereaved parents a priceless service, urges Jill, if she uses her matchless skills to reconstruct busts of the deceased from their skulls, and she plies Eve with enough sob-story details to overcome her resistance. But she doesn't tell Eve the truth, or at least not the whole truth. The real reason Jill and CIA agent Jed Novak want Eve to come is so she can determine that a 28th skull—that of mercenary Nils Varak—isn't really Varak's at all but another skull intended to make the world believe he's dead. Eve, already stung by Jill's deception, points out that the skull has tested positive for Varak's DNA; Jill counters that it must have been faked. While Jill and Novak try to come up with evidence that would support their theory and Eve begins her painstaking reconstructive work on the skulls, Zahra Kiyani, who accepted the presidency of Maldara after her father, the incumbent, was assassinated, seizes more and more greedily the power she thinks is due her as a descendant of Cleopatra's daughter Kiya and the country's rightful queen. She uses her sexual dominance over U.N. diplomat Edward Wyatt to wring concessions from the international community and holds terse exchanges with an unseen party over what to do about this interloping American. How can Eve and her ragtag allies possibly prevail against such entrenched and well-armed adversaries? Readers who take this last question seriously are clearly newcomers to Johansen's venerable franchise (Dark Tribute, 2019, etc.).

No matter how intense the action gets, the outcome, for better or worse, is never in doubt.

Kirkus Reviews

07/01/2019

Johansen is back with another fast-paced "Eve Duncan" mystery (after Dark Tribute).This time, forensic sculptor Eve is reconstructing the skulls from a schoolhouse massacre in a small village in Africa. She came at the request of Jill Cassidy, a journalist who has been reporting on events in the village, but Eve soon realizes that there's more to the story. Jill has sinister reasons for inviting Eve in on the project, and the disturbing backstory is heavy with threats of violence. While this installment is a part of a long-running series, it can be read as a stand-alone. The extended dialog that carries the narrative leads to strong characterization; readers will be able to understand the twisted motives and are not spared any detail, from the frightening to the mundane, as every element advances the plot to a heart-pounding conclusion. VERDICT A thriller with underlying political themes, this novel is sure to appeal to Eve Duncan enthusiasts as well as new readers of the series. [See Prepub Alert, 1/23/19.]—Natalie Browning, Longwood Univ. Lib., Farmville, VA

Library Journal

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