Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan has just received an offer she cannot refuse. Anyone who knows Eve knows she can't be bought for any amount of money, but Columbian weapons dealer Montalvo knows Eve almost as well as he knows himself. When she refuses his offer of one million dollars, he isn't surprised. But he is prepared. When the time is right, he dangles the only carrot she'll respond to: if Eve comes to Columbia and completes the job only she is good enough to do, he'll find the man who murdered her daughter, Bonnie.

Eve realizes Montalvo could be lying about finding Bonnie's killer when so many before him have failed. And she knows she may very likely end up dead once she completes the job he wants her to do. Her lover, Joe Quinn, and friend, Sean Galen, are determined to keep her safe in the United States. Yet when Montalvo successfully identifies the skull she's been working on, and names his killer, Eve knows she's going to go to the jungles of Columbia. She'll go to the depths of hell itself to find Bonnie and the man who killed her.

With her arrival in Columbia, Eve sets off a chain of events that puts all she holds dear in jeopardy. The only thing standing between Eve and the evil that wants to destroy her is the man who will do anything to have Eve complete the job she's there to do.

Iris Johansen's STALEMATE is an exciting thriller that grabs the reader by the throat on page one and doesn't let go until the final page is turned. I've been a fan of Johansen since her days of writing category romance, and without a doubt, this is my favorite of all her novels. She manages to evoke a variety of emotions as she draws readers into this thrill-a-minute story where the line between good and evil and love and hate is blurred. Eve Duncan is at her best, a heroine with a backbone of finely tempered steel, willing to do whatever it takes to protect those near and dear to her, and the introduction of Montalvo into Eve's life adds an additional edginess to her existence. One of the things I enjoy about the Eve Duncan stories is the overlap of characters in her world. I look forward to meeting Montalvo again, for I'm intrigued by the possibilities of his presence in Eve's world, and like many, I'd love to see a resolution for Bonnie. Johansen's fans are in for a treat!

Book Summary

The suspense begins with a phone call and leads forensic sculptor Eve Duncan onto the harrowing trail of a killer that even the most cold-blooded killers fear to face.

No one leaves this game alive

Her skill in identifying murder victims was worldrenowned, but Eve Duncan worked only for law enforcement and the families of innocent victims. The man on the other end of the phone was anything but law-abiding or innocent. She’d already turned down his offer twice, but the third time it comes with a grisly warning. Forced to accept, Eve will leave everything and everyone she loves to travel alone to the luxurious armed compound of one of the world’s most wanted criminals to identify a skull he’s recovered. She’s agreed to this devil’s bargain to save an innocent family, but also for a reason she can’t admit to the police, to the CIA, to anyone. For the man in the Colombian jungle promises Eve what she wants most of all—the key to solving the most painful mystery of her past.