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The Face of Deception

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan has a rare—and bittersweet—gift. Her unique ability to reconstruct the identity of the long dead from their skulls has helped bring closure to parents of missing children. For Eve, whose own daughter was murdered and her body never found, the job is a way of coming to terms with her personal nightmare.

When she is approached by billionaire magnate John Logan to reconstruct the face of an adult murder victim, only his promise of a sizable charitable contribution persuades her to accept. It's a simple bargain, yet it's the most dangerous one she'll ever make. The warning signs are clear. There is the specially equipped lab Eve is taken to in a country inn turned high-tech security fortress in rural Virginia. Surveillance cameras monitor her every move. The telephones are tapped. And then there is Logan himself—by turns ruthless, charming, and desperate.

But it's too late for Eve to walk out. The skull has begun to reveal its shocking identity, trapping her in a frightening web of murder and deceit. To free herself, she has no choice but to expose that identity and to trust Logan, the man who put her life in danger, a man who may see her as an expendable pawn.

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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Laurel Lefkow reads this suspenseful, moving story with compassion and sensitivity. Eve Duncan, a forensic sculptor who lost her only daughter to a serial child killer, is still "visited and guided" by Bonnie. Computer tycoon John Logan persuades Eve to reconstruct a mysterious, politically important skull, and listeners will detect the repressed attraction between them. Lefkow maintains a steady but urgent pace through the heart-stopping twists and turns of murder and deceit. Lefkow's strength and flexibility as a reader unfold in the drama of the scientific details and the passion of Eve's commitment to her work. S.C.A. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 28, 1998
      While not as unrelentingly grim as its predecessor, And Then You Die, this suspense thriller--from an author who has successfully written historical romance with a dark edge--has its share of grisly scenes, beginning in medias res at the execution of Ralph Fraser, the serial killer who has murdered protagonist Eve Ducan's only child, Bonnie. To overcome her grief, Eve takes up a (notably icky) career as a forensic sculptor, making busts from the skulls of unidentified murdered children so that their parents can identify them. New trouble comes when computer mogul John Logan recruits Eve to reconstruct and identify an adult male skull. The job comes with unforeseen risks and political implications; various criminal figures want to keep the skull's identity a secret and are ruthlessly determined to go to any lengths to avoid exposure. Eve, who combines a tough survivor's instinct with emotional vulnerability, is led to fear for her own life and for the lives of her mother and dearest friends. Despite slow early chapters and stilted dialogue, Johansen makes an admirable effort to give psychological depth even to her villains, and her action scenes use terse prose to build tension. With the help of well-timed, steady disclosures and surprising revelations, the book's twists and turns manage to hold the reader hostage until the denouement, a sure crowd pleaser (since it promises a sequel). Major ad/promo. (Oct.) FYI: A 16-page excerpt of The Face of Deception will be included in the paperback reprint of And Then You Die, out in September.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Still grieving over the murder of her young daughter whose body is unfound, forensic sculptor Eve Duncan is challenged by tycoon John Logan to identify a skull that might be JFK. What she finds puts her and everyone around her in danger. Jill Hennessy (familiar to "Law and Order" fans) captures the urgency of the situation and projects Eve's alternating toughness and fragility but doesn't give much warmth to her developing romance with Logan. Passion and scientific detail may have been lost in the abridgment, though several touching visits by the dead child remain. This is an exciting listen with room left for a sequel. J.B.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

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  • English

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