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A review by weaselweader
The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen
3.0
Fleshing out the bones of a fine thriller ... !
Eve Duncan, the finest forensic sculptor in the world, just can't seem to get past the grief of losing her daughter to a serial killer who was executed without disclosing the location of the body. As a method of dealing with her own psychological issues, she has chosen to help other parents find closure to their grief over the loss of a child by focusing her extraordinary skills on the identification of children's remains. Billionaire John Logan is a man who is used to having things the way he wants and working with nothing and nobody but the best. So when Eve initially refuses his request for her help in identifying a mystery skull, he turns the screws of manipulative persuasion by promising to make an obscenely large donation to her favourite children's charity. Of course, Eve cannot find it in herself to deny the children such an incredible gift and the game is afoot!
When Joe Quinn, Eve's long-time detective friend and confidante, digs a little more deeply into Logan's affairs, he and Eve become convinced that Logan fancies himself on the trail of yet another hair-brained JFK conspiracy theory and that he believes the skull, rather than resting in Arlington Cemetery where it ought to be, is Kennedy's. But as she applies all of her skills, art, science and technique to the rebuilding of the face that belonged to the skull, she discovers that the truth is far more horrifying and sinister than she could possibly have imagined. Logan, Quinn, Duncan, their families and their staffs are all in danger for their lives as a cabal that reaches to the highest levels of the government will do whatever it takes to cover up the truth of the skull's identity!
I don't think Johansen will ever pretend that The Face of Deception is literature but you can be sure it's a fine heaping helping of page-turning brain candy that will keep you mesmerized from first to last. Plot aside, she has presented us with a strong female and a strong male lead that produce plenty of sparks when they're rubbed up against one another. Conflict, sarcasm, warmth, incipient romance, tension, wit, confusion and intelligent conversation - it's all there in abundance! Johansen even takes an occasional breather from action and provides some fine descriptive and atmospheric writing along the way!
As Eve is such an incredibly strong-willed, intelligent lady, I would criticize Johansen for making far too much out of the fact that the daughter's body was never found and allowing it to play on Duncan's psyche in such an overwhelming, never-ending and almost debilitating fashion. But, without giving any of the details away, the ending does seem to suggest that she has at long last come to grips with it and is willing to let her daughter rest at peace. Small, small criticism indeed for a fine thriller that leaves plenty of room for a sequel to come with return appearances for both Quinn and Logan. Hip hip hooray!
Paul Weiss
Eve Duncan, the finest forensic sculptor in the world, just can't seem to get past the grief of losing her daughter to a serial killer who was executed without disclosing the location of the body. As a method of dealing with her own psychological issues, she has chosen to help other parents find closure to their grief over the loss of a child by focusing her extraordinary skills on the identification of children's remains. Billionaire John Logan is a man who is used to having things the way he wants and working with nothing and nobody but the best. So when Eve initially refuses his request for her help in identifying a mystery skull, he turns the screws of manipulative persuasion by promising to make an obscenely large donation to her favourite children's charity. Of course, Eve cannot find it in herself to deny the children such an incredible gift and the game is afoot!
When Joe Quinn, Eve's long-time detective friend and confidante, digs a little more deeply into Logan's affairs, he and Eve become convinced that Logan fancies himself on the trail of yet another hair-brained JFK conspiracy theory and that he believes the skull, rather than resting in Arlington Cemetery where it ought to be, is Kennedy's. But as she applies all of her skills, art, science and technique to the rebuilding of the face that belonged to the skull, she discovers that the truth is far more horrifying and sinister than she could possibly have imagined. Logan, Quinn, Duncan, their families and their staffs are all in danger for their lives as a cabal that reaches to the highest levels of the government will do whatever it takes to cover up the truth of the skull's identity!
I don't think Johansen will ever pretend that The Face of Deception is literature but you can be sure it's a fine heaping helping of page-turning brain candy that will keep you mesmerized from first to last. Plot aside, she has presented us with a strong female and a strong male lead that produce plenty of sparks when they're rubbed up against one another. Conflict, sarcasm, warmth, incipient romance, tension, wit, confusion and intelligent conversation - it's all there in abundance! Johansen even takes an occasional breather from action and provides some fine descriptive and atmospheric writing along the way!
As Eve is such an incredibly strong-willed, intelligent lady, I would criticize Johansen for making far too much out of the fact that the daughter's body was never found and allowing it to play on Duncan's psyche in such an overwhelming, never-ending and almost debilitating fashion. But, without giving any of the details away, the ending does seem to suggest that she has at long last come to grips with it and is willing to let her daughter rest at peace. Small, small criticism indeed for a fine thriller that leaves plenty of room for a sequel to come with return appearances for both Quinn and Logan. Hip hip hooray!
Paul Weiss