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Book Review of Eight Days to Live (Eve Duncan, Bk 10)

Eight Days to Live (Eve Duncan, Bk 10)
LazerFlash avatar reviewed on + 41 more book reviews


This is the second book in the three-book arc that began with "Blood Game" and ends with "Chasing The Night". IMO, this is the best of the three. My only real complaint with this novel is that it is really only an "Eve Duncan" story in the very minimal sense of the words. Eve is very much on the periphery of the story; the central character is Eve's adopted daughter, Jane. Some might find that a major fault, I actually find it a bit refreshing.

Ms. Johansen has been introducing new characters throughout the series. This novel not only continues the tale of the very unusual Seth Caleb, (introduced in "Blood Game"), but reacquaints us with Jock Gavin, John MacDuff and the ever-present CIA spook Venable. She does an excellent job of weaving a tale that combines religious fanaticism, greed, human sacrifice and a millenia-old cult that worships Judas Iscariot. More than any of her other novels, this one takes the concept of good versus evil - or rather evil in the name of perceived good - and shoves it right in your face.

This novel is long! It's almost 400 pages of single-spaced text. (Compare that to "Blood Game" which was barely 350 double-spaced pages.) Even so, the story moves fast and I found myself riveted at more than one point. One thing that stood out to me in this novel: Ms. Johansen took a lot of time and effort to not only flesh out a totally believable fictional Judas cult, but also build a criminal enterprise, as well as concoct all of the clues to allow Jane to find the one religious relic that will give her the leverage she needs to defeat those who want to sacrifice her.

As with many novels in a series, it's often a bad idea to read one without having read some of the ones that have come before. "Eight Days To Live" may be an exception to that rule. If you're an Eve Duncan fan, you won't want to miss this book. If you've never read one before, you'll still enjoy this one by itself.