Blood Game

by Iris Johansen

Book Overview

Blockbuster New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen's thriller Blood Game brings Eve closer to discovering her daughter's killer...and into a web of danger from which she may not be able to escape... When a Georgia senator's daughter is found dead and drained of blood, Eve Duncan enters the world of a twisted psychopath--a man whose name appears on Eve's shortlist of killers connected to her own missing daughter, Bonnie. Then Eve receives...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312368135
• ISBN13: 9780312368135
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Eve Duncan series

I’m enjoying the Eve Duncan series

Reviewed by Noelle at RomanceJunkies.com

Eve Duncan has searched for the monster who destroyed her life for years. In her ongoing search, so far only disappointment has been her reward. Will her latest clue lead her to the man responsible for her pain, or will this clue cost her the people she values most? In her search to find her daughter Bonnie, Eve has worked as a forensic sculptor, identifying lost children by reconstructing their skulls. When her last case brings her into contact with a psychic, Eve and her long-time boyfriend Joe need a little R & R to recover. However, when a new killer shows up, Eve finds herself the target of a new madman, bent on taunting her. To make it even more interesting, this killer has an especially sick calling card. Will Eve be able to survive this latest challenge, or will evil finally win? Ever since the first day he met her almost twenty years ago, Joe Quinn had been in love with Eve. Supporting her through thick and thin, he would do anything for her. When the latest twist in the search for her daughter brings a surprising twist, will Joe be able to deal with the newest curveball in his life? Will he be able to protect Eve and her adopted daughter Jane long enough to hunt down this latest killer, or will this finally be the last chapter in Eve's long search? Kevin Jelak knew the secret to eternal life, and he would do whatever it took to get it. He had proven that over and over, and Eve Duncan was the final step. After introducing himself via a grisly calling card, Jelak begins his deliberate and malevolent stalking. Will Eve be clever enough to outwit him, or will this man finally be the one who ends her quest? As a continuation of the EVE DUNCAN series, BLOOD GAME is an amazing story. Since this story does pick up where the last one left off, it is a good idea to read the series in order, so you know what has happened in previous books. The story can be read as a stand-alone, however, it is much better as part of the series. Eve and Joe have a really awesome relationship, but you don't really get the true scope of it unless you have read the other books in the series. Eve's adopted daughter Jane is also a really awesome character, she has an incredible strength to her. Ms. Johansen does an excellent job with her settings, and she has a true knack for creating villains that make your skin crawl. She really outdoes herself with Jelak, and I don't recommend reading this one at night! Excellent job!

Best so far and back on track

Is this a typical vampire book? No. Iris Johansen has deftly jumped on the vampire wagon by having a vamp wannabee killing young women and now has his eyes, or teeth set for Eve Duncan. From the start of this series, I knew Bonnie, Eve's murdered daughter, wasn't just a figment of Eve's imagination, but a true Spirit visitation. It has been a source of frustration for me that Eve didn't believe Bonnie. Now, when a murder victim speaks to Eve's love Joe Quinn, the dynamics change - the victim speaks of Bonnie to Joe. Enter the normal psychic folks that appear in her novels, and you have one dandy of a read that touches on all of the things you love about the Eve Duncan novels. The next book should be interesting as Quinn and Duncan theorectically exchange their knowledge. If that is screwed up, I'll probably give up on the series, having them come soooo close to the knowledge. But this is one of the best books Johansen has written in a while - great characters, great premise. Great read.

Great addition to the series

I love Iris Johansen and her Eve Duncan series. In Blood Game, the series has changed completely and I really enjoyed it. Eve's husband Joe now has Psychic abilities and he can see dead people. This puts a whole new spin on an already great series. I have to admit I was getting a bit tired of feeling Joe was constantly getting the short end of the stick from Eve and the plot, but I think all that is about to change. In Blood Game, Eve is again trying to find out what happened to Bonnie, and to find the person responsible for killing her. This time the bad guy is Kevin Jelak. Jelak is a nasty, truly evil character and he enjoys drinking the blood of his victims. He firmly believes that he can gain power and immortality by doing this. Eve had Jelak in her sights as another possibility for the person that took Bonnie from her, but before she can seek him out, he comes looking for her...as one of his victims. Joe also wants to find Jelak to bring him in for the recent murder of a senators teenage daughter...Nancy Jo. Joe has help, however, from Nancy Jo herself...remember he can now see dead people. Will they find Jelak before he finds Eve? Will Joe be able to handle his new "talent"? Will Jelak be the one that killed Bonnie and give Eve the closure that she so desperately needs? I loved the story and the series, in my opinion, will only be better with Blood Game as part of it. I look forward to the next book. I know that the series will not go on forever, but I am certainly enjoying it.

Very exciting paranormal thriller!

Eve Duncan is a forensic sculptor and has been featured in many Iris Johansen novels. She has lived with Joe Quinn a long time and know him since her seven year old daughter Bonnie was kidnapped many years ago. About a year after the kidnapping, Bonnie started appearing to Eve although Eve denied this to herself and just figured she was dreaming or imagining the conversations. Eve has never stopped trying to find Bonnie's killer and her body. She has come close many times but each time the killer was not Bonnie's killer. Joe has been frustrated by her pre-occupation at times as he never knew Bonnie. A serial killer is striking in the area (near Atlanta, Georgia) and for his apparent first victim picks a senator's daughter. The mysterious thing is the small gold chalice of blood left and that the bodies are being much drained of blood. Joe in the last book "Quicksand" had an encounter with Megan Blair from the novel "Pandora's Daughter". Megan is a doctor who has some paranormal abilities and sometimes without her consciously willing it she passes on a "spark" to someone who may have a latent ability. We learn quickly in this novel that Joe can see ghosts including Bonnie's. However, he is in denial about this new talent. As Joe is placed in charge of the investigation and other young women are murdered, Eve also receives threats from the killer who claims he knew Bonnie. Several characters from previous novels join the hunt and defense of Eve and her adopted (but grown-up) daughter Jane Maguire as the killer threatens them all in search of his immortality via the drinking of blood! Jane Maguire, Eve's adopted daughter, is an artist in her own right and

Blood Game Brings Exciting New Addition to Series!

Iris Johansen is one of my favorite authors, so I was pleased to have an opportunity to read and review Blood Game, her next Eve Duncan Forensics Thriller due out in October! We get to continue enjoying Eve's activities, but a new exciting twist has been added and it's a "doozy!" If you are already a Johansen fan, you should be sure to get her latest! If you are not a fan, but enjoy forensics suspense at its finest, Blood Game will ensure you immediately place Johansen on your must-read author list! Kevin Jelak is playing a game--a Blood Game. If he drinks a sufficient amount of high-quality blood of strong women, he will become invisible, immortal and all-powerful! Jelak plans for Eve Duncan's blood to close out the game soon! And to prepare her to look for him, he places a small gold container of blood in her home refrigerator! Nancy Jo Norris had been just 19 when Jelak had killed her. While she had been selected quite randomly, it turned out that she was the very intelligent, strong daughter of a Senator who demanded that they put the best man on tracking her murderer. That man was Joe Quinn, Eve's long-time friend and lover. But Eve notices that there is something wrong--Joe is avoiding her and refuses to share that anything is wrong. He escapes from the house quickly when he is called out to go where they had found Nancy Jo. They found a small gold container of blood near her body! As Joe goes through his routine, he meets a young girl who is able to help him, explaining that Nancy Jo had been in the parking garage at the Perimeter Mall when she had been attacked! Soon he discovers that the tip is a good one and his investigation moves steadily forward. Did I mention that the young girl was Nancy's ghost? And then Seth Caleb arrives in town. He has learned of the gold containers; he has been searching for this monster for many years, since Jelak first killed a dearly loved relative of his. Caleb has the ability to help Joe and Eve in many ways that are not normally available. But, he is "hunting;" and Joe is not quite sure that he can agree to Caleb's plan! Blood Game by Iris Johansen has much more magic and mystery. It is a new and exciting expansion of the Eve Duncan series that should bring Joe Quinn into the story even more than in the past. I, for one, hope this change continues! It has the potential to lead toward many alternative paths down which this loving couple can travel. In fact, I'd also like to see Seth Caleb stay as a permanent character as well. I'm already looking forward to Johansen's next book. In the meantime, if you haven't read Blood Game, get it soon for a weekend of thrilling drama! G. A. Bixler