Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment !
Review: I eagerly awaited this new book as I had read every one of her books before. I can only say that I feel really disappointed that this book is so below her other efforts. I kept having to check the author's name because I felt I was reading an Elizabeth Lowell story! All those phrases in italics is exactly how Elizabeth Lowell writes her stories. Come on Iris you can do better than this.
Rating: 
Summary: Big Snooze TIme
Review: I have been an avid reader of Iris Johansen for years and as the Eve Duncan series went on, it seemed the books got better. I was sadly disappointed in this book. I had hopes that is would continue along the lines with Sarah and Monty helping in rescues. My mistake was when I read an excerpt of this book and it was talking about Sarah and Monty at a rescue scene I thought that's who the book would be about. I was also hoping it would have something about Eve Duncan and Joe somewhere in the book. I lent it to a friend and she keeps asking me when its going to get good, it's a very slow read and disappointing one at best. Her previous book No One To Trust was also lacking, but that's another review. Maybe the time to wind up the Eve Duncan series is overdue.
Rating: 
Summary: I liked it!!
Review: I have been reading some mixed reviews about this book with some people loving it and some people (mostly longtime Iris Johansen readers) finding it not up to par. I have read 2-3 books by Iris Johansen and find that this book is one of my favorites. Dead Aim is about photographer Alex Graham who is taking pictures of what appears to be a natural disaster. She soon finds out otherwise--as she overhears the conspirators and witnesses them murder one of her friends. Alex is soon on the run from the killers and from the government, who mistakenly think she may have something to do with the disaster. Judd Morgan is a loner who is persuaded to help, protect and guard Alex. He is a man with a complicated past and is also on the run from an assassin as well as the CIA. Helping them is Galen and billionaire John Logan. I thought that the plot about conspiracy, terrorists and government was fast paced and well done. It is a suspenseful mystery as Alex and Judd find out who they can trust. Instead of focusing on international terrorism, the terrorists are actually working within the government...so no one is what they seem. It was nice to revisit with old characters like John Logan, Galen/Elena and Sarah/monty the dog. The ending was exciting as Alex runs from the killer and they try to stop a terrorist plot. Dead Aim was a great read and one that will keep readers turning the page!
Rating:
Summary: Not a whole lot of substance here
Review: I like thrillers, I like political thrillers, I like romances. This book didn't succeed on any of those levels. The skeleton of the story was fine but it didn't go anywhere. It wasn't that it was far fetched, it's not like we haven't seen the supposed good guys doing bad things. It was that there were a whole lot of words but not a whole lot of substance. I felt like I was just passing through the story, there was nothing to grab the reader. Alex whined a lot (and we're supposed to believe she's this tough chick photojournalist but she whines an awful lot for a supposed tough chick), Judd brooded a lot, Logan (yes, we know he's a billionaire) ordered people around and said he'd do anything to save his wife a lot. There was panic, running and hiding, some action and mystery but it never fell into a cohesive and compelling storyline. I haven't read Johansen before, this was a impulse, the book was on the "Your librarian likes" shelf and I took a chance. It wasn't awful or poorly written, it just wasn't anything one way or the other.
Rating:
Summary: Not a whole lot of substance here
Review: I like thrillers, I like political thrillers, I like romances. This book didn't succeed on any of those levels. The skeleton of the story was fine but it didn't go anywhere. It wasn't that it was far fetched, it's not like we haven't seen the supposed good guys doing bad things. It was that there were a whole lot of words but not a whole lot of substance. I felt like I was just passing through the story, there was nothing to grab the reader. Alex whined a lot (and we're supposed to believe she's this tough chick photojournalist but she whines an awful lot for a supposed tough chick), Judd brooded a lot, Logan (yes, we know he's a billionaire) ordered people around and said he'd do anything to save his wife a lot. There was panic, running and hiding, some action and mystery but it never fell into a cohesive and compelling storyline. I haven't read Johansen before, this was a impulse, the book was on the "Your librarian likes" shelf and I took a chance. It wasn't awful or poorly written, it just wasn't anything one way or the other.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring, terrible flow and transition
Review: I read about 1/4 of this book and couldn't take it anymore. This is the first time I've read a book from this author and am not familiar with the characters. Ms. Johansen, however, does not give any good character introductions and the transition from event to the next is very sloppy. The book was so pathetic, I literally gave it away to a used bookstore before completion. Very disappointing. If you want to read a great suspense novel from a female perspective, check out Tami Hoag or Paula Woods.
Rating:
Summary: Feels rushed and over done.
Review: Im a big fan of Iris Johansen's books, but this one felt like it needed more time in editing. Plot line felt rushed, to many bad guys introduced without any background on why they're antagonists, and just a general lack of intensity which usually makes her books so interesting to read.
Rating:
Summary: Feels rushed and over done.
Review: Im a big fan of Iris Johansen's books, but this one felt like it needed more time in editing. Plot line felt rushed, to many bad guys introduced without any background on why they're antagonists, and just a general lack of intensity which usually makes her books so interesting to read.
Rating:
Summary: FARFETCHED??
Review: It all seems a bit far-fetched. After photojournalist Alex Graham takes some shots of an earthquake scene, she stumbles upon two men who take some shots at her. She gets away, but not before she gets a hint from them that the earthquake is not a natural disaster, but mass murder. Soon, she becomes the target of the perpetrators, but no one believes her story except the billionaire husband of her best friend. He hires ex-CIA hit man Judd Morgan to protect her; Morgan proceeds to kidnap her and carry her around the country, trying to keep away from the hit man after him, as well as the ones after her. While they track down the truth, sinister forces within the government track them down. They seem to be caught up in a scheme that stretches all the way to the top of the government, and threatens to kill hundreds, if not thousands more, with "earthquakes." All the while, the fugitives struggle with, and toward, each other. It all seems a bit far-fetched. At first. Until the Vice President starts spending a lot of time in underground bunkers around the country, and the hit man after Morgan turns out to be a North Korean. Then the bad guys spin doctor Morgan and Graham into terrorists, so that they can be shot on sight. Very cannily, Johansen touches on timely situations, and touches off our paranoia about personal rights, power, and freedom. She also serves the story well by never letting her dynamic duo, or the plot, settle into one place too long. The dialogue flows, the action hums, and the pages turn quickly in this thriller which takes us into the mind of a Southern congressman plotting to take over the country. But Graham, not the congressman, gets her man, and she does it with the help of the president. Of course, he insists on participating in the plan to capture the perpetrators. No doubles for him! Now, that's a timely portrayal, in a book that won't take you much longer to read than it took us to win the last war we started.
Rating:
Summary: Boring and immature
Review: Johansen books seem to be hit or miss. This book is definitely a miss. The characters reminded me of two teenagers trying to be cool, but just couldn't pull it off. Alex was too confident and pretty much told Morgan how it's going to be. Also, the constant sarcastic remarks between the two were overkill. There was no depth to the characters or plot. I think I will pass on reading anymore of Johansen's book. I'd rather spend my money on a hit.
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