Rating: 
Summary: excellent plotline, but not "fleshed out"
Review: I love Iris Johansen. I am hunting for her old Loveswepts because I enjoy each and every one of her books. She's capable, within a few paragraphs, to pull you into a story and make difficult people come alive in such a way that you care for them. Not here. These people remain distant and in a way cold. Bess, the heroine, is constantly demanding unreasonable things and getting her way. She's hurt by the whole situation, but that doesn't make her unreasonableness right, and there's just not enough depth to make it realistic. Kaldak, the hero, works on the intellectual level, but not on the emotional one. The supporting characters are, at least for Johansen, formulaic. I really liked the idea for a thriller, it is an excellent plot, but it would need more meat on those bones to "pull you in", to make you feel and believe. I wasn't afraid for the heroine, I didn't share her sudden need to go to bed with the hero, I didn't hate the villain (although he was truly bad). I hope Iris Johansen will get better with her next book, both her last two thrillers and her romances were good (although I would have preferred more relationship in the thrillers, I regretted her switch from romance) - I am definitely going to wait for the paperback with her next novel, this quality is not worth the money for a hardcover.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a bad book
Review: A photographer and her sister go to a city for a photo shoot and everyone there is dead. Next you find out what caused it. To me the book seemed like nothing but one chase scene after another. And of course there has to be the inevitiable romance in there. Not a bad book, but not great and the characters were certainly very shallow and undeveloped.
Rating: 
Summary: Painful to finish
Review: Unfortunately, I was brought up to finish the books I started and in this case, it is very painful. In her first draft for the book, Ms Johansen probably had a 13 year old girl in puberty cast as the herione, who always just says "no", "I do not want to eat", "I do not want to sleep", etc. The herione in this book is so stupid but she always knows better, telling the entire CIA what to do next, although she has no idea what is going on, yes, very probable plot indeed. Well, I have about 100 pages to go, wish me luck!
Rating: 
Summary: Loved It!!!
Review: This is the second Iris Johansen book I have read, and like an earlier reviewer, I read it after Ugly Duckling. Since then I have read just about everyone of Iris Johansen's books. I have to say that in comparrison to ALL of Iris Johansen's books Ugly Duckling is unbeatable.... but all of the rest are a definate 5 Star quality. I positively loved this book because it had a huge element of suspence, not to mention the intrigue of a town killed suddenly off by an unknown poison. The main character is Bess who has brought her sister along on a work trip to Mexico (she is a photojournalist). Then something terribly goes wrong.....the people of the city start dying off and then suddenly Bess is captured by a villian and her sister has vanished (A lot to absorb---I know). To make matters worse, Bess has only one hope of escape---to put her trust in a man she believes is a dangerous murderer. From then on Bess and the "murderer" make a run for it in search of her sister and in escape of the villian.
I think I've said enough for now.....So I would highly recommend this book to any Iris Johansen fan or just anyone who enjoys a GREAT book (especially suspence, myster, heroism). I loved it and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Rating: 
Summary: Worth borrowing from the library at the very least
Review: Ok, so the main characters have some baggage, and the CIA assasin seems to be a little limp in the spine department when it comes to the heroine of the tale, it is still a wonderfully written book that kept me turning pages in spite of the somewhat unbelievable characters. C'mon people, it's fiction, what do we expect? You have to give wiggle room for creative license. You enter the book with Bess Grady snapping pictures at a massacre in Danzar. It sickens her to the point of a nervous break down. She decided to take a 'safe' assignment shooting a vacation article in the small town of Tenajo, Mexico. She ends up toppling head over heals into the middle of a plot to wreak havoc and disaster on the US. She lands up to her neck in trouble, but proves her mettle again and again with the help of one shady individual by the name of Kaldak who one minute is second in command of the terrorist faction, and the next is dragging her, unwilling and fighting all the way, back to safety. There are several unexpected twists and turns, and you aren't quite sure what to expect each time you turn the page. I am generally not a fan of drama based on real life. I lean more towards fantasy, thriller, and horror when I wander through a book store. But, based on this book, I would be very willing to read more of Johansen's work.
Rating:
Summary: Strong Heroine Makes for a Super Thriller
Review: Photojournalist Bess Grady is recovering from her previous assignment in Croatia, where an entire village had been butchered by guerrillas. She had been hospitalized for weeks after Croatia and has just been released. She is traveling to Tenajo, Mexico, with her sister Emily for a travel shoot on supposedly a relaxing assignment, but when she arrives there, all the villagers are dead. Her sister, a doctor, believes a contagious disease is responsible and they go from house to house searching for survivors. There is only one, an infant. Then, as Bess is shooting pictures of the bodies, army trucks arrive. Bess realizes the trucks have come too soon after whatever tragidy had befallen the village, and she sends her sister into the hills with the child, while she is captured. It seems a biological weapon has been tested, morever it seems like Bess is immune as the weapon is a mutated strain of anthrax that kills within six hours of contact and she is still alive. Has she been lured to Mexico on purpose? Did the terrorists or her government know about her immunity? Iris Johansen writes strong female characters and Bess Grady is as strong as they come. I suppose that's why I like her work so much. Also, the fact that she knows how to pull her readers into her stories right from the beginning doesn't hurt either. This is an excellent thriller with great characters
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre suspense novel
Review: Bess Grady is on a routine assignment in small-town Mexico as a photojournalist, but the howling of dogs triggers a terrible memory she's worked so hard to supress, and she knows she's stumbled onto something sinister that she must fight. Along the way she encounters the dark and mysterious Kaldak, a man she's not sure is out to kill her or help her bring down the cause of the evil that has brought destruction to the town and threatens the world. Frankly, this was not an incredibly impressive suspense novel. Nothing was awful, but nothing was great, and the slightly-below average rating comes from the total implausibility of the plot. There are much better suspense novelists out there, who write gripping stories with complex characters and good writing. Nevertheless, this one entertained me enough while I was reading, and I've since picked up two more books by this author to try, so go figure.
Rating:
Summary: entertaining, suspensful
Review: this was a very enjoyable book. though did i miss a chapter? it seemed like there should've been a book before this one...but you can enjoy this one without strings attached!
Rating:
Summary: A Nice Way to Wile Away an Afternoon
Review: I don't know why I liked this book, but I did. The protagonist, Bess Grady, was way over the top, Bossy, stupid, uncaring, unfeeling, a person I couldn't identify with or care about. However, I cared about everybody else in the book. What a switch. Could that be what Johansen was after? Somehow I doubt it. The book was a quick read, fun too, a nice way to wile away an afternoon. I bordered on three or four stars, but I'm giving it four, why, I don't know, I guess because I really kind of liked the story, especially in light of what's been happening in the world today. Reviewed by Vesta Irene
Rating:
Summary: Bossy Heroine, Wimpy CIA Guy
Review: The book opens with photographer Bess Grady doing a shoot of a massacred village in Croatia. She's had enough of this kind of work, comes home and accepts a safe assignment in Mexico for a travel magazine. She takes her sister along and they discover a town of dead people, apparently killed by some kind of plague, the only surviver a child. Bess wakes in the hospital and is questioned by bad guy Esteban. Bess is afraid that her sister and the baby have died. Kaldek, Esteban's second in command rescues Bess from,the evil maker of vile anthrax, but Bess doesn't trust him. This book has all the right ingredients for a thriller, but it just didn't work for me. Our heroine is too demanding, and the CIA guys give in to Bossy Bess way to easily for me to willing suspend my disbelief. Her actions cause too many people to die and she doesn't seem to care. I'm going to have to give this one only three stars. Worth reading, but not exceptional Reviewed by Captain Katie Osborne
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