What’s Your Obsession? Eve by Iris Johansen, a Book Review

Introduction: What’s Your Obsession? Eve by Iris Johansen

How would you respond if your child disappeared? Would you be obsessed with finding her? Eve (Eve Duncan) is one of the books in a trilogy by Iris Johansen about character Eve Duncan, whose daughter Bonnie has disappeared. Last year, I read Blood Game by Iris Johansen which first introduced me to the Eve Duncan character and I found the story very interesting. The reader knows that Bonnie is dead because she appears as a ghost to her mother, Eve. Johansen does the ghostly encounters in a very tasteful manner, which adds colour to the story.

What is Eve by Iris Johansen About?

Although the characters were introduced before, Eve (Eve Duncan), Quinn and Bonnie (Eve Trilogy) by Iris Johansen are the books in the trilogy, which give context to the stories. Eve is written from the perspective of Eve Duncan who is now a forensic sculptor. Johansen uses flashbacks to get the reader up to speed on what transpired before Bonnie’s disappearance. 

 Eve: A Novel (Eve Duncan Book 12) Quinn: A Novel (Eve Duncan) Bonnie: A Novel (Eve Duncan Book 14)

Sixteen year old Eve Duncan is an A student living in a housing development project, and she has no use for boys until she meets bad boy John Gallo. They have an intense physical relationship for four weeks until he leaves to join the army. Shortly after, Eve discovers that she is pregnant. Eve’s mother, Sandra, had Eve when she was 15 years old, and has never been much of a mother. She is a vain drug addict who prefers that her daughter calls her by her first name. Sandra cleans up her life when Eve gets pregnant because she knows that Eve will need her help to raise Bonnie. 

When Bonnie first goes missing, the police are having a hard time figuring out who kidnapped the seven year old, so they bring in Joe Quinn, a former Navy SEAL who is now a police officer. When Eve and Joe Quinn meet, they recognize a connection between them.

He goes out of his way to involve Eve in the case, so that she feels as if she is assisting. Years later, the authorities have not been able to find Bonnie and solve the crime. Despite that, Eve never gives up, and will do anything to find out what really happened to her daughter.

CIA agent Catherine Ling is very grateful to Eve and Joe who helped her to get her son who had been captured for over seven years. As a way to pay back Eve, although Eve has told her that no payment is necessary, Catherine is determined to help her, and knows that the best way to do so is to find out information about Bonnie’s disappearance. Through her investigation, Catherine discovers that John Gallo, Bonnie’s father, who is presumed dead, was in Atlanta shortly before Bonnie disappeared. Eve is a page turner and the reader is taken on a complex journey to find John Gallo.

On this journey, we discover that John may not have been Bonnie’s killer, but Paul Black, who is a suspected serial killer. Just before Black dies, he reveals that John is the killer. This is possible since John sometimes suffers from blackouts. Could he have killed his own daughter during one of his blackouts?

Before Black is fatally wounded, he stabbed Joe who is now unconscious and close to death’s door. The story ends with Bonnie talking to Joe in the critical care unit in the hospital. Eve is looking through the glass observing, and wondering if her daughter has come to take her life partner to the other side. 

Quinn by Iris Johansen is from Joe Quinn’s perspective, and the author begins the story shortly before Paul Black stabs Joe, then she goes back into the past when Joe is first given Bonnie Duncan’s missing person’s case. The author knows how to use flashbacks effectively so that the reader can thoroughly understand the story without being bored or feeling overwhelmed.

Quinn moves very quickly as well, and once again we discover that John did not kill his daughter, although Eve and Joe are a bit skeptical. The plot of the story is excellent and I had a difficult time foreshadowing how the book would end. 

After I finished reading Quinn, I immediately purchased Bonnie (Eve Trilogy) because I wanted to know how the Eve trilogy by Iris Johansen ended. The end is not quite what you might expect, but you are at peace because Eve is finally at peace and can now let go of her obsession. Bonnie appears to her and asks that her mother release her. This will be very difficult for Eve because she finds solace in the ghostly appearances of her daughter. 

Final Thoughts: What’s Your Obsession? Eve by Iris Johansen

I really enjoyed the Eve trilogy (Eve (Eve Duncan), Quinn and Bonnie (Eve Trilogy)) by Iris Johansen and I highly recommend them, but suggest that you buy all three books because you will want to read them sequentially. There were times when I was very impatient because I simply wanted to know how the story ended. Johansen uses great cliffhangers so you want to get the next book, but I think I’m getting tired of series, I want the complete story in one book – I have so many books on my bookshelf that need reading. 

 The Face of Deception: The first Eve Duncan novel Eve: A Novel (Eve Duncan Book 12) Night and Day: An Eve Duncan Novel Hide Away: An Eve Duncan Novel The Search (Eve Duncan) Bonnie: A Novel (Eve Duncan Book 14) The Killing Game: An Eve Duncan Forensics Thriller Body of Lies (Eve Duncan Book 4) Shadow Play: An Eve Duncan Novel Sleep No More: An Eve Duncan Novel