Eve Duncan is one of the country's foremost forensic sculptors. She specializes in reconstructing murdered children's faces so they can be identified and bring closure to the victims' families. This is dear to Eve's heart because years ago her own daughter was kidnapped and murdered. Her latest project, however, is a little different. This murdered girl appears to Eve, telling her that her name is Jenny, and that she has been waiting to be found so that Eve could help her. Since Eve's own murdered daughter, Bonnie, has visited her on many occasions, Eve is not as freaked out by the appearance of a spirit as one might expect.
Eve, as followers of this series know, is impulsive and always ready to barrel into a situation regardless of the risks to herself. Her longtime love, Joe, is a very capable man - ex-SEAL, ex-FBI, and currently a police officer. Yet, Eve oftentimes excludes him, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. This tends to make me a little crazy because Eve is strong and capable, but she definitely does not have his skills. By becoming involved in tracking down what happened to Jenny, Eve is putting both herself and Joe in great danger as the person who killed Jenny has ties to Mexican drug cartels, and this was not a simple murder. It soon becomes clear that there is another target in the killer's sights, another child, one who has ties to the murdered Jenny. Eve and Joe frantically try to piece the puzzle together to find the child before the killer does, while staying alive themselves.
SHADOW PLAY is a very exciting, well paced story. I found this to be one of the best that Iris Johansen has written in this series. It captured my attention and I hated to put it down. This series has so many recurring characters besides Eve and Joe, that it's hard to just comment on one book. I admit I'm not fond of the turn the series took from romantic suspense to the great inclusion of paranormal elements, but I fear that I am addicted. I do highly recommend SHADOW PLAY, and to followers of this series, I have one final comment: just wait until you read the last paragraph!
Eve Duncan: the most sought-after artist in the field of
forensic sculpting. Dedicated to her work ever since her
daughter Bonnie was taken and killed at the age of seven,
Eve feels a sense of duty to those whose lives were lost and
whose bones are now in her hands.
When a sheriff in California contacts her with a request for
help on the reconstruction of the skull of a girl whose body
has been buried for eight years, his fierce investment in
the case puzzles her. But when Eve finds herself
experiencing an unusual connection with the girl she calls
Jenny, she becomes entangled in the case more intensely than
she could have ever imagined. Not since Bonnie has Eve had
such an experience, and suddenly she finds herself
determined to solve the murder and bring closure to the crime.
When the killer discovers that Eve Duncan is on the case, he
begins to move in. First, eliminating those most remotely
involved. Then, targeting those more closely tied to Jenny.
And he won't rest until anything and anyone that could
reveal his identity is eliminated-but even that won't
satisfy him. He wants something more. He wants something
more. One girl escaped from him. And she is his ultimate
prize...
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