Quicksand

Title: Quicksand

Author: Iris Johansen

Genre: Mystery, thriller

Rating: A-

Blurb: "Do you still miss your little Bonnie?"

This one sentence, spoken by a madman in an anonymous phone call, is all it takes to drag Eve Duncan right back to that horrifying day when her only daughter vanished without a trace. Since that day, her life has become an obsession to find Bonnie's remains and put the pain of her death at rest. However, one man wants nothing more than to prevent that from happening. He is every woman's waking nightmare: a brilliant, ruthless killer whose hunting ground stretches from coast to coast. But taunting Eve Duncan might be his first and last mistake...

For Eve is armed with more than just her talent as a forensic sculptor and her fierce protective nature. She brings with her former Navy SEAL Joe Quinn, an Atlanta detective who will do whatever it takes to bring Eve some kind of peace, even if he has to lie to her to do it.

Eve's only salvation may be through the mysterious skills of another woman whose chilling talent leaves her as tormented as Eve - and as driven to bring this monster to justice. But when lives are in danger, every step could be a trap, and every inch of solid ground seems to be shifting under their feet. And this killer wants nothing more than to lure Eve further and further into his swamp of madness...

Opinion: Quicksand is the latest in the Eve Duncan series, and sequel to Stalemate which was featured earlier. :) I really enjoy Iris Johansen novels because she writes very simply, but one thing which I find rather disappointing is that the plots are recurring. I can easily predict the ending of the novels and the way the plot will progress, and that's saying something for someone as dense as I am.

That said, she's not all dull and boredom. There is a slight twist of anticipation throughout the novel that keeps you reading and reading. The characters are well-developed, although Eve's anguish is beginning to grate away at me because, well, I keep expecting a fantastic discovery about her daughter and when I get to the end of the book, I feel all flat and disappointed because no, the leads were all false and therefore they are back to square one.

~rage-chan

A Voice in the Distance

Title: A Voice in the Distance

Author: Tabitha Suzuma

Genre: Psychology, slice-of-life

Rating: A-

Summary:In his final year at the Royal College of Music, star pianist Flynn Laukonen has the world at his feet. He has moved in with his girlfriend Jennah and is already getting concert bookings for what promises to be a glittering career. Yet he knows he is skating on thin ice - only two small pills a day keep him from plunging back into the whirlpool of manic depression that once threatened to destroy him. Unexpectedly his friends seem to be getting annoyed with him for no apparent reason, he needs less and less sleep, he is filled with unbridled energy. Events begin to spiral out of control and Flynn suddenly finds himself in hospital, heavily sedated, carnage left behind him. The medication isn't working any more, the dose needs to be increased, and depression strikes again, this time with horrific consequences. His freedom is snatched away and the medicine's side-effects threaten to jeopardize his chances in one of the biggest piano competitions of his life. It seems like he has to make a choice between the medication and his career. But in all this he has forgotten the one person he would give his life for, and Flynn suddenly finds himself facing the biggest sacrifice of all. Told in alternating chapters from both Flynn and Jennah's points of view, this is the breathtaking, poignant sequel to A Note of Madness. - Tabitha Suzuma's website

Opinion: I would've given it an A if not for the fact that the novel was written in two POVs this time - alternating between Flynn's POV and Jennah, his girlfriend's, POV. I already have a bit of dislike towards novels written using 'I' or in first POV - and seeing the sequel written back and forth made me frown. Sure, it gave depth to Jennah who was always 'Flynn's girlfriend' but since I thought that the novel was fine with just Flynn narrating it, I didn't appreciate that. :)

Still, that's not to say that it isn't an excellent book. It's a good sequel to 'A Note of Madness' and still a pleasure to read. I bawled my eyes out with this one - something I didn't do with the first book - especially at the ending (which I shall not reveal now XD). It touched me deeply and I can fully sympathize with Flynn - that's how real a character he is. He'll stay with you, hopefully. I can never see the word Flynn now and not think of Flynn Laukonen the piano genius who suffers from bipolar.

I love him. ^_^