Plenty of deception in Johansen’s first Eve Duncan novel

You know I that when I find an author I like, I try to ready everything they’ve written. But I somehow missed one of Iris Johansen’s, “The Face of Deception.” This book is early in her Eve Duncan series, but even knowing what’s in Eve’s future doesn’t spoil it.

In this one, Eve and her mother are living together in a small rental in Atlanta. She works on skull reconstructions in a small studio in the backyard, has no social life and remains close friends with Detective Joe Quinn. Eve is still angry that the man who confessed to murdering her daughter, Bonnie, refused to tell her where he left any of his victims before he was executed.

She has just begun work on a skull she calls Mandy when the very wealthy John Logan shows up. He offers wants Eve to drop everything and work on a skull he says is very important. Eve isn’t about to take orders from anyone, but she wavers when he offers to donate a tremendous of money to a lost children’s fund. That night, someone trashes her lab, kills the neighbor’s cat and smashes Mandy’s skull, hoping to scare her away.

Hoping to protect her mother, Eve agrees. Logan and his driver/bodyguard Gil whisk her away to his huge home, complete with a fully stocked lab. She’s eager to get to work, but the skull isn’t there. Logan tells her it might be JFK’s skull she’ll be working on, though she’s skeptical.

He also tells her that others are willing to kill to get that skull, so she might be in danger. That turns out to be an understatement. After a harrowing trip to retrieve the skull, Gil is shot and they toss their find to their pursuers, Logan gives her the real one.

Wanting to get this over with, Eve throws herself into reconstruction of the facial features. When she finishes, she realizes it is not Kennedy but someone she thought was very much alive. Eve demands to know what is going on, and Logan finally levels with her.

I won’t spoil the story by telling you who it is, but I will say that there has been a murder, a body double and a massive cover-up. Now they have to stay alive long enough to present proof of the crime. It isn’t easy, even for the very rich to avoid skilled assassins and powerful people in high places. It will take Logan’s resources, Eve’s toughness and a touch of Joe Quinn to get them through this unscathed.

I know this is just a thumbnail sketch, but I really want you to read this one yourself.
We rarely have to question who we can trust or what is real, but it can be fascinating to read about those in such situations. Your public library has books with conspiracies, fantasy and wild adventures. Take a little time to stop by soon so you can check it out.

AT A GLANCE
BOOK: “The Face of Deception”
AUTHOR: Iris Johansen
PUBLISHER: Bantam
PUBLISHED: Aug. 26, 2003
PAGES: 480