A review by onlyfictionsworld
The Face of Deception: The First Eve Duncan Novel by Iris Johansen

1.0

I can't believe the plot of this book. I would classify it as fantasy. It even has supernatural elements, with Eve hallucinating all the time and talking to the ghost of her dead daughter. The “hero” instantly irked me, and I wanted the heroine to shoot the bastard. Since all books have a formula, they end up sleeping together (fortunately at the end and off-page). The forced relationship/attraction is also something I dislike. The main character in any book must have a romantic or sexual relationship with someone they meet. Not all single people need a partner for intimacy.

Eve perseveres despite a challenging life. Her grief over losing her daughter inspires her to identify the skulls of missing and unidentified children. As the book progresses, she becomes a doormat… I hate it when books do that. Instead of arguing with the surrounding men, she bows down to them when they say boo. She keeps talking about how she’s standing up to them, but she’s not.

The villain is a cartoon character. He is so terrible it’s laughable. He committed a violent act on a minor character who had no significance to the story. A book should not include violence against women if it doesn't contribute to the plot or character development.

The plot and reasons make little sense. This could be science fiction. The reason behind everything is… politics! In order to prevent a republican from winning, someone wants a different candidate to win an election because the current one is an imposter. There is also the JFK conspiracy that isn’t. I dislike books that bombard you with heavy-handed politics. I wouldn’t have touched this book if I had known it contained so much political nonsense. A warning in the book blurb could prevent wasted time.

The book is ideal for someone who wants an easy yet engaging read. As an avid reader seeking immersion in a story, I'd steer clear of this book.