QUICKSAND
Iris Johansen
St. Martin's Press
Thriller
ISBN: 9780312368067

Henry Kistle, a child-killing monster, is hiding out in Bloomberg, Illinois. The local sheriffs are watching him and have contacted Atlantic detective Joe Quinn, forensic sculptor Eve Duncan's lover. Quinn is determined to bring Kistle to justice, since Kistle is one of the men who is suspected of murdering Eve's young daughter, Bonnie. He believes Eve will never be whole without the closure of knowing exactly what happened to Bonnie, since the little girl's body was never found. However, as Quinn leaves to hunt down Kistle, he asks Eve's adopted adult daughter, Jane, to help him keep his quest secret until he knows for sure that Kistle is connected to the murder.

Quinn would be even more concerned if he realized that Eve often sees and speaks with the ghost of Bonnie. However, she keeps her conversations with her daughter to herself, and even scoffs at herself. It's hard for a realist like Eve to believe in ghosts. After killing a Bloomberg sheriff, Kistle calls Eve on the victim’s cell phone. He taunts her by telling her that Bonnie knew him well, describing Bonnie's outfit on the day she disappeared. Kistle also gloats that talking to Eve is making him feel excited and alive.

Meanwhile, in Illinois, the hunt is on for the sheriff's killer, who escapes into the forest. The search draws a man from Eve's past --- Colonel Luis Montalvo, who forged quite a passionate bond with her in Columbia. At the time, Eve refused to act on her attraction to Montalvo, although she acknowledged it. Now, Montalvo hopes to find Bonnie's kidnapper, in a desperate bid to win her heart with his actions, despite her relationship with Quinn. Quinn hates Montalvo, but the colonel can pull strings to get the FBI involved in the investigation, so he must tolerate him.

Everyone is amazed when Montalvo's contact, CIA agent Venable, insists on bringing a clairvoyant, Listener Megan Blair (who starred in Iris Johansen's PANDORA'S DAUGHTER), into the picture. With a little boy missing in the Bloomberg area, Venable believes that Megan can tell if he was murdered, which would force the FBI to be involved. Eve believes Megan is a fake until she sees her in action. No one watching the Listener as she hears the child's cries for mercy could disbelieve that Megan was listening to a youngster being tormented to death. And if Megan can hear the echoes of a past murder, what does that mean for Eve's conversations with her daughter's ghost?

QUICKSAND is a fast-paced read that is nearly impossible to put down. The characters are believable and the emotion is intense as a deadly cat-and-mouse game is set into action. Both men who love Eve Duncan are desperate to capture the evil monster --- even as he is intent on luring Eve to him with hints of news about Bonnie that any mother would be unable to resist. FAIR WARNING TO READERS: Do not start this book at bedtime, because you won't be able to go to sleep until you reach the conclusion.

    --- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)

Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.

© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.

Back to top.