The Face Of Deception

Surviving the disappearance and probable murder of her daughter gave drive to Eve Duncan. The need to keep busy and her own tragedy gave Eve a perspective that some of her collogues in the professional field of forensic sculptor didn’t have. Being the best in the field caught the attention of wealthy businessman John Logan when he received information about a skull that he desperately needed confirmation on the identity of. Utilizing every resource to persuade Eve to help him, Logan and Eve finally confirmed the identity of the victim only to find themselves targeted to be the next victim on the list.

Book 1 ….. With all these cop or forensic type shows and books out now, it is difficult to come up with a new idea. This may not be a show more completely new idea, but it is sure done well. Quickly jumping into the action and the characters lives. Each of these characters come through great, especially John Logan - he reminds me a little of another Eve’s man (Roarke - and that is a good thing). Actually really liked Eve’s reluctance to help at first, not every heroine is made to jump in the middle of things. I anticipate the relationship with Logan and the growth of Eve’s character the most when I read the next book, The Killing Games. show less

I was given The Search 20 years ago, and I really like it, and I was going to read it again and decided I might as well start the series first. I was rather disappointed. The premise was interesting, and it was full of tense situations. However, I just didn't care for the bland unlikable characters. The dialogue was pretty lackluster too. Eve was my least favorite character and she ended up not even being necessary for the job Logan needed done. I'm only giving it a 3, because I did want to see how it was resolved, and it was a quick read.

This is a well written book, and one cares about the characters. However, the premise is a little unlikely. But Johansen pulls it off without the over the top explanations that muddy the narrative of some unlikely scenarios.

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 show more 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. show less

Eve Duncan took on a job as a forensic sculptor for a very specific reason. She had a little girl named Bonnie. Bonnie was killed by a serial killer who has since been executed. Little Bonnie's body has never been found. Therefore, Eve has made it her life's mission to identify those deceased. She does this by recreating their skulls, preferring to work with the remains of children and to then return them to their parents so that they can have the closure that she herself never got to experience.

John Logan is a billionaire who will stop at nothing to hire Eve to identify a set of bones. Eve is reluctant to work with the handsome, smooth talker who won't take no for an answer. It takes a very bold move from Logan’s enemies, enemies who show more know his true goal, to change Eve's mind. She knows being offered a ridiculous sum of money for relatively short work means something far more than Logan is willing to tell her.

Eve's job is to restore peace to families that have been severely wounded by murder. Instead, after entering Logan's world, she is faced with danger, murder and ends up fleeing for her life. When she begins to understand the depth of Logan's purpose, needless to say, she is extremely angered and begins to worry, not only for her life, but for that of her mother.

While on the one hand readers experience the depth of Eve's grief when it comes to memories of Bonnie, readers are also pulled into a world of political corruption and duplicity. When it comes to Bonnie, Eve has vivid memories that keep prodding her forward. With regard to the current situation, countless lives will be affected should Eve not succeed with what she is doing for Logan.

There are a lot of dynamics to be explored in this book. This part of the story is nothing short than amazing. For starters, Eve and Logan are working together. Then there is Eve's past and her relationship with her mother. Also, enter in another man, Joe Quinn, a former navy SEAL and FBI agent, and now lieutenant detective in their town of Atlanta, GA. Quinn's and Eve's past and current relationship is explored and this opens up a whole new level of intensity in an already tightly-woven, fast-moving book.

Another character that I enjoyed is Margaret, Logan's personal assistant. Her role in Logan's life and this story is pivotal and no doubt she will be a part of future stories in this series.

The Face of Deception is the first book in a currently 25 book series by Iris Johansen. Having received the newest book in the series, Smokescreen, for review, it seemed prudent to begin this series from the very first book. In so doing, I got to know Eve, and the other principal players, namely Logan and Quinn. Eve is a complex character, saddened by grief, but not broken. Instead, she is a powerfully driven woman who will stop at nothing when it comes to showing her skill and her dedication.

I so enjoyed this book! I am so eager to continue on with this series that I have practically come to blows with my TBR. I looked at one of Ms. Johansen's books last year, Vendetta, and had an idea that I just might like her writing. Yes, I was right. After all, reading of a forensic sculptor is quite the experience. I was put in the mind of the character Angela Montenegra in the TV series Bones. Ms. Duncan has done a fabulous job of creating Eve for readers to enjoy and I cannot wait to take another bite. show less

The first Eva Duncan book I read was book 19, so I have a lot of earlier books to go through. But, I don't mind that because I have come to love this series very much.

I liked this book very much, it was intense and interesting and I liked getting to know Eve Duncan and Joe Quinn from the beginning. The story is very interesting and I was quickly pulled into it and wanted to know more. Whose skull is it and why are people so desperate to getting it back? There came a point in the book when I thought "no way, this is too farfetched, but then Johansen twisted the story once more and then the story seemed to make more sense (In that bookish way you know. Hard to think of something similar happen in real life). Anyway, it's a great book and show more I quite liked John Logan, and I liked that Eve and Logan spent most of the book arguing although grudgingly Eve started to soften more and more towards him and let's say Quinn was not all too happy with that, despite the fact that he is married.

The face of Deception is engrossing, a bit sad, thrilling and, definitely surprising. I recommend it warmly! show less

This was my first Eve Duncan mystery, but I'm really looking forward to others. There were moments where I wished for just a bit more depth of character in the people around Eve, but on the whole, I really enjoyed this work and it was an easy escape to fall into. The plot and characters also felt fairly believable--and considering the premise, I think that's impressive in and of itself. I'm sorry I didn't start with the beginning of the series, but then, this was a nice intro., so I'd certainly recommend it regardless.