Rating: 
Summary: Who is That Dead President?
Review: Eve Duncan's daughter Bonnie is killed by a serial killer and her body was never found. Eve becomes a forensic sculptor and puts faces on the skulls of unidentified murdered children so their parents can finally take them home. She knows Bonnie is dead, but she's still looking. Kinda gruesome.Billionaire John Logan wants Eve to construct a face to skull he has. She resists, finally assents because someone is pressuring her not to and apparently that same someone doesn't want Eve to succeed. There are many twists and turns in this five star suspense thriller, though some Johansen fans may not be happy as the romance defiantly takes a back seat to the suspense. I loved this book. It's the first in a series and I'm starting the next one tomorrow. Again, this was a great five star read. Reviewed submitted by Captain Katie Osborne
Rating: 
Summary: *scratches head*
Review: Excellent book. I purposely avoided books such as these, going for instead the fantasy and biography ones. Mrs. Johansen definitely opened my pitiful eyes. ^^ However, this particular book left me confused about the character's personalities. The personalities, while profound and unique, seemed to switch between the characters. First it's Eve whining, then Logan, then Gary, then Logan telling Eve to stop whining, then vice versa... It would have been better if the characters stayed themselves throughout the entire book. Oh... and yeah, too much whining to enjoy the characters a whole lot. I did love it when Eve dreamed about Bonnie though.
Rating: 
Summary: Liked Author Better As Romance Novelist!
Review: For some reason, Johansen decided to write suspense-thriller books instead of romance books, her prior career. Apparently, she has been very successful commercially in this new guise. I find her a disappointment. Everything she once knew about relationships is gone. Now she just draws the broad strokes of a billionaire hero (what else?) and a heroine who is a forensic sculptor who is chronically grieving over her murdered daughter. The daughter is mentioned in virtually every paragraph of the book and after awhile you could just scream when she's mentioned yet again. The woman's career in this novel is the best part about it and the only reason I finished it. I loved seeing her reconstruct identities in sculpting full faces, using only a skull (see cover image)as her model. If Johansen had made the heroine a police detective though, I would have had to give this one star. As a story about serial killers, governmental deceit, and mystery, this was a real yawn. Read Thomas Harris or Anne Rule or David Baldacci or Joe McGinnis (or even the Starr Report) if that is the kind of novel or true crime book you are needing. I am rarely totally misled by the front cover image of a book. This one depicted her career accurately but not the whole thrust of the novel. The cover is of one of the heroine's forensic sculptures. You will read about her doing a few of them and it will make you want MORE of those instead of what is here. This was my 2nd chance for Johansen in this suspense/thriller genre, after reading her UGLY DUCKLING, her 1st chance with me in this other genre. That one I couldn't even finish and it met an untimely end with my outside dumpster. Read this author's backlist of romance novels, if you want to read her when she was pretty good.
Rating:
Summary: The Skull Belongs to Which Dead President?
Review: Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan takes skulls and reconstructs the faces that once went with them, attempting to find who the murder victim was, also in hopes of finding her dead daughter Bonnie, so she can finally get closure. Because she's so good at what she does, she's approached by bazillionare John Logan to reconstruct a skull he has, leading her to believe that it's JFK. However, Eve finds out that it's the skull of still another president. Big problem though, because this one's not dead. At least he's not supposed to be. Naturally bad guys go after Eve, who turns to old friend Joe Quinn, a detective in the Atlanta Police Department for aid. This book is the first in a series. This five star suspense thriller had me guessing. I loved it and can happily recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Tight, Detailed, but not much thrill!
Review: I liked the story, but it wasn't exactly a nail biter. I enjoyed the way the story weaved the characters together and each one had good depth. However, the main character seemed too super human. Over all, it was an interesting tail, but it won't keep you awake at night thinking about it.
Rating:
Summary: contrary to other reviews, a good book!
Review: i really enjoyed this book. i read the other reviews and even though she's a sappy character, i like the plot and the idea around the facial reconstructions. I also really enjoyed the character logan. worth reading
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery! In fact, i had a difficult time putting it down!
Rating: 
Summary: A Bad Book on Every Count
Review: I've read hundreds of police procedurals, mysteries, thrillers, fictional spy yarns, and horror tales. This is the first, so far as I can recall, that I couldn't bring myself to finish! Besides wasting $10.95 (Canadian) to buy the book, I squandered several hours struggling to reach the end--getting as far as page 328 before giving up. (Another reader-reviewer, less of a martyr than I, wrote that he "threw the book against the wall" at page 300.) I surrendered after learning from a reader that the plot has no closure--essential in this genre. Everything in this novel is substandard: ridiculous plot, boring characters (even their names are dull), plodding story line, tacky--and padded--dialogue. The author has several annoying mannerisms, including her ending many dialogue lines with 3-em dashes, presumably to indicate interruption (or maybe breathlessness). I bought the book expecting to learn something about forensic sculpting, the main character's alleged profession, but there was no evidence the author had done any serious research. It's absurd to compare this author to Patricia Cornwell, whose preparation is meticulous and who is a fine writer. Enough said, as others have made detailed comments. Who so many readers gave this hokey book four or five stars baffles me. I would rate it with NO stars if that was an option.
Rating:
Summary: A Bad Book on Every Count
Review: Iris Johansen does it again with another great book that could easily be made into a television movie or series. The novel shows a great command of words and literature. The detective work and mystery are great, but the characterization is superb!
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Book...
Review: Iris Johansen does it again with another great book that could easily be made into a television movie or series. The novel shows a great command of words and literature. The detective work and mystery are great, but the characterization is superb!
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