Shadow Play

August 1, 2015
Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan takes on the facial reconstruction of a young, unidentified girl buried for eight years and becomes intensely involved in the case. Eve is contacted by a California sheriff after the skeleton is discovered in a forest, and she's impressed by his passionate dedication to finding out the truth about the girl's murder. Putting the case at the top of her queue, she's drawn in completely when the ghost of the girl, Jenny, begins to appear to her, and as the two form a strong bond, Eve realizes there's another girl connected to the case-one who's alive but in urgent danger now that the bones have been found. Eve heads to California with her protective lover, Joe, a cop, and the two work with Sheriff Nalchek to gather the strands of the past and gain clues to Jenny's identity, which lead them into the killer's orbit and closer to the other girl in his sights. As they rush to find and save her, they are helped by their friend Margaret, an animal medium, while unsavory details of Nalchek's own family history come to light and are linked to Jenny's death. Johansen moves deeper into supernatural elements with her latest Eve Duncan title, which add an interesting dimension to the popular series but ultimately confuse rather than tighten the plot. Too many psychic red herrings lead readers down paths that don't lead anywhere, the ending seems rushed and anticlimactic, and the villain comes across as over-the-top evil and inconsistently capable. Too many times he could have met his goals easily by making what seem like obvious choices, but he draws attention to himself at every turn and misses the easy kill-so Eve and Joe live another day thanks to his blundering rather than their typical competence. An intriguing idea bogged down by incongruent plot and character details.

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April 1, 2015

Famed forensic sculptor Eve Duncan is finally back (she was last seen in 2013's Silencing Eve), and she's reconstructing the skull of a nine-year-old girl who's been under the earth for eight long years. Then the girl's ghost speaks to her, and Eve works even harder to bring her rest. Too bad the killer knows Eve's on the case.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 27, 2015
Early in bestseller Johansen’s intense 18th Eve Duncan novel (after 2013’s Silencing Eve), the Atlanta-based forensic sculptor agrees to do a reconstruction job on the skull of a nine-year-old girl, who disappeared about eight years earlier, for Sheriff John Nalchek of Sonderville, Calif., who’s sure if he just has a face to work with he can discover the girl’s identity and killer. The sheriff’s passion surprises Eve. Even more surprising are the emotions Eve feels during the reconstruction, especially when she senses the deceased girl talking to her and even views her apparition. After someone intercepts the skull on its way back to Sonderville, Eve and her paramour, former FBI agent Joe Quinn, travel to California to assist Nalchek in finding the thief—and in stopping the murderer from killing again. Johansen delivers a no-holds-barred mystery that maintains suspense throughout and boasts a cast of multifaceted characters. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency.