Presenting Author: Iris Johansen

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Name of the author: Iris Johansen
Main genre: Suspense, Mystery, Thriller, Romance, Literature, Crime Fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction
Main audience: Young adult on
Presenting writing still: yes
Main books: She has written over 100 books. Many of them are in 'series', and some of the series intertwine with other series. Some of these groups are: Eve Duncan, Kendra Michaels, Jane MacQuire, Wind Dancer, Sedikhan, Clanad
Short summary of the author: Iris Johansen started writing books in 1983, after her children were grown up and out of the house and she had time to put pen to paper and write! She had been an airlines reservations agent in the early 1980s and left that to begin writing romance novels. She shifted directions to writing historical romantic suspense in 1991 and then went to writing suspense novels.
Points to be aware of: I'd read only one of her books before, No Easy Target and loved it. I wanted to learn more about the main character in No Easy Target (Margaret), but RL was being very busy and I didn't follow-through with research into it. Then I saw the name Iris Johansen on the spine of one of a stack of books for sale at the library, and bought it based on having read No Easy Target. I read it (started reading it June 29th, finished it June 30th. Then immediately turned around and re-read it). This one book, Countdown, was so incredibly complex and filled with such complex and alive people, that I felt I wanted to know more - read more of the stories. (Countdown is part of the Eve Duncan series.) The suspense factor is very well done; the people are 'real'. The action takes place in many parts of the world and also takes place in a 'real' environment. If she'd not been there herself, someone did a lot of research to get the feel of the places, and she was able to write such that yes, you are there. I've since read many of the Eve Duncan books (a couple after signing up for the Summer Reading Challenge here at HOL Hogwarts) and thought .... well, why not!
This morning, I knew I'd be writing this and writing of some of her books. The closest thing I could think of, for a comparison, is to say ... watch Alfred Hitchcock movies. North by Northwest, Rear Window, The Birds ... these movies have sort of the same feel as her books. Gripping, intense and believable. And, just like Alfred Hitchcock and his movies, her books might not be to everyone's taste. But if you want to read books, and series, which build upon each other, and continue to get better as the series continues, you might want to try these out.

Goodreads has this about Iris Johansen

Iris Johansen is a New York Times bestselling author. She began her writing after her children left home for college. She first achieved success in the early 1980s writing category romances. In 1991, Johansen began writing suspense historical romance novels, starting with the publication of The Wind Dancer. In 1996 Johansen switched genres, turning to crime fiction, with which she has had great success.

She lives in Georgia and is married. Her son, Roy Johansen, is an Edgar Award-winning screenwriter and novelist. Her daughter, Tamara, serves as her research assistant.

IRIS JOHANSEN is The New York Times bestselling author of Night and Day, Hide Away, Shadow Play, Your Next Breath, The Perfect Witness, Live to See Tomorrow, Silencing Eve, Hunting Eve, Taking Eve, Sleep No More, What Doesn't Kill You, Bonnie, Quinn, Eve, Chasing The Night, Eight Days to Live, Blood Game, Deadlock, Dark Summer, Pandora's Daughter, Quicksand, Killer Dreams, On The Run, and more. And with her son, Roy Johansen, she has coauthored Night Watch, The Naked Eye, Sight Unseen, Close Your Eyes, Shadow Zone, Storm Cycle, and Silent Thunder.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Title of the book: Countdown
Author: Iris Johansen
Series: yes, Eve Duncan
Genres: suspense, mystery, fiction, thriller
Short summary of the story: This is book 6 of the story of Eve Duncan. Jane MacGuire, her adopted daughter, is attacked and a childhood friend dies after that attack. Jane chooses to find out why this happened, and to find out, if possible, who did it and then, find a way that they pay for it .... Traveling to Scotland and finding out that the situation is far more complicated than what she already figured it to be, she encounters even more people (to add to the Eve Duncan story line) and the plot twists and turns and things turn out to be, not what they seem, or even what they do NOT seem to be, but utterly not of what is accepted as 'normal'.
Good points / bad points: I highly recommend that you read the Eve Duncan books in order, if at all possible. This was the first book I read (that I remembered reading -- it turns out I read another of the series ages ago but didn't realize that until just today) and it was number 6 of the series. This particular reading is a re-read.
I'm glad I read Countdown, because it's introduced me to a series which is sort of fascinating. One of the characters was so riveting (to me) that I determined I would read all the rest of the books he is in -- which led me to reading what I could get my hands on in an out-of-order mix and ended up with massive spoilers of previously written books. Sadness ... There are some lead characters, Jane is one of them, who is just someone I'd prefer not to be around very much because of how she is. Then there are others who, when I first read of them, was 'wow, I *like* you' (Margaret). Then there is Jock, with whom I felt simpatico .... who is why I decided I wanted to read these books.
Countdown can be read as a stand-alone book. There are obvious mysteries before, and after, the storyline but it has a definite beginning and a resolution. Be aware that this would probably be rated a PG-13 book.

At Goodreads, it has a 4.06 star rating (out of 1-5 stars). Oddly enough, there are very few middle-of-the-road ratings. It usually receives either 4 or 5 stars or 1 or 2.
Goodreads has this write-up -

When it reaches zero, you die.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen sets her readers’ pulses racing once again in this relentless psychological thriller of a young woman caught in a maze of secrets and stalked by a merciless killer. The countdown begins the moment you open this riveting novel that only grows more electrifying as the pages turn, more exciting as time runs out. . . .

“Don’t kill her. She’s no good to us dead.” These words haunt Jane MacGuire after a shocking attack shatters her world in an instant. Was it a random kidnapping attempt–or the countdown to something far more sinister?

Who is after her–and what do they want so badly they’ll kill anyone in their way? That’s what Jane is determined to find out, without the help of the police, the FBI, or her adoptive parents, forensic sculptor Eve Duncan and her husband, Joe Quinn, of the Atlanta PD–because whoever is after her won’t hesitate to hurt those she loves the most. Now Jane will go on the run with the only man who may be more dangerous than those who are pursuing her. A smuggler, a con man, and who knew what else, Mark Trevor had his own mysterious reasons for wanting to keep Jane safe and out of the hands of a killer obsessed with a two-thousand-year-old mystery that could rock the modern-day world.

Orphaned at an early age, Jane grew up the hard way, but she was given a new life, a loving family, and a chance to pursue her interest in one of the greatest archaeological finds ever unearthed. Now someone was trying to destroy that new life before it could even get started. The past is returning with the kind of vengeance that knows no mercy. The countdown has already begun, and it’s approaching zero faster than anyone thinks.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Title of the book: Blink of an Eye
Authors: Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen
Series: yes - Kendra Michaels
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Adventure, Suspense
Short summary of the story: This is the 8th Kendra Michaels book and, building on previous books and background information, leads the reader into a story of goodness and betrayal, patience and rage, love and hate. Dee is a very young, very very good singer, and attempts to take care of everyone in what she calls her family. When she disappears immediately after her performance at the Hollywood Bowl, and Jessie and Kendra (and the assorted cast of characters) attempt to find out what happened, a story of complexity turns into something very simple - and evil.
Good points / bad points: This is one of those books which I'd been waiting to come out and finally it's here. I read it in about one day, reluctantly putting it down to do chores (and then staying up way too late to finish it). I want to know what comes next, as, as the ending of this book, it's obvious that there are a couple of story lines to follow.


What Goodreads has about Blink of an Eye

A #1 New York Times bestselling author and an Edgar Award winner team up to deliver this gripping new novel featuring investigator Kendra Michaels—whose observational skills are worthy of a modern-day Sherlock Holmes.

Delilah Winter is one of the hottest pop stars on the planet, so how in the world was she kidnapped right in the middle of a show at the famous Hollywood Bowl? If anyone can figure it out, it's Dr. Kendra Michaels, who works with local and federal authorities on only the most impossible cases. Blind for the first twenty years of her life until a revolutionary surgical procedure allowed her to regain her sight, Kendra uses her powers of observation—honed during her years in the dark—to detect what other investigators don't. She agrees to lead the race to rescue the young singer before time runs out.

Joined by Jessie Mercado, the singer's former bodyguard and a military hero, Kendra closes in on the hideout location but not before casualties mount up. Desperate for leads, Kendra must set aside her personal feelings when agent-for-hire Adam Lynch also volunteers his special skills to aid in the search.

But as the abductor's true purpose becomes clear, the trio uncover a plot they never could have imagined—leading to a showdown they won't soon forget.