cover image Shadow Play

Shadow Play

Iris Johansen. St. Martin’s, $27.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-250-02010-9

Early in bestseller Johansen’s intense 18th Eve Duncan novel (after 2013’s Silencing Eve), the Atlanta-based forensic sculptor agrees to do a reconstruction job on the skull of a nine-year-old girl, who disappeared about eight years earlier, for Sheriff John Nalchek of Sonderville, Calif., who’s sure if he just has a face to work with he can discover the girl’s identity and killer. The sheriff’s passion surprises Eve. Even more surprising are the emotions Eve feels during the reconstruction, especially when she senses the deceased girl talking to her and even views her apparition. After someone intercepts the skull on its way back to Sonderville, Eve and her paramour, former FBI agent Joe Quinn, travel to California to assist Nalchek in finding the thief—and in stopping the murderer from killing again. Johansen delivers a no-holds-barred mystery that maintains suspense throughout and boasts a cast of multifaceted characters. [em]Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Sept.) [/em]