In  HIGH STAKES Iris Johansen introduces a legendary gambler that is good at betting it all. He has a secret past that has been haunting him because he has been seeking answers that have eluded him.  When the opportunity is presented to him to take on a case that will provide him with the answers he has been looking for he accepts.  Taking on this challenge will be HIGH STAKES for this gambler when everything is laid on the line.  This is a different story from the Eve Duncan Series even though one of the characters from that series will be prominent in this story.  This story has nothing to do with forensics and everything to do with the Russian mafia, HIGH STAKES gambling, manipulation, deadly confrontations and freedom.

Logan Tanner is a legendary, professional gambler who takes risks and has nerves of steel. He has a dark and violent past as an extractor.  He returns to that dark world when he meets the beautiful and innocent Lara Balkon who is being manipulated by her father and the Russian mob.

Logan ends up in the middle of the conflict between two Russian mafia bosses over Lara and her mother. Logan has been offered valuable information he desperately needs in exchange for getting Lara safely out of Russia. After extracting Lara and her mother from Russia Tanner discovers that Lara is a force to be reckoned with and who has strong determination and will.

Lara Balkon and her mother Maria have been through horrendous circumstances that are hard to imagine.  But both of these women have strong determination.  So when Tanner provides them with the chance to escape the prison they have been living in they prove that they are willing to do whatever it takes to gain their freedom.

The stakes are higher with each deadly confrontation as Logan and Lara are pitted against pure evil.  The odds may be stacked against them but they are willing to go all the way. 

When the character from the Eve Duncan Series introduces Lara to his granddaughter there is the possibility of a continuation of these characters.  Another fascinating read from Iris Johansen!