Author: Iris Johansen
Pages: 295
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2010
Synopsis: Eve Duncan and her adopted daughter, Jane MacGuire, are pitted against the members of a secretive cult who have targeted Jane and have decided that she will be their ultimate sacrifice. In eight days they will come for her. In eight days, what Jane fears the most will become a reality. In eight days, she will die. It all begins with a painting that Jane, an artist, displays in her Parisian gallery. The painting is called "Guilt" and Jane has no idea how or why she painted the portrait of the chilling face. But the members of a cult that dates back to the time of Christ believe that Jane's blasphemy means she must die. But first, she will lead them to an ancient treasure whose value is beyond price. This elusive treasure, and Jane's death, are all that they need for their power to come to ultimate fruition. With Eve's help, can Jane escape before the clock stops ticking?
Review: In this, the tenth book of the Eve Duncan series, it becomes more obvious that Jane MacGuire is going to be the main character in at least some of the future books in this series. I'm not surprised. It's been coming for a book or two because, really, how many adventures can Eve have before it becomes unbelievable?
Eve and her husband, Joe, are still in the book. But I believe that Jane and Caleb, her soon-to-be-lover, will be more important as the series continues. I'm fine with that because they are both very interesting characters and very different from Eve and Joe.
The storyline was really original. A cult that worships Judas Iscariot with human sacrifice is after Jane for painting a picture of a man she sees in her dreams. The man in her painting, it would seem, is none other than Judas. Judas is their deity because, without his treachery against Jesus, God's will for his son to be killed for humankind's salvation would never have taken place. Judas' betrayal was actually God's will. Certainly, the cult members were, in some instances, sadistic and insane and in every instance evil, but their belief that Judas was misunderstood was thought-provoking and made a sort of sense. I will probably do some research soon to see if any scholars have thoughts on this side of the Judas issue.
This was a quick read, as all these books are. I really like this author and look forward to the next installment.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
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