SILENCING EVE - Iris Johansen
Eve Duncan, Book #15 (#3 in the new trilogy)
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 978-1-250-02002-4
October 2013
Suspense

Wyoming and the Oregon Coast – Present Day

When the 2013 Eve Duncan Trilogy begins (TAKING EVE, June 2013), forensic sculptor Eve Duncan is kidnapped from her home in Atlanta, Georgia by James Doane, a deranged father who forces Eve to reconstruct his son Kevin's damaged and burned skull.  The cliffhanger left us chewing our nails when Eve finally managed to escape into the forest, where she ran from Doane (HUNTING EVE, July 2013), and left us crying at the end as her life was in limbo.

Now, in SILENCING EVE, Catherine Ling, CIA operative, has come home to reports that her friend Eve Duncan is dead.  Angry and out for blood, Catherine wants to find Agent Venable and kill him, which, as a skilled and dangerous agent, she is fully capable of doing, leaving no witnesses.  It's Venable's fault Eve died; Catherine could have saved her if he had not kept her in the dark about Eve's situation.  But when Catherine arrives at Eve's home, Eve's lover, Atlanta Police Detective Joe Quinn shares welcome news, Eve is not dead; however, she is still being held captive by Doane.  In an elaborate ruse, this madman tricked everyone when he and Eve escaped, leaving Joe and the others believing he and Eve died.  The current problem:  no one knows where Doane has taken Eve; there are scant few clues to give them a direction in which to start, and they need to find her before he kills her.

Chained to a table in an out of the way motel, Eve is still trying to find a way to escape from Doane's clutches while she stalls the re-creation of Kevin's skull.  Meanwhile, Eve's family and friends are in Atlanta to facilitate a plan to find Eve, while they keep Doane believing that they've stopped looking. Joe wants Doane to feel safe so he won't run again.  The sooner they can find Eve the better.

The hunt is on for the deranged James Doane as characters from the previous books converge and form a plan to find Eve, leading them on a merry chase into Canada and finally to the Oregon Coast where the explosive conclusion offers surprises and an end to this suspenseful novel and heart pounding series.  Writing a review for SILENCING EVE is difficult at best without giving away the story!  Just telling you that Eve is alive, when at the end of the second book we cried for her death, is too revealing.  So, please forgive the lack of information you find here.  What I can tell you is that all the wonderful characters from the previous books are here as everyone gathers to help find Eve.  We meet again Catherine Ling, Agent Venable, and killer-for-hire Lee Zander and his right hand man, Stang. Los Angeles music therapist Kendra Michaels is back, and so is Eve's adopted daughter, Jane Maguire, and of course, Eve's longtime lover, Joe Quinn.  Margaret, Jane's friend who talks to animals is also on board. There are also some new characters helping Eve.

SILENCING EVE is a taut and suspenseful book that is guaranteed to keep you reading in one full sweep until the end!

Diana Risso