Love Eve’s series. Michael from the very beginning has been interesting and adorable. He’s such an intelligent child. He’s like no other. I love Cara and Jock and can’t wait to see more of them.
I haven’t read all of the books in this series and it’s no necessary to be able to read the latest. I read it the first book and hope to read the second soon. I have read the last few books and loved them all.
A great book. I highly recommend it. Can’t wait for the next book in this series.

Veena’s review of Shattered Mirror (Eve Duncan, Book 23) by Iris Johansen
Suspense Thriller published by St. Martin’s Press 24 Apr 18

Get ready for a pulse-pounding story with surprises that never cease and a sky-high body count. It all started with a package in a beautiful gold-foil box containing a shattered mirror and a burned skull. Imagine Eve’s surprise, when Cara Delaney, her adopted daughter, brings home her friend Darcy, who is a mirror image of her reconstruction. Did Eve somehow make a mistake when she brought Sylvie home?Darcy has known something is wrong when she no longer feels her psychic connection to her twin, but to walk into Eve’s lakeside cottage and see the reconstructed skull is a pretty brutal way to find out her twin’s dead. Soon Jock Gavin and Joe are on the hunt to find out what happened and what danger is posed to Cara, Darcy, and Michael, especially since Cara was recently attacked in her residence.

No one is safe from the killer who doesn’t care whom he has to kill to achieve his goal of taking out Eve, Cara, Michael, and Cara’s crime lord grandfather. Blowing up a town square on a busy Saturday morning is pretty heinous, especially since the main target is six-year-old Michael’s soccer team at the ice cream shop after their game. The action moves from New York to Atlanta to New Orleans, with some side trips to the South of France as the story comes together.

Can Joe, Jock, and Eve’s psychic connection to her son Michael foil the killer’s plans and bring all the people whom Eve loves safely to the other side of trouble? In the midst of the adrenaline rush, Cara’s relationship to Josh is changing with tones of passion and sexual lust being introduced where once there was a simple, uncomplicated love and hero worship. Can Cara find her heart’s dreams in Josh Gavin’s arms? I really can’t wait to see where the author will take this relationship next.

Grade: A

Get ready for a pulse pounding story with surprises that never cease and a sky high body count. It all started with a package in a beautiful gold foil box containing a shattered mirror and a burned skull. Imagine Eve's surprise when Cara Delaney her adopted daughter brings home her friend Darcy who is a mirror image of her reconstruction. Did Eve somehow make a mistake when she brought Sylvie home?Darcy has known something is wrong when she no longer feels her psychic connection to her twin but to walk into Eve's lake side cottage and see the reconstructed skull is a pretty brutal way to find out her twin's dead. Soon Jock Gavin and Joe are on the hunt to find out what happened and what danger is poses to Cara, Darcy and Michael especially since Cara was recently attacked in her residence.
No one is safe from the killer who doesn't care whom he had to kill to achieve his goal of taking out Eve, Cara, Michael and Cara's crime lord grand father. Blowing up a town square on a busy Saturday morning is pretty heinous especially since the main target is six year old Michael's soccer team at the ice cream shop after their soccer game. The action moves from New York to Atlanta to New Orleans with some side trips to the South of France as the story comes together.
Can Joe, Jock and Eve's psychic connection to her son Michael foil the killer plans and bring all the people whom Eve loves safely to the other side of the trouble? In the midst of the adrenaline rush Cara's relationship to Josh is changing with tones of passion and sexual lust being introduced where once there was once simple uncomplicated love and hero worship. Can Cara find her hearts dreams in Josh Gavin's arms? I really can't wait to see where the author will take this relationship next.

Iris Johansen is one of my favorite authors and Shattered Mirror is now on the top of my list of books by her that I loved reading. Eve Duncan receives a mysterious box on her front step that has a shattered mirror in it. Under the shattered mirror is a skull that has a bullet wound and was the victim of a fire. As Eve works on her reconstruction, the mystery begins to unravel, family and friends (Cara and Darcy) become involved and the plot twists keep coming. A thriller of a story with the strong family bonds that worn't be broken. A must read that will keep you turning the pages and wondering what will be found just around the corner!

First, I want to say that I had some trepidation about reading this book. I do find this series wonderful, but the last book just didn't do much for me. So, I really wanted to like this book, but I was worried that I would be disappointed again. Thankfully, this book worked better for, although it's still far away from the best ones I read in this series. At least Eve Duncan has a more prominent role to play in this book than in the last. I do like Jane Macguire, but I do prefer to have Eve as the main character rather than a secondary. Unfortunately, Eve had to share the limelight with Cara Delaney, who she saved a couple of years ago. This review contains spoiler about the previous book and I will also deal with things about what is going on in this book. So if you want a spoiler-free review, should you perhaps stop reading here.

Shattered Mirror takes place a couple of years later on than the previous book. Eve and Joe's son Michael is now six and Cara is eighteen. This felt like a big leap, but it was necessary for the story, or rather for Cara's story since the connection she has had with Jock since she was twelve hardly could evolve with her being underaged. Yeah, this part of the book was hardly surprising, Cara has grown up and she has always had a soft spot for Jock. This is probably a good thing since I have to admit that Cara's and Jock's "thing", felt borderline creepy when she was so young. Cara is now studying music and has a roommate Darcy, but after Cara is attacked by an unknown enemy do they both go home to Eve and Joe. Meanwhile, Eve has gotten her hands on a mystery skull. And, the unknown enemy out there seems to be having a torn on the side to both Eve, Cara and Cara's criminal grandfather.

I'm a bit on the fence when it comes to this book, on one side is it refreshing to be back to Eve trying to find out the identity of the woman whose skull she is working on. On the other hand, was I not so thrilled about Cara's story, nor Darcys. The whole Darcy is so beautiful she turns everyone's head around was boring from the first time I heard about her. She was a character that I felt never really got to me. And, Cara and Jock's "dance" through this book was also something that bothered me.

What worked for me was Eve, Joe and Michael. I like Michael, he's a special book and I've always liked Eve. The best part of the book was about them. Eve's worry now when Michael is the same age as Bonnie was when she lost her. And, as always do I enjoy her work with reconstructing skulls.

This book is OK. I was pleased that Eve took a more central role, but I would love to read a book without Cara in it, or with her in a smaller role. Right now I'm thinking of going back to the beginning of the series and pick up where I left off.

When someone leaves a box containing a skull—and two mirrors, one shattered and one complete—at Eve Duncan’s home, she knows she has a work to do. As a forensic sculptor, it’s her job to reconstruct the faces of the dead and bring closure. But this time, it’s personal.

With a killer watching every move as Eve tries to reconstruct the skull, the face of a beautiful woman emerges beneath her hands. A face with ties to Eve and her family. With everyone she loves in danger, Eve must find out who the killer is and stop him—before the unthinkable happens again.

What is there to say about an Eve Duncan book? I’ve read this series for years, and every single one is a solid read, full of mystery, intrigue, and danger. Confession: I’ve not read any of the Eve books since the 2013 series—no idea why not, just got busy, I suppose, so there were some surprises here for me. (Eve and Joe have a son? I have no memory of this…)

I enjoyed Shattered Mirror as I enjoyed Johansen’s other books and found it both compelling and unique. Considering how many books have been written in this series, that in itself is a fantastic accomplishment for the author.

Iris Johansen is a NYT Times best-selling author. Shattered Mirror is her newest novel.

(Galley provided by St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Hello, hello! It’s that time again. Time for another book review! I got another Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) from NetGalley, so I must thank them and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me access to the book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This month, I requested access to Shattered Mirror (An Eve Duncan novel) by Iris Johansen, which was released on the 24th (yesterday). It’s a thriller/mystery; genres I seem to be drawn to lately. What I didn’t realize when I requested the book was that it’s the 23rd in a series. That means I’m coming into a bunch of established characters and relationships that I know nothing about, which is always a little difficult no matter how well the author explains existing situations. With that in mind, I’ll get into the review now.

Shattered Mirror opens on a lake cottage where Eve Duncan (one of the top forensic sculptors in the world), her husband Joe Quinn (ex-SEAL, current cop, and who knows what else), and their six-year-old son Michael (basically a wise old man in a kid’s body with a touch of ESP or something) live. The scene is serene until a gold box containing a burnt skull and a two-sided mirror shows up in the passenger’s seat of their jeep. As Eve starts the reconstruction, she and her family are drawn into a psychopath’s trap. Throw in some family members that were sort of adopted along the way (Cara, an eighteen-year-old violin prodigy with a tragic past, and Jock, a retired assassin) and a Russian mafia leader (Cara’s grandfather, Kaskov), and things get volatile pretty quickly.

First, let’s talk about the plot. It’s a pretty standard revenge plot, and a portion of the story is from the psychopath’s (Norwalk’s) perspective, which I liked. The story actually starts in his POV, which threw me a bit because I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to know him from previous books or not. When I figured out what was going on, that it was going to be told from multiple points of view, I settled into the rhythm quite nicely. In the end, I would describe it as Criminal Minds and Bones meets *insert any ‘over-the-top action film with lots of explosions and a hero who fails to take the kill shot just to extend the action’ of your choice*. In other words, it’s fun as long as you don’t take it too seriously.

Then, there were the characters. I actually found myself focused on Cara and Jock more than on Eve and her immediate family. You have this young girl who was saved as a child by this super attractive ex-assassin with a Scottish accent and they’ve been best friends ever since. Well, now she’s older and totally in love with him. Except he’s kind of a manipulative dick. I mean, the guy ignored her for three months then showed up and expected her to drop everything and talk to him because he was ready to talk. And she did. The mysterious bad boy routine would probably have intrigued me when I was younger, but now I just keep hoping she runs away from that crap (spoiler: she doesn’t). And, if I’m being honest, all the men in this book were jerks to some extent. On the flip side, the women felt a little flat until the last third of the book when they seemed to finally come alive. Maybe if I had read the series from the beginning, I would feel different, but coming in at this point left a lot to be desired on the character front.

As far as the writing goes, I enjoyed it. Johansen introduces the characters and gives new readers all of the pertinent information without it feeling heavy handed or like an infodump. She’s wonderful at manipulating the pace through sentence structure (something I need to study and work on). I found myself reading this book like a writer and noticing useful techniques that I can try out later. I also really liked how she wove a supernatural thread through the story by giving Michael and Eve a kind of spiritual connection. It didn’t feel awkward or forced like those things sometimes do.

Ultimately, it’s not my favorite series and, since I didn’t connect to the characters, I don’t really have any desire to hunt down book one to start there. But it was an enjoyable read nonetheless.

Overall, I would give it three stars. It’s kind of corny and over-the-top, which was fun, but the characters just didn’t draw me in. If you like thrillers and mysteries, give it a shot. If not, you’re not missing anything spectacular.

This was another good Eve Duncan story. I like that Iris Johansen moves up the timelines in the next book. This one takes place 4 years after the last book. I am still not all for the whole Jock and Cara thing. I still find it weird and have for several books but as Cara gets older maybe I won't find it so weird. One thing that has been bugging me is the ages of Jane, Eve, Joe, Jock, Caleb and MacDuff, as the books that I have read never tell you it's hard to gauge their age and I think in my mind I'm putting them older than they are. Michael is Michael again in this book, if every child could be like him, I might have kids, haha. I was disappointed that we had no update on Jane or Caleb in this book, it would have been nice to know what they are up to 4 years later.

I accidentally discovered this series several years while reading its spinoff, Kendra Michaels. I've always been partial to Kendra, but find myself jumping in and out of this series from time to time, as I've come to admire Eve and Joe. Shattered Mirror is easily one of my favorites of this series, and I can't wait to read the next installment of Eve Duncan.

This series is reader friendly and Johansen makes it easy if you missed a few installments here and there to quickly get up to date. There is always excellent recaps, and I never feel lost as to the overall Eve Duncan world. This installment drew me in from the beginning, and I easily devoured it one evening. There is a perfect balance of suspense, romance, and family dynamics.

Even though they are secondary characters, I could not get enough of Joc and Cara! The chemistry between the two is so intense and reminds me of the earlier days of Eve and Joe. I hope they have a series as some point.

If you are romantic suspense fan, I recommend anything from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my advanced review copy.

Thank you Net-galley , St Martin's Press and Author for an advance copy of Shattered Mirror. This is an Eve Duncan book! I love this series. I have read almost all of them, I think I am missing one out of the 23 books. It is so hard for me to write this review due to not wanting to give away any spoilers.

This book sucked me in from the first page and like all other Eve books left me wanting so much more. This is a series I hope never ends because they are so damn good. This starts out with a burned skull with a bullet hole, left on the seat of Joe's vehicle where his son was sitting just moments before.

In this story we get out beloved Eve and Joe and their son , we get Cara and Jock. We are introduced to a new character Darcy.. whom I hope we see more as this series continues. This story is action packed, intense moments that will have you sitting on the edge. I absolutely loved this story. There were times I laughed and times I was teary eyed while reading this and of course I got angry at times. I felt so much while reading this amazing story. I look forward to the next Eve book! I hope we get Jane in the next one, I missed her in this story as she is one of my favorites!

A complex enigmatic tapestry of danger and suspense…

This is the twenty-third book in the Eve Duncan series that can be read as a stand-alone.

We rarely give thought to the significance of things we chose not to do, that we pass up for various reasons. Sometimes it’s the things you don’t do that can lead to unimaginable consequences. That’s what Eve Duncan, the renown forensic sculptor, must face as she’s haunted by a choice she made not to help and the costs are high, all those she cares about are in danger as a madman exacts vengeance against her and one other, a well thought out plan months in the making now seeks fruition.

An unknown person leaves a specially wrapped box containing a charred skull and two mirrors in Joe’s automobile one night, one of the mirrors is in broken shards, the other whole; the skull has a bullet hole signifying the true manner of death. The meaning of this eerie gift eludes Eve and Joe but skulls are what Eve does and seeing one in such an atrocious condition just makes the compassionate Eve want to bring the face that once was back to life, in her own way, something the deliverer counted on. And so with a skull’s reconstruction a madman’s plan is set in motion.

What I enjoy so much about this series is the intricacy of the plots and this one does not disappoint, a complex enigmatic tapestry unravels of a depraved plan with many twisted connections that must be uncovered to get a handle on the man the protagonists must face to save the family Eve has built. A family not based on blood, a family of choice and in that choice lies the strongest of bonds.

This story was fast-paced, highly suspenseful with resilient, witty, intelligent characters. We catch up on the various family members as they are drawn into the deadly mix surrounding Eve. The plot engages attention with the nature of identical twins, a conspiracy that spanned continents, known ties to the Russian mafia, perceived betrayals and a psychopath for whom the ends justify any and all means, collateral damage is of no significance to this villain. Can they stop him in time?

An advanced reading copy was obtained from the publisher via NetGalley.

4.5 stars

In this 23rd novel in the Eve Duncan series, we meet new characters and see new and different situations, including some special weapons. Once again the story begins with a skull that Eve reconstructs. Michael, her six year old son, calls it Sylvie. Cara, Eve and Joe's ward is in New York at the Carnegie School boarding with Darcy, a child actress who is now a beautiful woman who is training to be a singer. Jock Gavin, Cara's BFF and soulmate is visiting her when she is attacked in her dorm room. She heads off home to Atlanta and Darcy goes with her. When they arrive home, Darcy recognized the reconstruction, in fact, it looks just like her. It is determined that it is her twin sister, who is supposed to be living in a home for people with developmental issues. The mystery begins. Of course Eve has been targeted as well as Cara by this mysterious psycho who left the skull in Joe's vehicle for Eve to find in the first place. Add in Cara's Russian mob grandfather to the mix and there is a lot of adventure, some murders, kidnapping, mind melding and more. I have enjoyed this series, but I think I might be ready to move on. I hope she continues to write some of her other series that have not gone on as long and are still fresh.

It all starts with a skull in a box. Whew. There's a lot going on in this latest installment in the incredibly long running Eve Duncan series and frankly, as someone who hasn't read all the books, I was occasionally a bit at sea. The reconstruction of the skull, as urged by Michael, a psychic 6 year old, opens a door to a lot of secrets and lies for people in Eve's orbit, especially Darcy. The relationships between all the characters are very tangled so if you aren't current, it's best to just read this as a thriller and not worry about who's who because it won't necessarily make that much difference. It's a page turner for fans of psychological suspense. Thanks to net galley for the ARC.

I’ve read Iris Johansen’s books for years and enjoy them. I’m very familiar with the Eve Duncan books and perhaps that’s why I became a little frustrated with the endless backstory given to bring first time readers updated on the characters. As usual, the story is pretty unrealistic but that doesn’t bother me. It IS fiction after all! This wasn’t her best in the series, but a good read just the same

I have always gotten new Iris Johansen books as soon as I can, ever since I read The Ugly Duckling. This one is just another in a long line of wonderful stories! I love that the Eve Duncan series continues and brings in more characters that enhance the series in their own way. Darcy was a welcome addition, I wonder what is going to happen with her and Kaskov? Cara and Jock need to be together, the tension is growing and needs to be released. Can't wait until the next book is released!

This review is based on a galley copy from net galley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Once again Eve Duncan reconstructs a skull that leads to a mystery that pulls her along with her family into a deadly mystery that threatens her family. Whenever you threaten her family, especially her 6 year old son, there will be deadly consequences. Then add Cara to that mix of threatened ones and that brings Jock into the picture. Whenever you mix Joe Quinn, Jock Gavin and Kaskov together you know there will be an explosive outcome. Once again you get to experience the incredible connection between Eve and her son Michael. He is a remarkable little boy. Cara gives us a view into future interactions with Jock when she rattles his cage.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this amazing book by an amazing author

my first time reading one of these books but it wont be the last...

a fast paced thriller of a book with plenty of action...though the storyline between jock and cara is a bit to much...icky being the right word for it

eve brings people back home, that is how her son micheal describes her job...she helps to identify people with her reconstructions but they are all being targeted...and nobody knows why...

a brilliantly written book that will keep you glued for hours...and i for one will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors books

Eve is at her cabin when she receives a gift that was left on the front seat of her husband’s van. In true Eve Duncan’s style its a skull that she now has to reconstruct in order to solve the mystery of who left it for her. The identity of the skull is revealed and we now take an action packed journey to catch a killer. If you’re a real fan of the Eve Duncan series you’ll love this book. I enjoyed reading it, however some of the characters we a bit unrealistic and annoying at times. Overall I would recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story begins with a burnt skull with a bullet hole wrapped in a nice package with and including a two-sided mirror being left on Eve Duncan's front porch. Because her fey and precocious six-year-old Michael encourages her to restore the skull so that the victim can find her way home, Eve begins something that will lead to incredible danger.

Then the story switches to Cara at school with her new roommate former child star Darcy Nichols. Cara is wishing to visit Eve, Joe and Michael and angsting over her relationship with Jock Gavin who has been out of touch for some months. Cara is also planning her usual month with her Russian mafia grandfather Sergei Kaskov which makes Jock and her family uneasy. When her rooms are broken into in New York, she takes Darcy and goes back to stay with Eve for a while leaving Jock to investigate.

Cara's relationship with Jock is changing. She's eighteen now and not the traumatized eleven-year-old that Jock rescued. They've had years of being best friends but now she is starting to feel grown-up feeling around him. Jock is a former assassin who feels that Cara can do better and he's been waiting for years to find some more appropriate for her to love.

When they get to Eve's, they are all surprised and upset to find that the skull belongs to Darcy's secret twin sister. She was brain-damaged at birth and Darcy's mother blackmailed Darcy to work in show business to earn the money to provide her sister with the kind of care she needed while forbidding her to visit her. However, they do have a twin mental communication which they could use to get around their mother's rules. Only, the twin Sylvie dropped off Darcy's mental radar a couple of months before and now Darcy knows why.

The villain has set up a complex plot to get revenge on Eve, Cara, and Cara's grandfather leaving Darcy as collateral damage. It will be up to Eve, Joe, Jock, and Kaskov with Cara, Michael and Darcy's help to defeat the villain before he can complete his plot.

This was well-written. I enjoyed the fast pace of the story and the relationships between the characters. I like that Cara is part of a family formed by love rather than blood relationships. I liked her growing and changing relationship with Jock.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Shattered Mirror by Iris Johansen that I read and reviewed.
This was another excellent Eve Duncan book. This book had a lot of Eve, Joe, their son Michael, Cara and Jock in it so it was awesome having so many characters that we have grown to love throughout the series in this book.
I really loved how Cara has grown up in this book and how her feelings for Jock are finally explored a bit more. I can't wait until the book comes out that is dedicated to them and their relationship. It has been a long time coming.
As for this book it was a great Eve Duncan story with her protecting her family at all cost. With this series having as many books as it does it blows my mind how Johansen still can write about Eve and her family and keep it fresh but she still does and all of her books are excellent reads and I personally can't get enough of Eve Duncan.
Shattered Mirror gets five out of five stars.