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The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen

Out of Nell’s comfort zone challenge! I tried a new to me genre. I’m not much into thrillers, but I’m glad I started with this one!

Title: The Face of Deception
Author: Iris Johansen
Series: Eve Duncan #1
Publish Date: 1999
Source: reviewer borrowed from library

Publisher’s Description: An unidentified skull…

A trail of terrifying secrets…

And a woman whose talented hands could reveal the shocking truth…

As a forensic sculptor, Eve Duncan helps identify the dead from their skulls. Her own daughter murdered and her body never found, the job is Eve’s way of coming to terms with her personal nightmare. But more terror lies ahead when she accepts work from billionaire John Logan. Beneath her gifted hands a face emerges from the skull he has given her to reconstruct—a face no one was ever meant to see. Now Eve is trapped in a frightening web of murder and deceit. Powerful enemies are determined to cover up the truth, and they will make certain that truth goes to the grave…even if Eve gets buried with it.

Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words …SPOILERS. *BEWARE*

Nervous Nellie says…

This was a VERY good read. I finished it in 2 days and that’s practically a miracle for me anymore. Ruby Lee and I were disappointed that the library didn’t have it’s annual book bingo game this year so we made our own. The first challenge I had was to read a book that she has already read. I picked this one. I was not sorry. This book has action all the way through. The heroine is a bit um…nieve is the word I think I want to use. She had a hard childhood, she was a mother at 16, she had a mother on drugs but yet she can’t accept that her friend that was a Navy SEAL and is now a cop killed anybody? Mmmm…that one is a bit hard to swallow. She’s also very strong willed and a take control kind of woman who lost her child to a murderer, but she doesn’t want to believe a side to her friend that we all know exists? And this friend of hers who I KNOW FOR A FACT thinks himself more than a friend but doesn’t show it? What the hell? And then he married a different woman who he didn’t love instead? What’s up with that? I don’t get that at all. That relationship is messed up.

Anyway, the story was action packed, like I said. I mean page turning action packed. Yes, there was murder – multiples. The author didn’t pull any punches when she lets you get to know a character and then kills him off. Brutal that was…geez. So, the premise is kind of politically directed and the end intent of the master villain was sort of noble, but they went far too far with their secret. Of course, I didn’t find out about this until towards the end. That part was kind of a whaaaa? kind of moment. There was no sex, there was no swearing if any at all. I read a couple of reviews where the reader didn’t want any kind of romance in the book, but I didn’t actually feel much romance. The two heroes of the book would like to keep the heroine for themselves, but the one lost his chance when he married and this new guy kinda screwed it up by nearly getting her killed. I thought there was the right amount of romance for a thriller. It was a good book. I’d give it 5 stars for keeping me entertained.