Rating:  -
This was the first book by Iris Johansen that I have read. I bought it due to the enthusiastic reviews on the back cover or on the first pages in the book.
I do not know how her other books are, because this book was as bad as they rarely come.
One-dimensional characters, repetitive thoughts/actions (just in case somebody had not got it the first or second time), illogical actions (visitor from Scotland Yard shows up at the private home, not at the police station, and our heroes do not even bother to ask for identification, ......)
I could not develop any sympathies for the protagonists, and frankly, I do not care if they get murdered or not.
I have no idea if the other books by this author are better, but I do not intend to find out.
One is more than enough.
Annoying, irritating, boring.
Sorry!
Rating:  -
I was very satisfied with the purchase of this book. The book was in good condition, the price very reasonable, and I received it in just a matter of days.
Thank you.
Rating: -
My mom let me use her hybrid for awhile and she had the audio book for "Blind Alley" The radio was boring so I decided to listen to it.
I see from the other reviews this is the 5th book in a series involving the forensic sculptor Eve Duncan, Atlanta Police Detective Joe Quinn, and their adopted daughter Jane MacGuire.
Enter the crazed serial killer named Aldo who is bent on killing any woman that remotely looks like somebody named Cira who later turns out to have been a 2000 year old actor/concubine noted for her beauty. His obsession makes him carve off their faces in order to destroy the face from the world. In his travels he notices Jayne who appears to be the living image of Cira. His quest is almost over! He found her at last.
Overall, the plot was ok. I could follow along and I could imagine the settings. Others complain about it but I am coming from not having read the previous books. One thing I will mention is the characters don't fall back on the other books so you don't feel you missed anything.
I liked the character Mark Trevor as he came across as a good Anti-Hero. Yet, I was interested in knowing more about him and his sidekick Bartlet.
I will admit I expected a trite situation where a borrowed skeleton from ancient times used to lure Aldo would turn out to be Cira. All through the book the question is asked did she survive? Eve as part of the trap does a reconstruction with the promise of doing the real reconstruction. after dealing with Also. When she finishes the final work, you are simply left with her exclaiming "my god" and that was it. I suspect that was the intention but the author changed her mind and dropped it.
The ending was ok. But it left me unsatiated. I expected more and it stopped.
Bernadette Dunne does the reading and in the beginning she annoyed me with her attempts to give accents to the characters. Not to mention that Jayne and Eve seemed to whine a great deal. However, I was able to tune it out as the story picked up.
I will probably check out her early works and will look for more if Trevor comes back.
Rating:  -
There's a psycho killer on the loose who is targeting women who look like a cop's 17-year old adopted daughter. Adding to the emotional complexity is that the cop's wife lost a young daughter, presumed murdered, several years ago. The wife is a talented sculptor who altered her career to provide forensic reconstructions of murder victims. She has a talent that goes beyond technical skill. She's able to commune with the victim's spirit in some way and provide eerily accurate portrayals.
The couple knows their daughter is in grave danger. The young woman is intelligent and independent. This combination of traits helps save her life, but also endangers it.
A string of victims along the way leads to the inevitable showdown involving the cop, the killer, and the daughter.
I enjoyed that this book was exciting, took unexpected twists, and yet the author didn't have to gross me out with excruciating detail of every brutal and sadistic murder. Blind Alley is one of a series featuring the forensic sculptor, but I didn't feel held back by not having read any of the others. The character of the teenage daughter was engaging and apparently there are future books about her.
This is a great crime novel for the idle hours - take it on a trip with you.
Rating: -
I did not like this one as well as the rest in the series. It just did not seem to flow as well.
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