Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Look Behind You
WORK NOTES: with mother, Iris Johansen
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1957
WEBSITE: https://www.royjohansen.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://us.macmillan.com/author/royjohansen/ * http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0423839/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1957; son of Iris Johansen (a writer).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Screenwriter and novelist.
AWARDS:FOCUS Award, Films of College and University Students, and Edgar Allan Poe Award, best television miniseries or movie, Mystery Writers of America, both for Murder 101.
WRITINGS
Coauthor of “With Open Eyes” (short story), with Iris Johansen, published by St. Martin’s Press, 2012. Also author of script for Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (television movie), 1990, and (with Bill Condon) of script for Murder 101 (television movie), 1991.
SIDELIGHTS
Roy Johansen is best known for the suspense novels that he writes with his mother, the prolific author Iris Johansen. His career actually began earlier, when he was a college student and his mom was building her own portfolio as a romance novelist. Roy won a film award for his script Murder 101 in a contest sponsored by film icons George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg. He later collaborated on the television version that received a prestigious Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. After a few years in the film industry, Johansen published his first novel.
The Solo Career
The Answer Man introduces Ken Parker, a lie detector operator whose life has spun into freefall. His marriage has failed, his car is repossessed, and he is about to be evicted from his office. When defense attorney Myth Daniels offers him a small fortune to teach her client how to cheat a polygraph test, Parker feels compelled to take the money. The client passes the test, only to die in an alley soon afterward. Other murders follow, and Parker becomes the primary person of interest. Booklist contributor George Cohen called The Answer Man “a thriller all lovers of the genre can sink their teeth into.”
Johansen published two novels about Joe Bailey, a former magician and escape artist who joined the police force to unmask phony psychics. In Beyond Belief, a professor of parapsychology dies a gruesome death, and a child with the power of telekinesis is the primary suspect. In Deadly Visions, Joe chases an allegedly supernatural serial killer in order to save his own life and that of his daughter. Reviewers enjoyed the adventures of the so-called “Spirit Basher,” but Bailey had solved his last case.
The Partnership
In 2008 Johansen was able to fulfill a longtime wish: to write a novel with his mother, Iris. Silent Thunder features marine architect Hannah Bryson, a Russian nuclear submarine in a Maine harbor, and a deadly secret that could bring the cold war back to life. The debut of the mother-son duo marked the beginning of a successful partnership. Hannah Bryson returns in Shadow Zone, as she investigates an archaeological site at the bottom of the sea. She discovers ancient metal panels full of coded symbols that could explain the sudden destruction of the ancient colony of Marinth. In the hands of the wrong person, the secret of the panels could destroy life on earth.
The Johansens also produced Storm Cycle, which “pits a supercomputer against hieroglyphics in an ancient Egyptian burial chamber,” according to Booklist contributor Carol Haggas. Rachel Kirby hopes to find an ancient cure for her sister’s rare illness, but first she must neutralize an international cabal willing to do anything to gain control of the secret. The Johansens were on their way to a promising future in espionage fiction. That was before Kendra Michaels made her appearance.
"Kendra Michaels" Series
Kendra Michaels spent the first twenty years of her life in darkness. Blindness forced her to hone her other senses to their maximum limits. When miraculous stem cell surgery gave her the power of sight, Kendra’s extraordinary powers could operate at full throttle. When her ex-boyfriend, Jess, disappears in Close Your Eyes, she becomes a unique asset to the police department. Kendra is not the most collegial agent on the team, but investigator Adam Lynch has a special talent for engaging her interest. Booklist contributor Mary Frances Wilkens explained: “The scenes with Adam and Kendra ooze sexual tension.” Kendra’s talent for spotting clues that elude everyone else will lead her into a series of suspenseful, action-packed investigations.
In Sight Unseen, television viewers see footage of a deadly multiple-car accident on the Cabrillo Bridge in San Diego. Kendra sees a staged event salted with clues from her prior investigations. A copycat killer is at work, taunting her at every turn. Kendra must stop him before he can harm her loved ones. Haggas, a frequent reviewer of the series in Booklist, pointed to the Johansens’ talent for “tying up all the loose ends … , but they always manage to leave one thread dangling,” all but guaranteeing a loyal fan base.
In The Naked Eye, a series of ugly murders convinces Kendra that arch-villain Eric Colby was never executed at San Quentin, as reported. She shares her theory with reporter Sheila Hunter, whose body is found just hours after the interview. As the death toll rises around her, Kendra realizes that Colby is fulfilling his threat to murder everyone close to her before bringing her own life to an end. Her search for Colby is aided by a character from Iris Johansen’s “Eve Duncan” series in what a Publishers Weekly contributor called “a thrilling race against time.”
Night Watch reunites Kendra with the British surgeon who gave her the miracle of sight. She meets Dr. Waldridge for dinner in California and senses his unspoken anxiety. When he disappears soon afterward, Kendra immediately persuades her old ally Adam Lynch to join her search. The adrenaline flows as the danger rises, and so does the romantic attraction they first experienced in Close Your Eyes.
There is no shortage of serial killings in San Diego. In Look Behind You, the murders have no obvious connections, but Kendra and her new co-investigator, Jessie Mercado, notice odd links to old murders committed all over the United States. The far-ranging crime locations draw a number of federal agents to San Diego to work with local agents Roland Metcalf and his partner, Gina Carson, who is skeptical of Kendra’s exceptional skills. Kendra decides to strike out on her own in the search for a killer who seems able to follow her every move, until Adam Lynch arrives in town to protect the woman he has come to love. A Publishers Weekly commentator observed: “A long list of well-developed suspects makes this one of the more complex and satisfying” of Kendra’s adventures.
Though some critics have mentioned a certain formulaic quality to Kendra’s investigations, the Johansens continue to produce new installments, and readers continue to enjoy them. In Double Blind, Kendra is prepared to decline the latest investigation, until she learns that the body was found near her home, with an envelope addressed to her. One murder follows another, and each victim turns out to be connected to the conviction of a sadistic serial killer from Kendra’s past. Jessie Mercado and Adam Lynch join the investigation to help her identify the killer before he (or she) strikes even closer to home.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 1, 1999, George Cohen, review of The Answer Man, p. 940; February 15, 2001, Connie Fletcher, review of Beyond Belief, p. 1119; March 1, 2008, Carol Haggas, review of Silent Thunder, p. 30; June 1, 2009, Carol Haggas, review of Storm Cycle, p. 6; May 15, 2010, Carol Haggas, review of Shadow Zone, p. 5; May 15, 2012, Mary Frances Wilkens, review of Close Your Eyes, p. 20; July 1, 2014, Carol Haggas, review of Sight Unseen, p. 43; June 1, 2015, Carol Haggas, review of The Naked Eye, p. 56; September 1, 2016, Carol Haggas, review of Night Watch, p. 58; June, 2017, Carol Haggas, review of Look Behind You, p. 60.
Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2012, review of Close Your Eyes; August 15, 2016, review of Night Watch; May 15, 2017, review of Look Behind You.
Miami Herald, July 21, 2012, Connie Ogl, author interview.
Publishers Weekly, March 8, 1999, review of The Answer Man, p. 49; March 26, 2001, review of Beyond Belief, p. 65; May 12, 2008, review of Silent Thunder, p. 38; May 18, 2009, review of Storm Cycle, p, 32; May 31, 2010, review of Shadow Zone, p. 25; May 21, 2012, review of Close Your Eyes, p. 36; July 28, 2014, review of Sight Unseen; May 25, 2015, review of The Naked Eye, p. 35; August 29, 2016, review of Night Watch, p. 66; May 22, 2017, review of Look Behind You, p. 73.
ONLINE
Always with a Book, http://alwayswithabook.blogspot.com/ (November 20, 2015), review of The Naked Eye.
Criminalelement.com, https://www.criminalelement.com/ (October 25, 2016), Kristen Houghton, review of Night Watch.
Just Talking Books, https://www.justtalkingbooks.com/ (July 23, 2014), review of Sight Unseen.
Kirkus Reviews Online, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/ (August 03, 2016), review of Night Watch; (May 2, 2017), review of Look Behind You.
Linda McHenry Website, http://lindamchenry.com (August 5, 2014), review of Sight Unseen.
Mysterious Reviews, http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/ (January 11, 2018), review of Silent Thunder.
Roy Johansen Website, https://www.royjohansen.com (February 10, 2018).
Vic’s Media Room, https://vicsmediaroom.wordpress.com/ (August 1, 2015), review of Close Your Eyes.
ROY JOHANSEN is an Edgar Award winning author and the son of Iris Johansen. He has written many well-received mysteries, including Deadly Visions, Beyond Belief and The Answer Man.
Roy Johansen began his professional writing career with his original screenplay for "Murder 101," written in college and for which he won the national FOCUS (Films Of College and University Students) award, a competition sponsored by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Martin Scorsese. The screenplay was later produced for cable television and starred Pierce Brosnan. The "Murder 101" script was awarded the Edgar Allen Poe award from the Mystery Writers of America in the Best Television Miniseries or Movie category.
Later, Johansen collaborated with comic book legend Stan Lee in creating The Accuser superhero character, which appeared in a series of animated adventures from Stan Lee Media. Johansen has written screenplays for Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Disney, and MGM.
More recently, Johansen has written several New York Times bestselling mystery novels, including "The Answer Man," "Beyond Belief," "Deadly Visions," "Silent Thunder," "Storm Cycle," "Shadow Zone, "Close Your Eyes," "Sight Unseen," "The Naked Eye" and "Night Watch."
His next thriller will be published by St. Martin's Press in 2017.
Iris and Roy Johansen Interview from The Miami Herald
July 21, 2012
By Connie Ogl
cogle@MiamiHerald.com
There are other, obvious things that unite them — such as being mother and son, no small bond — but what brought Iris and Roy Johansen together as writers was … submarines.
“We kept saying ‘We’ve got to write something together,’ ” says Iris Johansen, the prolific author of contemporary and historical romance novels as well as 17 popular works of suspense, including the bestselling Eve Duncan series.
“We have similar styles — we both write by the seat of our pants — but it was very difficult to find a vehicle that could please him and me too. … Then one day he came back from Chicago, and he said, ‘Mom, I found it!’ I said, ‘What?’ He said: ‘Submarines!’ I said, ‘Wait, Roy, I have to tell you — I’m not Tom Clancy.’ ”
But Roy Johansen’s trip to the Windy City’s Museum of Science and Industry, which has a German sub captured in World War II on display, paid off handsomely. It inspired the pair’s first novel together, Silent Thunder, about a marine architect who discovers a dangerous secret while preparing a decommissioned Soviet sub for an exhibit. A sequel, Shadow Zone, was published two years later, after the standalone Storm Cycle.
The Johansens come to Books & Books in Coral Gables Tuesday to talk about their fourth collaboration, Close Your Eyes (St. Martin’s, $27.99), a thriller about a music teacher whose sight has been restored through stem cell surgery. Being blind, though, has had one advantage; it has allowed smart, observant Kendra Michaels to perfect her other senses. She’s a problem-solver who’s an impressive weapon, and the FBI enlists her to help with an investigation into an agent’s disappearance. He just happens to be Kendra’s ex.
“She’s a unique character,” says Roy Johansen, a screenwriter and Edgar Award-winning author of the novels Deadly Visions, Beyond Belief and The Answer Man. “We had a lot of fun with that, having her walk into a room and know everything about people. … but it has to mean something to the overall plot of the story. It has to have some purpose, to push the story forward constantly.”
The Johansens introduced Kendra in the short story With Open Eyes (available digitally). Now, they shake their heads ruefully over their naïveté about short-story writing.
“We had never written a short story, and we thought, ‘We’ll just toss that off,’ ” says Iris, starting to laugh. “We had to introduce her and her particular abilities … I kept saying, ‘Can’t we have 50 pages? What about 60?’ ”
Roy agrees: “It was so hard! We spent weeks and weeks, a couple of months trying to get that right.”
You might think residing on opposite sides of the country — Roy lives in Los Angeles, and Iris lives outside of Atlanta — would make collaborating difficult, but the Johansens have perfected their system (with daughter and sister Tamera acting as Iris’ research assistant). One of them comes up with an idea, and they spend some time discussing it. Specifics come later. They agree on a concept, and one of them will write 70 or 80 pages, then pass the story along to the other to write the next 70 or 80 pages.
The approach keeps both writers on their toes.
“We each rewrite the other’s work,” says Roy. “We’re constantly surprising each other with these pages. It’s really fun to see characters I created in the first 80 pages and see what she does with them, as well as introduce new characters that I’ll have to pick up.”
Helpfully, the setup also ensures an extra layer of editing — and inspires a certain amount of mischief.
“Every time we get pages from each other, it’s a challenge,” Iris says. “It gets so we’re trying to outdo each other. He’ll paint me into a corner, and I’ll have to get out. And then I’ll spring something on him.”
“Hopefully,” Roy says, “some of that sense of surprise transfers to the readers. It’s definitely fun to get to the end of [the other writer’s contribution] and say, ‘What am I going to do now?’ ”
The Johansens have signed a deal for a couple more novels about Kendra Michaels, and though they’re usually “on the same wavelength,” Iris says, conflicts naturally arise. But mother and son learned swiftly that trying to tread lightly with each other’s egos wasn’t going to work.
“When we first started to write together, we discovered we really didn’t want to hurt each other’s feelings,” Iris says. “We started tiptoeing around when we didn’t like what the other was doing. Then by chapter three in the first book, we decided this was stupid. We realized, ‘OK, we’re both professionals, we should both write professionally,’ so we decided if we didn’t like something we’d just have to come out with it.”
Filmography
1991 Murder 101 (TV Movie) (written by)with Bill Condon,
1990 Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (TV Movie) (written by) ABC
Look Behind You
Carol Haggas
113.19-20 (June 2017): p60.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Look Behind You. By Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. July 2017. 352p. St. Martin's, $27 (9781250075987); e-book (9781466887343).
Formerly blind Kendra Michaels brings her extraordinary sensory perception to bear when a string of murders unnerves the San Diego community. The killer is cunning and preternaturally careful; disparate pieces of evidence found at each crime scene seem to have no direct bearing on the case at hand. As the murders escalate, however, Michaels and her good friend private investigator Jessie Mercado determine that each crime's tokens can be traced back to cold-case murders committed around the country over a number of years. When FBI agents from each of the prior crime locations join locals Roland Metcalf and Gina Carlson, Michaels feels the need to strike out on her own to solve the case. Intelligent, independent, and intuitive, Michaels may be the FBI's best chance at catching an allusive killer, yet rogue agent Adam Lynch inserts himself into the investigation as Michaels' protector and would-be lover. Deliberately paced and sufficiently nuanced, the latest installment in the Johansens' Kendra Michaels thriller series, following Night Watch (2016), offers further insights into this powerful character. --Carol Haggas
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Haggas, Carol. "Look Behind You." Booklist, June 2017, p. 60. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A498582732/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c62be051. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A498582732
Look Behind You
264.21 (May 22, 2017): p73+.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Look Behind You
Iris and Roy Johansen. St. Martin's, $27.99
(352p) ISBN 978-1-250-07598-7
In Johansen and son's winning fifth Kendra Michaels novel (after 2016's Night Watch), FBI special agent Roland Metcalf visits Kendra, a music therapist with heightened senses, at her San Diego, Calif., studio, to ask for her help with an investigation into a series of bizarre killings. Special agent Gina Carson, Roland's arrogant partner, is skeptical of Kendra's qualifications, until Kendra, who was blind for many years before surgery restored her eyesight, demonstrates her amazing powers by deducing personal information about Gina. After Kendra gets on board, former FBI agent Adam Lynch, who has partnered with her on previous cases, comes to San Diego. Adam acts as Kendra's protector as the sexual tension between the two of them grows and Kendra gets closer to discovering the identity of a vicious killer who seems to know her every move. <> entries in this bestselling romantic suspense series. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Look Behind You." Publishers Weekly, 22 May 2017, p. 73+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A494099047/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=4def10a9. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A494099047
Night Watch
Carol Haggas
113.1 (Sept. 1, 2016): p58+.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Night Watch. By Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. Oct. 2016.352p. St. Martin's, $27.99 (9781250075970); e-book (9781466887336).
When the surgeon who miraculously restored Kendra Michaels' sight after 20 years is kidnapped, there is no question that Michaels will do everything in her considerable power to rescue him. Surprising Michaels during one of her university lectures, Dr. Charles Waldridge drops cryptic warnings about his new project but vehemently warns Michaels not to press him for additional in formation. The last person to have been seen with him, Michaels attracts the attention of local police when he disappears, but armed with the protection and influence of FBI agent Adam Lynch and a new cohort, Jessie Mercado, Michaels is able to infiltrate the cabal hijacking Waldridge's medical research and skills. As the body count rises and threats come closer to Michaels' own door, there is no time to waste to discover Waldridge's location and put an end to those who would corrupt his life-saving medical expertise. The mother-and-son Johansen team (The Naked Eye, 2015) delivers another high-stakes, high-powered thriller in the popular Kendra Michaels series.--Carol Haggas
Haggas, Carol
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Haggas, Carol. "Night Watch." Booklist, 1 Sept. 2016, p. 58+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A463755153/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=a3689b71. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A463755153
Night Watch
263.35 (Aug. 29, 2016): p66.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Night Watch
Iris and Roy Johansen. St. Martin's, $27.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-250-07597-0
Early in bestseller Johansen and son's suspenseful fourth novel featuring Dr. Kendra Michaels (after 20I5's The Naked Eye), Kendra, who was blind until she was 20, delivers a research paper on aging at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. Afterward, she's surprised to discover that Dr. Charles Waldridge, the British surgeon who restored her sight nine years earlier, was in the audience. The two have dinner at a nearby ocean-side restaurant, where Charles says he's come to L.A. from London on a fund-raising mission. Kendra cleverly deduces that something else is causing Charles stress, but he won't tell her what. When he later goes missing, Kendra believes foul play is involved and enlists the aid of former FBI agent Adam Lynch in her search for Charles. The danger that Kendra and Adam face increases dramatically as they get closer to the truth, as does the attraction between the two. The plot builds to a stunning conclusion. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Oct.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Night Watch." Publishers Weekly, 29 Aug. 2016, p. 66. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A462236424/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=a245e7b9. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A462236424
The Naked Eye
Carol Haggas
111.19-20 (June 1, 2015): p56.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
The Naked Eye. By Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen.
July 2015. 352p. St. Martin's, $27.99 (9781250020543); e-book (9781250020550).
Special agent Kendra Michaels never believed her arch-nemesis, Eric Colby, died in the gas chamber at San Quentin. A killer as ruthless and well-connected as Colby would never let the system take him down. But Michaels is the only one in Southern California law enforcement who believes he's still out there, even after a string of garish murders bearing Colby's signature MO occur across the San Diego area. Using his extensive network of cyber-terrorists to get into Michaels' home and computer and, most important, under her skin, Colby ups the ante and kills a respected local cop, finally bringing the rest of the force and the FBI around to Michaels' way of thinking. Michaels knows she's Colby's ultimate victim, but will his promised threat to first take out people close to her be thwarted in time? Reintroducing numerous characters from their extensive backlist of Michaels thrillers, including Sight Unseen (2014), the Johansens power-up the emotional stakes in this page-turning thriller that cements Michaels' reputation as a force to be reckoned with.--Carol Haggas
Haggas, Carol
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Haggas, Carol. "The Naked Eye." Booklist, 1 June 2015, p. 56. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A421080252/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=77110dce. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A421080252
The Naked Eye
262.21 (May 25, 2015): p35.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Naked Eye
Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. St. Martin's, $27.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-250-02054-3
In bestseller Johansen and son's exciting third novel featuring Kendra Michaels (after 2014's Sight Unseen), Kendra, a law-enforcement consultant whose senses of smell and hearing are extraordinarily acute, believes that serial killer Eric Colby is still alive, even though he was supposedly executed by lethal injection at California's San Quentin State Prison months earlier. Meanwhile, San Diego reporter Sheila Hunter, who's eager to interview Kendra, runs a newspaper story that supports Kendra's theory about Colby. Dismayed that Sheila's story has tipped off Colby, Kendra agrees to talk to the reporter. Just hours after their meeting, Sheila turns up dead, hanging from the mast of a house boat in a local marina. The MO suggests that Colby could be the killer. Beth, the sister of Eve Duncan (the star of Iris Johansen's main series), joins Kendra in <>e to stop a killer who seems to follow Kendra's every move. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Naked Eye." Publishers Weekly, 25 May 2015, p. 35. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A416115969/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=75633006. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A416115969
Sight Unseen
Carol Haggas
110.21 (July 1, 2014): p43.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Sight Unseen. By Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. July 2014.336p. St. Martin's, $27.99 (9781250020529).
Based solely on the fleeting images seen on a restaurant's TV screen, Kendra Michaels knew that the multicar pileup on San Diego's Cabrillo Bridge was no accident. The staged tableau was designed to get her attention by re-creating grisly elements from a number of serial murders Michaels had helped solve. Now a copycat killer has Michaels in his sights, with plans to both honor and discredit her as he draws an ever-tightening noose around Michaels, her FBI cohorts, and the people she loves most. As readers of the mother-and-son Johansen team's popular Kendra Michaels series (Close Your Eyes, 2012) know, Kendra spent most of her life as a blind woman, until vision-restoring surgery granted her observational powers worthy of Sherlock Holmes, extraordinary abilities that will engage all her senses as she tracks down this sociopathic killer. The Johansens do a page-turning job of <
Haggas, Carol
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Haggas, Carol. "Sight Unseen." Booklist, 1 July 2014, p. 43. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A376932636/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=7775b52a. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A376932636
Johansen, Roy: CLOSE YOUR EYES
(July 15, 2012):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Johansen, Roy CLOSE YOUR EYES St. Martin's (Adult Fiction) $27.99 7, 17 ISBN: 978-0-312-61161-3
Johansen and her son, Roy, team up for their fourth collaborative effort (Shadow Zone, 2010, etc.). Dr. Kendra Michaels, a music therapist, doesn't seem like your average crime fighter, but Kendra's track record is impressive. She's helped police crack plenty of tough cases. Although she has no crime-fighting background, the first 20 years of her life have heightened her senses, and she can see, hear, smell and feel things no one else can. Born blind, Kendra had sight-restoring surgery, but regaining her ability to see hasn't changed her gift for zeroing in on details that often get by others. So, when someone starts killing random people, former FBI agent Adam Lynch, who is now investigative freelancing, ropes her into helping the feds find the killer. Kendra hadn't planned to get involved in another case, but an FBI agent named Jeff, who is also an old boyfriend of hers, has gone missing, and the bureau believes he was snatched while trying to find the serial killer. Kendra fights the idea of joining the investigation and gives everyone from Adam to the FBI's special agent in charge a hard time. Then things get weird, and suddenly Kendra finds herself on the receiving end of the violence. After narrowly escaping an attack, Kendra plunges into the case but soon finds it's forcing her to reexamine both her old relationship with Jeff and her new one with Adam. The law enforcement agents are all either corrupt or inept, and the supposed heat that builds between Kendra and Adam is tepid and uninteresting. While the foray into music therapy is compelling, the writers strain credulity with the premise that any federal agency would put up with someone as unpleasant and rude as Kendra, much less let her call the shots. A not-so-thrilling thriller that leaves readers wishing that the bad guys were better shots.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Johansen, Roy: CLOSE YOUR EYES." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2012. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A296121262/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=a65c5f8f. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A296121262
Close Your Eyes
259.21 (May 21, 2012): p36.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Close Your Eyes
Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. St. Martin's, $27.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-312-61161-3
Bestseller Johansen and son's gripping fourth collaborative effort (after 2010's Shadow Zone) stars Dr. Kendra Michaels, a music therapist with some amazing talents. Born blind, Kendra developed her other senses to an extraordinary degree until her sight was restored at age 20. As a modern-day Sherlock Homes, Kendra is invaluable to the FBI, who pull her into the case of six fatal stabbings in the San Diego area in 45 days that was earlier investigated by her former lover, Jeff Stedler, who's gone missing. All six victims had the same as yet unidentified substance in their bodies. Despite not being a team player and friction with her co-worker, Adam Lynch, Kendra picks up some almost invisible clues that put them on the right track. Now someone is determined to kill her. The authors combine idiosyncratic yet fully realized characters with dry wit and well-controlled suspense that builds to a satisfying conclusion. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, the Jane Rotrosen Agency. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Close Your Eyes." Publishers Weekly, 21 May 2012, p. 36. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A290734555/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ae39381f. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A290734555
Close Your Eyes
Mary Frances Wilkens
108.18 (May 15, 2012): p20.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Close Your Eyes.
By Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen.
July 2012. 416p. St. Martin's, $27.99 (9780312611613).
Kendra Michaels was blind the first 20 years of her life. A miraculous new procedure changed that, but her other senses remain keener than any normal person's, That hypersensitivity comes in handy with law-enforcement groups across the country. Now the FBI is knocking at her door again. By trade, Kendra is a music therapist and enjoys using her unusual skills to help troubled kids find a sense of peace through music. But into her life walks Adam Lynch, not an FBI agent per se but a "consultant" who specializes in getting jobs done at any cost. His technique is half charismatic, half manipulative, and the case at hand involves her ex-boyfriend, Jeff, an agent himself, who has disappeared, and when it's apparent he might be the next on a serial killer's hit list, Kendra gets sucked in. The pace here is quick, and the subject matter intriguing. Kendra's talents are mind-blowing, if a little unbelievable, but they make her a crackerjack detective all cops would want on their team, even though she comes with a boatload of attitude. "<
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The popular mother-son team's latest will be supported by a widespread media campaign including national televison advertising.
Wilkens, Mary Frances
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Wilkens, Mary Frances. "Close Your Eyes." Booklist, 15 May 2012, p. 20. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A291352070/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=43595649. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A291352070
Shadow Zone
257.22 (May 31, 2010): p25.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Shadow Zone
Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. St. Martin's, $26.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-312-61160-6
This disappointing sequel to the Johansens' Silent Thunder (2008) centers on the ancient city of Marinth, submerged in a massive tsunami 4,000 years ago and lying a quarter mile beneath the Atlantic Ocean. The secret that doomed Marinth's civilization to decline before the killer wave is still present and could in the wrong hands be a threat to hundreds of millions of people. As malevolent arms-merchant Vincent Gadiare and his femme-fatale lover, Anna Devareau, maneuver to get their hands on Marinth's secret, Hannah Bryson, world-class submarine designer, gathers her own legion of experts, including her love interest, enigmatic assassin Nicholas Kirov. Entertaining action scenes compensate in part for two-dimensional characters and trite romances. Informed readers may have trouble with the book's lack of verisimilitude. Submarines behave suspiciously similar to aircraft, and photosynthetic plants thrive in the water well below the photic zone. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Shadow Zone." Publishers Weekly, 31 May 2010, p. 25. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A228166319/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=839e92bb. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A228166319
Shadow Zone
Carol Haggas
106.18 (May 15, 2010): p5+.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Shadow Zone.
By Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen.
July 2010. 384p. St. Martin's, $26.99 (9780312611606). Crime Fiction.
A lost underwater civilization, deadly algae, and hordes of attack dolphins roll the seas and threaten a fragile peace in the latest international thriller from the Johansens, a tale that reunites characters from their best-selling Silent Thunder (2009). As Hannah Bryson concludes her research at the deep-sea archaeological site of the doomed colony of Marinth, scientists are on the brink of discovering what caused Marinth's downfall. The answer may lie in the panels of an intricate trellis that Hannah manages to bring to the surface, only to have it fall into the hands of Gadaire, a ruthless sociopath who wants to use it to bring about an environmental Armageddon. Only one person has the cunning and desire to stop Gadaire: Kirov, the Russian agent who came to Hannah's aid once before. While Hannah struggles with the "spy-who-loved-me" aspects of working closely with the inscrutable Kirov, her impetuous 12-year-old nephew, Ronnie, insinuates himself into the middle of the investigation. In this adrenalin-accelerating tale of a high-stakes, high-seas conspiracy, the Johansens adeptly juggle multiple points of intrigue, smoothly balancing the prerequisite whirlwind pacing with plausible, even restrained, personal relationships. And Hannah emerges as a prepossessing, determined heroine who is more than capable of sustaining this absorbing series.--Carol Haggas
Haggas, Carol
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Haggas, Carol. "Shadow Zone." Booklist, 15 May 2010, p. 5+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A227651530/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=fb7024aa. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A227651530
Storm Cycle
Carol Haggas
105.19-20 (June 1, 2009): p6.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Storm Cycle.
By Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen.
July 2009. 416p. St. Martin's, $26.95 (9780312368036). Crime Fiction.
Taking "World Wide Web" to its extreme, the Johansens weave a sinuous thriller that <
Haggas, Carol
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Haggas, Carol. "Storm Cycle." Booklist, 1 June 2009, p. 6. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A202484179/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0bd8630c. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A202484179
Storm Cycle
256.20 (May 18, 2009): p32.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Storm Cycle
Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. St. Martin's, $26.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-312-36803-6
At the start of this fast-paced romantic thriller, the second from the bestselling mother and son Johansen team (Silent Thunder), Rachel Kirby, a computer whiz in Houston, Tex., is working hard to spur medical research on Krabbe's disease, a rare nervous-system disorder afflicting her sister, Allie. After Rachel narrowly survives a sniper's bullet, she receives an e-mail from John Tavak, a stranger who claims to be trapped in an Egyptian tomb, where he's met Peseshet, an ancient physician who may have a cure for Allie's ailment. The sisters set off on a globe-trotting adventure featuring gunfights, explosions and contrived romantic subplots. Rachel finds herself attracted to the enigmatic Tavak, while Allie starts falling for Hal Demanski, a spoiled billionaire who ends up aiding their efforts to get Peseshet's secrets before an evil pharmaceutical company does. Despite the lack of character development or surprising plot twists, action fans should be satisfied. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Storm Cycle." Publishers Weekly, 18 May 2009, p. 32. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A200342729/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=82d85f99. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A200342729
Silent Thunder
255.19 (May 12, 2008): p38.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Silent Thunder
Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. St. Martin's, $24.95 (416p) ISBN 978-0-312-36799-2
Bestseller Johansen (Quicksand) and her Edgar-winning son, Roy (Deadly Visions), collaborate on their first thriller with entertaining results. Hannah Bryson, a topnotch submarine designer, and her brother, Conner, must make sure that a Russian nuclear submarine, the Silent Thunder, recently purchased by the U.S. government for use as a maritime museum, is safe for visitors. Working alone on the sub in a Maine harbor, the two make a strange discovery that's swiftly followed by a deadly attack. Others, both Russian and American, want what the Brysons have uncovered and will stop at nothing to obtain it. One Russian, Nicolas Kirov, has a special interest in the submarine as well as a growing interest in the feisty, beautiful Hannah. The constantly bickering Hannah and Kirov are forced to work together for a common goal as they fight various enemies and, of course, fall in love. The romantic subplot threatens to take over the action, but is thankfully reined in at the exciting finale. 12-city author tour. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Silent Thunder." Publishers Weekly, 12 May 2008, p. 38. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A179349687/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0737d960. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A179349687
Silent Thunder
Carol Haggas
104.13 (Mar. 1, 2008): p30.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Silent Thunder.
By Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen.
July 2008.416p. St. Martin's, $24.95 (9780312367992). Crime Fiction.
The cold war heats up again in Johansen's latest thriller, when marine architect Hannah Bryson's brother, Connor, is killed in an explosion aboard a decommissioned Russian submarine they're preparing for a nautical museum exhibit. Although the U.S. government official appointed to handle the investigation wants Hannah to believe Connor's death was accidental, Hannah thinks otherwise. Just minutes before he died, Connor discovered cryptic symbols etched into metal panels hidden deep within Silent Thunder, and Hannah knows that if she's ever to learn the truth about her brother's murder, she'll have to solve the code's mystery. Doing so, however, involves her in a protracted feud between two Russian operatives, Kirov and Pavski, who have a blatant disregard for human life when their missions are threatened. It's clearly a case of not knowing who one's friends or enemies are, as Hannah has to decide if Kirov's deep-seated hatred of Pavski equals her own need for revenge. Though the inherent distrust of all things related to Russia and its military complex has long been a staple of the international thriller genre--and, as such, runs the risk of appearing trite and stale--Johansen's collaboration with her crime-novelist son imbues their saga with muscular characters and a brisk immediacy that keep it gripping and relevant.--Carol Haggas
Haggas, Carol
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Haggas, Carol. "Silent Thunder." Booklist, 1 Mar. 2008, p. 30. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A176370310/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=87317b87. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A176370310
BEYOND BELIEF
248.13 (Mar. 26, 2001): p65.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2001 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
ROY JOHANSEN. Bantam, $23.95 (352p) ISBN 0-553-80115-5
Incredible events that beg a supernatural explanation challenge the deeply ingrained skepticism of Atlanta police detective Joe Bailey in this crafty paranormal crime thriller. A former stage magician who debunks swindling spirit mediums, psychic surgeons and similar charlatans, Bailey--nicknamed the "Spirit Basher"--has his work cut out for him in trying to solve the grisly death of a parapsychology professor impaled midway up the wall of his apartment by a sculpture too heavy for any person to lift. He refuses to believe that moody eight-year-old Jesse Randall, a supposed psychic prodigy, may have unintentionally murdered the man by unleashing an unconscious "shadow storm" during sleep. But while Joe is determined to prove the boy a con artist, others are not so dismissive, among them a psychopathic killer convinced that Jesse is the "Child of Light" prophesied by his millennialist cult. Though Johansen (The Answer Man) offers half-hearted psychological rationales for some characters' motives, he mostly kee ps the story to its surface, which he polishes brilliantly to allow for the collision of nonstop, tricky plot complications, including a mysterious money laundering scheme by the dead prof, Joe's romance with a medium he's investigating and Jesse's helicopter abduction from a church service by armed assailants. Many, but not all, of the supernatural scams arc explained by the novel's end, and readers will have fun trying to keep up with the tale's rapid pace and Johansen's nimble sleight-of-hand. (Apr. 10)
FYI: Johansen won an Edgar for his cable-TV screenplay, Murder 101.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"BEYOND BELIEF." Publishers Weekly, 26 Mar. 2001, p. 65. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A72519671/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e12578da. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A72519671
Beyond Belief
Connie Fletcher
97.12 (Feb. 15, 2001): p1119.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2001 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Johansen, Roy. Beyond Belief. Apr. 2001 288p. Bantam, $24.95 (0-553-80115-5).
A professor of parapsychology is found murdered, the body displayed halfway up the wall in his study, impaled by a sculpture. Detective Joe Bailey, a former magician and now a member of the Atlanta Police Department's bunco squad, who scouts out scams by phony psychics, is called in to ferret out the real m.o. behind what seems to be an otherworldly murder. The chief suspect, according to the dead prof's girlfriend, is an eight-year-old boy with telekinetic powers. The ever-skeptical Bailey (magic taught him there's an explanation for everything) finds his worldview shaken and his life endangered as unaccountable things start happening around him. The moves of a serial killer in Atlanta who has appointed himself the eight-year-old boy's guardian heighten the suspense. Johansen, who won an Edgar for The Answer Man (1999), introduces another tough-guy hero and a cast of off-kilter characters in an absolute stunner of a thriller.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Fletcher, Connie. "Beyond Belief." Booklist, 15 Feb. 2001, p. 1119. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A71705214/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=bc7d3cbf. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A71705214
THE ANSWER MAN
246.10 (Mar. 8, 1999): p49.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 1999 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Roy Johansen. Bantam, $23.95 (4l6p) ISBN 0-553-10607-4
Down and out in Atlanta, Ken Parker is a polygraph examiner whose life just can't get any worse--or so he thinks. His wife has just left him, his car has been repossessed and his disabled Gulf War veteran brother is being swindled by an insurance company. Desperate for cash, Ken accepts an illegal $50,000 job from beautiful defense attorney Myth Daniels to teach her client, embezzler Burton Sabini, how to beat a polygraph. Then matters spin downward from bad to horrific. A polygraph test subject whose life was ruined by Ken's faulty reading attacks Ken and then turns up dead in a Dumpster. Sabini passes his polygraph test but later is also found dead in an alley, with Ken's phone number on him. Under suspicion for both killings, Ken is now suspicious of Myth. Enter Hound Dog, a 21-year-old woman whose obsession is getting information from a police scanner to find crime scenes to photograph; she delivers some bad news to Ken about Myth's past. Trying to clear his name, Ken stumbles across another murder, an at tack on Hound Dog's boyfriend and a suspect who turns out to be Ken's still-beloved ex-wife. The offbeat narrative of Johansen's debut races cleanly through a maze of techno clues and multiple suspects, pulling readers along for a quirky ride with likable companions. Most notable of these is Ken, a classic amateur thriller hero who suffers endless humiliations while solving just enough of the puzzle to put everyone in grave danger when he guesses wrong. He deserves a sequel, and this novel's bittersweet finale gives strong hope of that. (Apr.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"THE ANSWER MAN." Publishers Weekly, 8 Mar. 1999, p. 49. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A54082497/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b3b06abe. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A54082497
The Answer Man
George Cohen
95.11 (Feb. 1, 1999): p940.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 1999 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Johansen, Roy. The Answer Man. Apr. 1999. 352p. Bantam, $23.95 (0-553-10607-4).
Ken ("the Answer Man") Parker is a 34-year-old lie-detector operator living in Atlanta. He is an expert in his field, but business is bad, and he has to support his younger brother, who suffers from a disease contracted in the Gulf War. His car has been impounded, and he is being evicted from his office. Enter Myth Daniels, a beautiful lawyer. She is defending one Burton Sabini, who is being prosecuted in an embezzling case. Daniels wants to be sure that her client doesn't fail a polygraph examination, and Sabini offers Parker $50,000 in cash if Parker can teach him how to beat it. What follows is a tale of power and manipulation, of avarice and violence, with an array of interesting characters trying to stay alive. <>
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Cohen, George. "The Answer Man." Booklist, 1 Feb. 1999, p. 940. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A53914341/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e76bdd78. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A53914341
Silent Thunder
by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen
Silent Thunder by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen
Review: Silent Thunder, the first collaboration between Iris Johansen and her son Roy Johansen, both accomplished authors in their own right, is a spine-tingling thriller that will be hard to put down once started.
Hannah Bryson, an extremely talented marine architect has been commissioned by a U. S. Maritime Museum to thoroughly examine a decommissioned Soviet submarine. Every nook and cranny of the "Silent Thunder", at one time a nuclear attack sub, must be inspected and cleared completely of any material that might jeopardize the safety of the many visitors expected to board it for viewing. While searching, Hannah and her team (including her brother, Connor) discover metal plates with cryptic, coded messages hidden and bolted behind one of the ship's control panels. She notifies her State Department liaison who negotiated with the Russians for the purchase of the boat for the Maritime Museum. He tells her to evacuate her team from the sub immediately. Before she can, there is the sound of gunfire coming from the area of the hidden panels. She runs back to find her brother dead. What are the meanings of the cryptic markings on the plates? Why are they important now? And who would kill to get them? Hannah realizes there was many sets of eyes following her every move as she stubbornly sets out to find out the secret behind the plates, but more importantly, who killed her brother.
Silent Thunder is a multi-layered thriller that keeps the action coming from all angles. It turns out that every covert organization from Russia to the United States seemed to know about the existence of the hidden plates that Hannah and Connor found but they did not know exactly how to find them, or if they did find them, how to decode them. After Connor is killed, Hannah is offered help by the State Department (among many other organizations) to help find her brother's killer. She feels she can trust no one until she meets a man, a Russian no less, who seems to be more honest with her than the others. But is he? Only when she discovered her brother's killer would she relent enough to find out if this man was really helping her in her pursuit, or if was he there simply to secure the plates and uncover their meaning.
From the intricate plot to the puzzle of the plates, and from the still simmering Cold War rivalries to the developing relationship between Hannah and her Russian associate, Silent Thunder is not only an exhilarating suspense novel from start to finish, it is a prime example of a "page-turner".
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Silent Thunder.
Acknowledgment: Meryl L. Moss Media Relations provided a copy of Silent Thunder for this review.
Review: Sight Unseen (Kendra Michaels #2) by Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen
7/23/2014 0 Comments
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The #1 New York Times bestselling author and the Edgar Award winning author are back with a new a new novel featuring Kendra Michaels—hired gun for both the CIA and FBI
A deadly multi-vehicle pile-up on San Diego’s historic Cabrillo bridge is thought of as a horrific accident–until Kendra Michaels arrives on the scene and perceives it as something much more sinister. Blind for decades and now sighted, Kendra's unusual skill for observation is highly sought after by both the FBI and CIA. Now her amazing conclusions open up a multi-jurisdictional investigation that once again teams her with the FBI and federal agent Adam Kyle as they investigate a conspiracy so explosive that someone will kill again and again to protect it. As the killer casts a deadly web of lies, Kendra’s life hangs in the balance, as do the lives of those she holds most dear.
Much more enjoyable than the first in the series.
What I liked: I like the books Iris Johansen writes with her son Roy. I've read them all. I couldn't understand why I didn't review the first book in this series, Close Your Eyes. I actually had to go back and read the synopsis and a couple of other reader's reviews to jog my memory. Yeah, that. It didn't stick with me at all. That said, I read Sight Unseen in one day.
The characters have more depth in this story, especially Kendra and Adam. We finally feel like we're getting to know them. I like the idea of an individual being so in tune to everything around them. Kendra doesn't forget she was blind and doesn't discount her other senses. She doesn't buy into sight being more important than her smell for instance.
Adam seemed more "human" and feeling in this second book also. He's still part mystery but where Kendra is concerned, he will go the distance or as he tells her, he has her back. I did figure out the bad guy but that's okay because the way all the clues connected was as much the suspense part as how the killer was always one step ahead of Kendra. It made the story more interesting to see Kendra flounder a bit.
The heat between Kendra and Adam was more pronounced in Sight Unseen. It seemed to totally take Kendra by surprise whereas Adam was more aware but controlling it better. I can't wait until the next in the series to see how their relationship develops.
The ending was pure Johansen. It sets up for the next book very neatly.
What I didn't like: I enjoy all Ms Johansen's novels but they do seem to have a formula approach. Some are better developed than others so the formula doesn't seem as obvious. Sight Unseen is somewhere in the middle. I almost feel like I've met these characters before.
Overall a good solid read and the bad guy is great. If you're on the fence, check it out from the library. If you collect her books, Sight Unseen will be a good addition to your collection.
Recommended!
August 5, 2014
Book Review: SIGHT UNSEEN by Iris and Roy Johansen
Written by
Linda McHenry
Posted in
Book Review, Mystery, Thriller
Tagged
Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen, Sight Unseen, St. Martin's Press
I’ve been reading Iris Johansen’s books since the 1980s and enjoyed every single one of them. Sight Unseen is my first introduction to her collaborations with Roy Johansen and it’s no surprise it hit the New York Time’s bestseller list right out of the gate.
Kendra Michaels is a recurring character in a number of previous novels (written by Iris solo and in collaboration with Roy). One of the traits that makes her a unique and appealing character is the fact that after the once-blind Kendra underwent surgery that restored her sight, her heightened senses made her acutely observant–a quality much appreciated by law enforcement. What I really like about Kendra and her superpowers is that they aren’t outside the realm of possibility. They make me wonder…
When watching a news clip on television, Kendra realizes the tragic traffic accident isn’t really an accident–it’s a murder. She rushes to the scene and reports her suspicions to the police. Kendra winds up being drawn into the investigation, which grows to include a number of other murders that initially masquerade as accidents, because they all contain copycat qualities of cases she’s worked on in the past. While the killer taunts Kendra, she attempts to protect her loved ones from the killer’s gruesome game as she and the authorities track him down.
Sight Unseen blends the authors’ writing styles seamlessly and the pacing and suspense won’t let you put the book down. I read Sight Unseen straight through, unable to tear myself away from the action and the questions about what was going to happen next … and who was going to do it. As a mystery/thriller addict and author, I seldom read a book where I can’t figure out whodunnit. I’m very pleased to report this book stumped me.
Run right out and buy Sight Unseen – I can’t recommend it highly enough! (P.S. I just purchased two previous Iris/Roy collaborations.)
Sight Unseen by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015
REVIEW: THE NAKED EYE BY IRIS JOHANSEN & ROY JOHANSEN (AUDIO)
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Title: The Naked Eye
Author: Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen
Series: Kendra Michaels, #3
Narrator: Elisabeth Rodgers
Published: July 2015, Brilliance Audio
Length: 10 hours 23 minutes
Source: Publisher
The #1 New York Times bestselling author and the Edgar Award winning author are back with a new a new novel featuring Kendra Michaels—hired gun for both the CIA and FBI.
It’s been four months since the events of SIGHT UNSEEN, and Kendra Michaels is obsessed with trying to track down serial killer Eric Colby. Despite his apparent execution at San Quentin, Kendra is convinced that Colby is still alive. The trouble is, she can’t prove it. Even her razor-sharp powers of observation, honed while blind during the first twenty years of her life, have gotten her nowhere. So no one believes her.
Then out of the blue she gets a call from the Sheriff of Olancha, California, about a young woman being held on a drunk and disorderly charge who lists Kendra as her emergency contact. It’s Eve Duncan’s sister, Beth Avery, who after being wrongfully institutionalized for five years has been living on the road and trying to figure out her life. Kendra can identify, having gone through a similar period of self-discovery after gaining her sight, and she takes Beth home to San Diego with her.
But the murder of a police detective who had once very openly crossed swords with Kendra is about to complicate her life even further. She visits the crime scene in search of anything that might provide a link to Colby and instead finds evidence that links the crime to her. Finally Colby’s master plan becomes clear: he is framing Kendra for a brutal cop-killing.
Suspicions mount along with the body count, and Kendra is thrust into spine-tingling pursuit to clear her name and find the killer no one believes exists anymore. Beth joins her on her quest, and agent-for-hire Adam Lynch soon follows. And they get help from another friend anxious to repay her debt to Kendra… none other than Eve Duncan herself.
My thoughts: With each new book I read or listen to by Iris Johansen, I am reminded just how well she can spin a story and how well she is able to interwine her series - something I happen to love, especially since I really love all three of the series that she 'borrows' characters from. This is where I firmly believe reading series in order and being current on all three of these series (Eve Duncan, Catherine Ling and Kendra Michaels) will keep you as up-to-date on everyone as possible - you just never know who is going to show up in an Iris Johansen book!
Kendra Michaels seems to be fighting an uphill battle in this book - she is positive that the serial killer from the previous book, Eric Colby, is not only not dead, but wants to play a game of cat and mouse with her. He has continued with his murder spree, but is now making it appear as if she is the guilty party. Can she stop him and get the FBI to believe her before it's too late?
Helping Kendra out, though not at her request, is none other than Beth Avery, Eve Duncan's sister. It appears that Kendra is Beth's emergency contact and had gotten herself into a bit of trouble. I loved the interactions between these two - both are quite stubborn and each want to protect the other. There are a few other familiar faces - if you've read any of the previous books - Sam the computer geek, who I love and who happens to have a thing for Beth, and Adam Lynch. The scene when Adam finds Sam in his apartment was hysterical!!! I love that Kendra and Adam continue to dance around each other - something is definitely there between them and hopefully it happens soon!
This book moves fast and kept me hooked the entire time. The way the clues come at them, the twists and turns, the pacing, it all combines together for a thrilling read and I can't wait for the next installment. In the meantime, I'll be reading/listening to Iris Johansen's new Eve Duncan trilogy so as to not miss any character development that might be referred to in the next Kendra Michaels book!
Audio thoughts: I just love listening to Elisabeth Rodgers narrate these books. She narrates almost all of Iris Johasen's books and I think she does a great job with them. She is able to give each of the characters their own voices and her pacing adds just the right amount of tension and even a sense of suspense when needed to the book. I hope she continues narrating not only this series but the others as well!
Review: Night Watch by Iris & Roy Johansen
KRISTEN HOUGHTON
Night Watch by Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen (Kendra Michaels Series #4)
Night Watch by Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen (Kendra Michaels Series #4)
Night Watch by Iris and Roy Johansen is book #4 in the Kendra Michaels series (Available October 25, 2016).
Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen are a mother-and-son duo who created the character of Kendra Michaels, a hired gun for both the CIA and FBI, and Night Watch is the latest in the popular series. The premise of the series—a blind woman has her sight restored by a researcher working for an organization called the Night Watch Project, thus giving her a new life—is intriguing and exciting.
Kendra Michaels is a person whose senses are keen and on-target. Having been sightless for twenty years, her other senses—hearing, smell, taste, touch—are, in a sense, super-charged. Combine that with the new gift of sight she receives, and you have an investigator with a powerful edge.
Kendra Michaels spent the first twenty years of her life living in darkness. Then, thanks to a revolutionary medical procedure developed by England’s Night Watch Project, she was given the gift of sight. Her highly-developed senses (honed during her years in the dark), combined with her new found vision, have made her a remarkable investigator, sought after by law-enforcement agencies all over the country. But her newest case becomes deeply personal as she uncovers the truth about the shadowy organization that has given her so much.
She is surprised when she is visited by Dr. Charles Waldridge, the researcher who gave her sight. All is not well with the brilliant surgeon; he’s troubled by something he can’t discuss with Kendra. When Waldridge disappears the very night he visits her, Kendra is on the case.
Kendra is a highly resourceful character who teams up with government agent-for-hire Adam Lynch to help her find Waldridge. Together, they follow a trail to a gruesome discovery—the corpse of one of Dr. Waldridge’s associates and the deadly secret of Night Watch. Who will be next, and what is the Night Watch Project hiding? What secret is so potent that someone must be killed to protect it?
Their search leads readers into a white-knuckle confrontation with a deadly enemy who will push Kendra to the limits of her abilities. Not only must she try to unearth the shocking secret of Night Watch, the organization responsible for giving her sight, but she must fight for her own survival.
Without giving away spoilers to readers, the storyline is compelling as it follows Kendra to the snow-covered mountains of California on a chase that puts her life in danger and leads to the ugly truth concerning the organization called Night Watch. The hunt between predator and prey intensifies as the story builds, with mounting suspense, to a reader’s satisfying conclusion.
Though Night Watch is the fourth book in the Kendra Michaels series, it can stand alone as a novel due to the solid insertion of flashbacks that describe the life-changing procedure that gave Kendra her sight. Not having read the previous books will not diminish the reader’s understanding of the characters and the situations.
Filled with frightening twists and terrifying turns, this book is intrigue at its best.
Sight Unseen
Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. St. Martin's, $27.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1250020529
MORE BY AND ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
In this edgy sequel to Close Your Eyes (2012) from the bestselling mother/son Johansens, Dr. Kendra Michaels, a music therapist who was born blind but regained her sight at age 20, uses her acute senses of smell and hearing, as well as her extraordinary aptitude for reading people and interpreting crime scenes, to track ann unusual serial killer. When four people die in a three-car pileup on San Diego's Cabrillo Bridge, Kendra immediately realizes this was an act of murder. Furthermore, the staged-accident bears the hallmarks of another case of hers in Texas. At a meeting at San Diego's FBI headquarters, she learns of two other recent murders whose details mirror previous cases she has worked on. Other homicides connected to Kendra's past cases follow. When the current crimes are linked implausibly to a serial killer awaiting execution on death row, she has to face the first killer she put away. Kendra gets ample opportunities to display her deductive skills, fend off the advances of dangerously attractive former FBI agent Adam Lynch, and risk all to protect and save those she loves in this flashy romantic thriller. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (July)
DETAILS
Reviewed on: 07/28/2014
Release date: 07/01/2014
Open Ebook - 336 pages - 978-1-250-02053-6
Compact Disc - 9 pages - 978-1-4805-2612-9
MP3 CD - 978-1-4805-2619-8
Compact Disc - 978-1-4805-2617-4
MP3 CD - 978-1-4805-2614-3
Compact Disc - 978-1-4915-2639-2
MP3 CD - 978-1-4805-2616-7
Compact Disc - 978-1-4915-9895-5
Compact Disc - 978-1-4805-2615-0
Mass Market Paperbound - 368 pages
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-4915-3322-2
Library Binding - 431 pages - 978-1-62899-233-5
NIGHT WATCH
by Roy Johansen
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KIRKUS REVIEW
An unorthodox investigator is desperate to save her beloved mentor from possible death.
Music therapist Kendra Michaels has every reason to be grateful to Dr. Charles Waldridge. Born blind, she can now see because of an experimental surgery developed by Waldridge and his colleagues in England’s Night Watch Project. All the years of her blindness allowed her to develop amazing skills in hearing, smelling, and noticing tiny details others would miss. In the past she’s helped the FBI and former agent Adam Lynch, whom she holds at arm’s length even though he’s deeply in love with her. After Kendra (Close Your Eyes, 2012, etc.) has dinner with Waldridge, who claims to be visiting California to raise funds, he goes missing . Kendra works with the police and FBI to find him but also calls on Lynch’s special resources. Another member is soon added to the team: tough ex-Army private investigator Jessie Mercado, whom Waldridge had hired to watch one of his colleagues. A friend of Lynch’s who’s following up on the Night Watch project in England is killed soon after sending him some puzzling photos of a lab in a supposedly empty factory. At length Kendra realizes that the project Waldridge is working on has something to do with creating working organs and that someone is using all means available to force him to reveal his secrets. Despite dire warnings from Lynch and Jessie, she insists on taking part in a dangerous rescue attempt.
Despite the requisite mysterious evildoers and violence, this thriller remains curiously unsatisfying, perhaps because the formidable skills the heroine displays don’t include common sense.
Pub Date: Oct. 25th, 2016
ISBN: 9781250075970
Page count: 352pp
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3rd, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15th, 2016
LOOK BEHIND YOU
by Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen
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KIRKUS REVIEW
A serial killer runs amok in San Diego in Johansen and Johansen’s latest to feature Sherlock-ian music therapist Kendra Michaels.
Kendra (Night Watch, 2016, etc.) was blind until she was 20, and her other senses are highly developed, making her an in-demand resource for the FBI and the CIA, so when FBI Special Agent Roland Metcalf and his new partner, Gina Carson, appear at her studio, asking for help tracking down a serial killer, she reluctantly agrees. The killer is leaving items at his crime scenes that don’t seem to fit, and it’s not long before they’re linked to past crimes. Metcalf assembles a team of detectives who may have come up against the killer’s grisly work in the past, while Kendra calls on a friend, tough-as-nails PI Jessie Mercado, for assistance. When former FBI agent Adam Lynch, fresh off a freelance assignment in China, insists on helping, Kendra, who has resisted getting involved with him despite his feelings for her, reluctantly agrees, and the game is afoot. Kendra is an interesting protagonist, and the push and pull between her and Adam adds spice, but stereotypes abound, especially in the group of cops, which includes the grizzled cop haunted by unsolved cases, a swaggering superstar who lays on the charm, and a young techie who dazzles with his cyberprowess. The killer’s narrative is interspersed throughout, and it’s easy to picture him as an old-timey villain twirling his mustache and laughing maniacally as he plots his next murder and sets his sights on Kendra. The authors do have a gift for zingy dialogue, and a booby trap the killer sets is inventive and genuinely scary. When the ample body count hits very close to home for Kendra and Co., they’ll of course need all their resources to catch him.
The authors tick off all the thriller boxes and then some, but they offer nothing new to distinguish this book in a crowded field.
Pub Date: July 18th, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-07598-7
Page count: 352pp
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 2nd, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15th, 2017
Book Review: “Close Your Eyes” by Iris Johansen/Roy Johansen
August 1, 2015 at 7:07 pm | Posted in Books | 2 Comments
Tags: Book Review, Fiction, Thriller
Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen in their new book, “Close Your Eyes book coverClose Your Eyes” Book One in the Kendra Michaels series published by St. Martin’s Press introduces us to Kendra Michaels.
From the back cover: WHAT YOU DON’T SEE…
Blind for the first twenty years of her life, Kendra Michaels honed her other senses to almost superhuman perfection–and unintentionally became a secret weapon for the FBI. Her uncanny ability to pick up the most subtle audio, olfactory, and tactile cues in the world around her made her a law-enforcement legend. Today, her expertise is called for once again.
CAN KILL YOU.
When Kendra is approached by a dubious source about a serial murder investigation, her instincts tell her to steer clear. This time, however, the case is personal: The next name to turn up on the killer’s hit list is Kendra’s own ex-lover, an FBI agent who disappeared without a trace. Now it’s up to Kendra to pick up the trail–or close her eyes again…forever.
Yes, it is true, this type of character has been done before, not only in books but the movies and comics as well. Having said that let me assure you that up until now it has not been done like this before. Kendra Michaels is a unique character. Yes, she was blind and trained her other four senses to heightened awareness to compensate. Now that she has her eyesight restored Kendra is like a super weapon that is invaluable in law enforcement. There is a lot going on in this book. There are multiple murders, Kendra’s ex-lover is missing and there seems to be a high-level conspiracy involving multi millions of dollars. The family Johansen have given us a very clever mystery thriller that is going to have you reading just as fast as you can trying to keep up with what happens next.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from TLC Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
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Kendra Michaels is reluctant to help the FBI with the most recent case they've brought to her...until she hears the details: The body was found just blocks away from Kendra’s condo. The man was carrying an envelope with Kendra’s name on it, and inside was an SD card with what appears to be an innocuous video of a wedding reception. And just one week before the attempted delivery of this mysterious video, the groom in the video was murdered.
As the body count rises, Kendra joins forces with private investigator Jessie Mercado and agent-for-hire Adam Lynch as they discover that each victim played a part in convicting a serial killer years before. Someone has clearly taken up his mantle to exact a sadistic form of vengeance. But who is it? A family member? An old partner? Or is it possible that the wrong man was convicted and the serial killer himself has returned to continue his sick spree?
In Double Blind, Iris and Roy Johansen deliver an emotional, gripping new entry in the bestselling Kendra Michaels series.