really enjoyed this though it was more like a James Rollins or Dan Brown religious adventure than an Eve Duncan forensic mystery.
Eve and Joe Quinn are very much in the background and I really don't think this should be included in the Eve Duncan series.
Eve's adoptive daughter is targeted by a whacked out religious cult following the teachings of Judas, Jane's painting of Judas led the cult straight to her and now she has eight days to live, Jane enlists assassin Seth Caleb to help along with Jock Gavin and McDuff, It's a wild adventure spanning the globe England, Jerusalem, Syria, Damascus, Scotland and Georgia with lots of action and sexual tension between Jane and Seth.
Seth's psychic gifts scare Jane half to death but it doesn't stop her from wanting him, I think I'm going to have to give up on Iris Johansen, Her first books are some of the best I have read, The last few, however, have been standard stock and depressingly formulaic, The plots are exactly the same from book to book and the characters are cookie cutter to the extreme and totally one dimensional.
Her men every single one of them are strong, tough and pushy with a strong bent towards violence, Her females are ALL harsh, abrasive, blunt but with kind hearts if you can find them,
In "Eight Days to Live", reoccurring character, Jane McGuire a favorite of mine in her original books is beyond the usual harshness, she fluctuates from acting like a spoiled child who stomps her foot and demands her way all the time, to a smartmouthed adolescent who will say anything just to be contradictory.
The most annoying thing about her in this story, however, is that she comes across just plain mean, She doesn't have a kind word for anyone in the entire book! How does one find her a sympathetic heroine when Johansen has written her to be so offensive The reader ends up feeling sorry for the men in her life, who put their lives on the line to save her only to be criticized and rejected by her.
It makes it hard to care what happens and even harder to want to continue reading, Amazing, fast paced thriller
Eighf Days to Live
Eve Duncan series, Book
Iris Johansen, author
Another dynamic storyline and cast of characters by Ms.
Johansen. I always look forward to the next book in this series, This novel, however was more about Jane and Caleb, then about Eve and Joe,
Jane seeks out the aid of Caleb when she receives a threat on her life, She is to be sacrificed at the alter in eight days, Hence, the title. Can Caleb save her
I recommend this novel to all who enjoy a thrilling ride with lots of adventure and excitement.
I listened to the audio version while reading the book simultaneously, Where to start Reading the Eve Duncan books are like watching the moviefor me, I loved the movie! I thought it was thrilling and very fast paced and it kept my attention through the whole movie.
However, throughout the whole movie, my husband and I were saying "yeah,
right" and "how lucky can you get" That is exactly how I feel about this book.
It grabbed me from the very first sentence, I was totally into the book and nothing could distract me once I started reading, But, through the whole book I am thinking, "wow, . . how lucky can you get" or "how many times can you escape death that closely" It was crazy how many times Jane MacGuire almost gets herself killed and at the last moment, escapes.
It's also frusterating to me how spoiled and childish Jane acts much like Eve Duncan in previous books, She has no thought for those who care about her, Everything is her fault and so she is the one and the ONLY one who can fix it and so she constantly is putting herself into danger.
So, while I thought the book was fast paced, exciting and thrilling, I was not impressed with the childishness of the characters and the total unbelievability of the storyline.
Eight Days To Live, the next installment in the Eve Duncan series, takes a step back from the tale of Eve and Joe and focuses on a thrilling catandmouse chase involving Jane Macguire, their daughter.
Jane is being focused on in an art show in Paris when her friend and gallery owner Celine is brutally murdered.
A personal threat is delivered to Jane the same evening and only the appearance of her old friend Jock Gavin keeps her safe.
With a little investigation, Jane discovers than an ancient cult is targeting her for a blasphemy that they feel she commited when she painted a particular painting that was on display.
This group is incredibly powerful and will stop at no costs to kill Jane and those she loves as a punishment to her unless she can defeat them first.
This novel was a wonderful addition to the Eve Duncan series, Johansen takes the focus off of Eve and Joe for the first time in several books and it is a welcome distraction from their storyline which was beginning to feel a bit tiresome at best.
Jane Maguire, their adopted daughter, is our leading lady and she is a terrific character, Both strong and beautiful, Jane is a wellrounded young woman who radiates power, Her relationships with the people surrounding her are honest and intelligent making her intriguing at all times, The supporting cast to this lovely heroine was fantastic as well, Some of our old favorites from previous books, namely Jock Gavin, Seth Caleb and our Laird MacDuff, are all present and accounted for to rally around Jane in her time of need.
Visiting with these characters was like meeting old friends for a muchneeded cup of coffee, They are engaging and charismatic driving the fastpaced plot with ease, A variety of locations make the settings in this book fun and the twists in the plot leave a reader guessing until a volatile climax at the end which is more than satisfying.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book to fans of Johansen's series with the disclaimer that Johansen is back to her old form with this engaging read! In eight days they will come for her.
In eight days, what Jane fears the most will become a reality, In eight days, she will die,
It starts with an art show, Jane is exhibiting her paintings at her friend Celine's Paris gallery and having great success, However, one of her paintings Guilt has attracted the attention of a cult based on worship of Judas, Though the image of the man in the painting came to Jane in a dream, the cultists recognize it as Judas and feel that she is blaspheming him.
The only thing that will satisfy them is Jane's death as the annual sacrifice, They give her eight days to live and the deaths start piling up around her,
But Jane isn't alone, She is being protected by her old friend Jock and the formidable MacDuff, She also calls in the enigmatic Seth Caleb who has unusual talents and a need for Jane, Jane isn't at all sure about him and their relationship is a prickly one, But Jane will do anything that she has to do to protect the people she loves especially Eve and Joe, Although leery of Seth Caleb, Jane MacGuire is forced to enlist his assistance when the owner of an art gallery is murdered and nailed to the door of that gallery.
. .
The mystery of why Jane and her friends have been targeted stem from one of her paintings Guilt, It is a painting of a face from a dream yet, this painting has pitted the world of evil together and now Jane must fight the evil, in tandem with Seth Caleb, an ominous man himself.
Her real problem is how to keep the people she loves safe and do it all by the deadline she's been given, eight days.
Facing one devil, she learns the truth about what he wants, only to be setup but there are more people behind the scenes then Jane realizes.
. . can she actually escape the trap without becoming caught in the snare Eve Duncan and her adopted daughter, Jane Macguire, are pitted against the members of a secretive cult who have targeted Jane and have decided that she will be their ultimate sacrifice.
In eight days they will come for her, In eight days, what Jane fears the most will become a reality, In eight days, she will die, It all begins with a painting that Jane, an artist, displays in her Parisian gallery, The painting is called "Guilt" and Jane has no idea how or why she painted the portrait of the chilling face.
But the members of a cult that dates back to the time of Christ believe that Jane's blasphemy means she must die.
But first, she will lead them to an ancient treasure whose value is beyond price, This elusive treasure, and Jane's death, are all that they need for their power to come to ultimate fruition, With Eve's help, can Jane escape before the clock stops ticking Courtesy of CKS Kwips and Kritiques
While I enjoyed Eight Days to Live, it did not quite live up to my expectations for a Johansen novel.
Also be forewarned, while this book is billed as an Eve Duncan novel, it is really all about Jane, Eve plays such a small role it shouldnt be classified as part of that series,
After a successful art show in a Parisian gallery owned by a friend, Jane MacGuire is about to receive the surprise of a lifetime, and not a good one at that.
A chilling portrait titled Guilt painted by Jane has attracted the unwanted attention of a dangerous cult who swears Jane only has Eight Days to Live.
Not allowing something like a death threat to get in her way, Jane is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and find these people who killed her friend and promised Jane to be next.
Enlisting the help of John MacDuff, Jock Gavin, and Seth Caleb, along with her adoptive mother Eve Duncan, Jane is on an adventure across Europe and deep into the heart of Biblical legends and truths on a search for a priceless artifact that could turn the religious world upside down and inside out.
The action was every bit as evident as always expected from a thriller by this author, and all of the major players are just as well rendered as usual.
However, I feel like a few too many recurring characters were brought back, only confusing some of the story, I had a heck of a time remembering which of Janes men was in which scene and had what skills,
I loved the mystery we are brought into in Eight Days to Live, It was thrilling and chilling, and more than a bit frightening in some parts, I was quite fascinated by the different portrayal Iris Johansen has of a few key players from the time of the birth of Christianity.
Even more compelling and terrifying is how the cult has twisted ancient beliefs to suit their own desires and traditions,
In spite of that, however, Eight Days to Live, while keeping me captive until I completed the novel , just didnt quite meet my expectations.
Jane was getting on my nerves very early on in the novel, with her refusal to listen to anyones advice and her stubbornness in doing things her own way, even when it puts everyone she cares about in danger.
Jennifer van Dyck does a wonderful job, as always of performing Eight Days to Live, While she is a newer narrator to me, my first audio book she read only a couple years ago, she has fast become a favorite of mine.
She has excellent timing and has distinctive voices for each character in the book,
Kelley A. Hartsell, August. All rights reserved. .