My First Read From Iris Johansen

There was a comment on the back of the Advance Readers' Edition of Catching The Night I got from Ann-Marie at http://www.areyoured.com/. It said, "Dear Reader, If you've never read Iris Johansen before, CHASING THE NIGHT is where to start." This describes me to a tee. And I did not know what I have missed. This book was definitely worth reading!!!

There is a lot to this story and it would be hard to give you a good feel for it. There was certainly a lot of interesting characters in this book and I would like to briefly introduce you to some of them.

First there is Eve Duncan who became a forensic sculptor after her daughter turned up missing. Now she tries to help other people get closure when an unidentified skeleton turns up by reconstructing the face from the skull. Occasionally the spirit of her daughter shows up and encourages her to continue.

Catherine Ling is one of the CIA's top talents. She is highly driven to find her son who was kidnapped when he was just two. Over nine years have passed so she convinces Eve Duncan to do an age progression from the only photo she has of her son when he was two.

Joe Quinn is a cop and is Eve's love interest. He came into her life after she lost her daughter and has been with her since. In this book you learn a lot about his former life - especially with the service.

Kelly Winters is a 14 year old gifted kid who is rescued by Catherine Ling from a drug lord and all out bad guy in Columbia. She and her dad were both prisoners but he was killed before Catherine Ling got there. Her gifts and young age play a significant part in the overall story.

Venable is another guy in the CIA and Catherine works under him. She has been trying to get him to give up information on the man who took her son.

That man is called Rakovic. Catherine almost destroyed his life of crime years before she had her son. He has recovered and is a massive force in the crime world and the thing that drives him is destroying Catherine. His first step was in the kidnapping of her son years ago and he keeps reminding her he has control over her through her son.

This is just a handful of significant characters in the book but their stories play important roles in the overall story. One might think there are too many important characters in this story but I think each one brings something to the story. It would be difficult for me to explain how - that is why I suggest you check it out yourself.

Should you find yourself enjoying this book, there are plenty more written by the author. You can check out her website at http://www.irisjohansen.com/index.php.