The Killing Game

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

There is a brutal serial killer on the loose. After several bodies were unearthed, in his frustration that he may have finally made a mistake after years of killing, he sets his sights of renowned forensic sculptor Eve Duncan.

Years ago, Eve lost her precious daughter Bonnie to a serial killer. She has crafted her career structuring faces from skeletons and other means with hopes of providing closure to families who have lost their children. Eve, however, never had such closure. Bonnie's body was never found. Until now. Now? Quite possibly. Therefore, the investigation into the site where the bodies are found takes on an extremely personal edge.

In order to have Eve believe that one of the bodies discovered is show more actually Bonnie's, the killer begins a terrifying game of cat and mouse. To capture Eve's attention, the life of a ten-year-old child is suddenly at risk. Eve begins receiving clues as to the girl's danger, all while hoping to reconstruct the skeleton that just might be Bonnie's.

Before the discovery of the bodies, Eve took off with John Logan. Not only was she able to shake off her traumatic work for a time, she was able to fully regroup. Little did Eve know that close friend Joe Quinn had been looking for the perfect opportunity to snatch her back and to make her a part of his life. in a way she never expected or even dreamed could happen. Meanwhile, Joe is extremely concerned for Eve and knows that the identification of the skeleton might hurt Eve to the very core.

The Killing Game is a fast-moving book. Not only is Eve in danger, but also a young child. Meanwhile, there is a fair bit of romance in this story. Readers of the first book, The Face of Deception, might not be surprised, but perhaps as to the reasoning. Nonetheless, the course has been set and there are now 25 titles in this exciting series. I have already had the pleasure of reading a few more at the time of writing this review, The Search, Body of Lies and Dead Aim. Blind Alley is next in line for my greedy eyes. show less

I've read these out of order so some of what I know about the characters makes this interesting. The second of the Eve Duncan stories this one concentrates on the change in relationships between herself and the two men in her life, Logan and Joe. This is also the story where Jane and Sarah meet with the others, so a pivotal story in the series for continuity.

This killer taunts Eve with her daughter's death and leads her on a merry chase trying to find who he is before he kills again. It was interesting but I have to wonder that a killer who had spent so many years escaping from issues would suddenly find himself with a need to taunt someone who was so connected with the investigation. Still it kept the story going and I suspected almost show more everyone before the killer was unmasked (unfortunately a rarity these days with a lot of thrillers).

Enjoyable read, some minor caveats about how suitable some of the investigators are to investigating. show less

This review is for Troy who thought my idea of doing a review by only using gifs interesting. I may do a proper one later on, but right now, this is how I felt about this book. I will add some text just to make the review a bit more understanding. But, I will try to use text as little as possible. Let's start!



This book was just as the first one good with a compelling story and a really crazy killer.

We also had a bit of a triangle drama between Logan, Eve and Joe. It's actually nice that Iris Johansen didn't drag out it through 20 books. Instead, did she make Eve and the guy in question a couple in this book. And, I could have lived with either choice, to be honest...

How about the story with the killer?








(I thought I had the ending show more figured out but, the last twist I never suspected)

4.5 stars show less

Excellent entry in the Eve Duncan series. Really enjoying these books. The tension that builds throughout the book, as well as the intrigue and plot twists, keep you interested and unable to put the book down. Really good, suspenseful read.

This is the second book, in the Eve Duncan Forensics Series, published Sept 1999. Its been a year now since, Logan, billionaire owner of Logan Computers, with the help of Eve uncovered that the President of United States was an imposter. The First Lady used a double, aided by plastic surgery, to replace her husband, who died of cancer shortly after taking office. It was done to ensure his programs would be carried out but also allowed her to retain the power of the Presidential Office. (The Face of Deception) Eve has been recovering on Logan's private island, south of Tahiti.
We begin with the authorities finding eight bodies including a child at Talladega Falls, Georgia because of the rains and the mud slide. Pathology Dept., Atlanta, show more determined the child was seven or eight, female, and probably Caucasian. Joe Quinn, lieutenant detective Atlanta P.D. has come to the island, to bring Eve home, to identify the child, by working on the skull. Eve does forensic sculpting and age progression as well as computer and video superimposition, to identify the dead from their skulls, to find the lost ones, as she calls them. Any child's body found could be Eve's daughter, Bonnie, who at age seven, was murdered and her body was never found. Joe, her best friend, is always looking for Bonnie, to bring her home to Eve, in the hopes it will finally bring her the peace she needs. Events lead in a strange direction when the child's body goes missing from the Atlanta morgue and a professed serial killer makes his self known to Eve. He calls himself Dom and leads her to believe he is the one response for killing Bonnie. He aligns her with a 10 year old girl, living in foster care, as the reincarnated Bonnie. Eve and the girl are targets in his game. FBI Agent Robert Spiro heads the investigation to find Dom. When Eve finally confronts the serial killer you will not believe who it is. Through the book you are kept on the edge wondering what is going to happen next. This is another excellent read by Iris Johansen. show less

Surprisingly, I really didn't care for this. This is the first book in the Eve Duncan series I've read, but I don't think missing that first book is why I didn't like it. I just didn't relate to Eve, and maybe my brain kept wanting her to be Eve Dallas. All of her relationships with other people seemed awkward. I also expected the forensic sculpting to be a larger part of the story. I won't bother with the rest of this series.

The killing Game is a sequel. I have not read the first book, but you can tell the writter expects you to have. Though I found not knowing all that transpired before was not an impediment to enjoying the book.

The heroine is Eve Duncan who is an foresnic sculpter. We learn that she has two men that would do anything for her. Quinn, the homicide detective, that gets her invloved in our story, by letting her know of the uncovered body of a young girl. A girl that may be here dead daughter. And Logan, a Bill Gates type, that wants only to shelter her. And has done a good job of it by having taken her to a private island in the pacific.

The numerous bodies found of course makes the news. And the killer not only see's that some of his kills show more have been uncovered. But that Eve is being brought in to help reconstruct one of the faces. Of course the reconstruction is to be of the little girl she thinks may be her daughter. But the killer steals the bones and calls Eve. He calls himself Dom and this is where the sick game begins.

Dom explains to Eve that he was the killer of her daughter. And that he was going to kill anther girl who could be her daughter reincarnated...It is a race. Can Eve solve all the puzzles that Dom sets for her and keep him intrigued. Or will he just kill the girl and her.

This book is a page turner and will keep your interest. show less