I've been a long-time fan of Iris Johansen, especially the Eve Duncan series. Although STALEMATE is decidedly different from the other stories starring Eve Duncan from the past, I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it--so much so that I stayed up until 3am to finish the book.

Yes, the Eve in this story isn't the saintly, never-do-anything-wrong Eve that many readers have come to know and love. She becomes attracted to a bad guy who, at least in the beginning of the story, is the mother of all bad guys. Montalvo, however, isn't what he appears to be--just, as it would turn out, the same way that solid, ever-steady Eve isn't just the pushover we've always thought her to be.

The action in this story is non-stop, with a great appearance by Galen (one of my favorite characters of all-time) and with a great new character, 19-year-old Miguel. Montalvo, I'll admit, is a very, very appealing character; whether he's being a bad guy who seems to kill without compunction or a sensitive man who lost his wife to a drug lord, you can't help but find yourself drawn to him.

I, for one, am hoping that Ms. Johansen brings Montalvo back for more stories. Whether or not Eve and Joe (who, by the way, acted like a giant, ego-bruised baby throughout most of this story) can get their relationship back on track, or whether Eve will allow her attraction to Montalvo to grow, we'll have to wait and see.

But STALEMATE is definitely not a disappointing read. Kudos to Ms. Johansen for bringing back an Eve Duncan who actually started to act like a real, fallible human being, instead of a perfect, wounded princess. ( )

Eve is no closer to locating Bonnie than ever, and her missing daughter continues to haunt her. When a South American arms dealer offers her a dangerous bargain - identify a skull for him and he'll track down Bonnie's killer for her - she can't resist the lure. But Eve has more hostages to fate than her lost daughter. This time her obsession with bringing Bonnie home may just cost her the life of someone close to her.

It's been a while since I read the preceding novels, but Johansen deftly handles backstory details, and the story takes off fairly quickly. That said, while the tension continues to build, there isn't a great amount of action. The supporting characters are wooden and fairly one-dimensional, and the premise is a bit of a stretch. Eve's tendency to threaten violence toward anyone who endangers her loved ones gets a bit tired by the third or fourth repetition. It's a solid enough series entry, but Johansen's capable of better. ( )

This book tried very hard to impress, but failed totally. The premise was implausible, the dialogue stilted (and repetitive) and the characterization unconvincing to the pointy of absurdity. I can't believe this was book was even published. If an unpublished author had submitted it, i doubt if it would have made it past the slush pile. ( )

This was an appalling book and quite inept, especially in its characterization and character motivation. Every few pages in the first half of the book we read something on the lines of:

-How can I trust you? You are a criminal.
-I know I am a criminal. But you must believe me, this time I am sincere.
-But how can i be sure?
-You can't be but you must trust me nevertheless.

Okay this is a parody. But that's the way it comes over. And the whole theme of: I need you to prove it so that so-and-so will believe me and help me, is so implausible and ridiculous. I just didn't buy it - couldn't buy it. It was rubbish. The author also held out the unfulfilled promise of solving a mystery concerning one of the characters as a come on to keep the reader interested in what i think she knew would otherwise be an intensely boring and implasuible book ( )

Not for children.
Eve Duncan is contacted by a criminal, Montalvo, who offers to help her find Bonnie's killer IF she does a reconstruction for him. Against Joe Quinn's wishes she goes to Montalvo's compound and becomes embroiled in a battle between two master criminals. I really like this series. The next one is called Quicksand and is due out March 2008. ( )