Review: No One to Trust by Iris Johansen

No One to Trust by Iris Johansen
Release Date: August 26th, 2003
Publisher: Bantam
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary

He is the most terrifying of killers: ruthless, cunning, charismatic. And he has the means to get whatever he wants. And what Rico Chavez wants most is Elena Kyler--and he wants her dead. Trained as an assassin, Elena didn’t need anyone to survive. But now she finds herself on the run from one dangerous man and turning for help to another.

Sean Galen was a man without illusions. He knew it was only desperation that caused Elena to accept his help--a mother’s desperation to save her young son from a psychopath father who would raise their son in his own chilling image. And yet he was determined to get this woman who had never been able to trust anyone or anything in her whole life to accept him as her ally. But both Galen and Elena know that Chavez’s power and wealth mean there is no place they can be safe and no one they can trust--not even each other. Already Chavez’s assassins and connections to those in the highest positions of power have turned this into a war with no rules.

With two shocking acts of brutal violence, Chavez shows he will stop at nothing and that nothing will stop him. Soon a trail of horrifying murders will follow Galen and Elena across country to a last stand and a shattering showdown. For Chavez is a master of control and he wants more than just to take Elena’s life. He wants her alive long enough to see him destroy every reason she has for living. He wants her to turn against everything and everyone she ever believed in. He wants her to commit the ultimate act of betrayal. And by the time he is through, he wants her to beg him to take the only thing she’ll have left to give: her life.

No One to Trust was surprisingly good. I was a little worried about giving Johansen a second chance after having most of my alarms set off when I read the The Killing Game. This book, while set in the same universe, was so much better in so many ways. 

For starters the female lead was incredibly likable in a way Eve perhaps wasn’t. The way Elena grew up hardened her. She was not a female lead to pity but one to admire. I was fascinated by how strong she was. She was kick ass in a way that I, as a reader, haven’t come across often. She was willing to do whatever it took to keep her child safe but she wasn’t ruthless, she just did what she had to survive. It wasn’t the bad ass in her that was willing to walk over anyone but the mother in her that would do anything she had to in order to protect her son. She was vulnerable but she tried to overcome her faults. Most importantly, in spite of her kickassedness, she wasn’t afraid to ask for help when she needed it, after making sure the person was trustworthy of course.

Sean was very interesting. I was surprised by how easily he developed feelings for Elena but I loved how he never pushed her. He made his feelings very clear but he also made it clear that he didn’t expect anything in return. He knew she would walk over him if she had to to protect her son. It’s very easy to admire a lead who respects the female lead and doesn’t view her as an object to protect. Instead he views her as a person who is more than capable of killing him but he wants to take care of her because no one else has.

The romance between the two, despite the fact that it came out of nowhere (not necessarily insta.. but just.. yeah), was very well done. Elena is bound to have intimacy issues, and yes they weren’t cured in one go. It took her a while to finally let go and they had to work to get to the point. She didn’t just wake up ‘cured’. One of the things I really loved was how their hotness was not in fact emphasized. Sean’s handsomeness was mentioned in passing but the focus was clearly on their personalities so it was easy to see why they would fall in love with one another and it was easy to admire the romance. 

The secondary characters were a definite plus which is why I was disappointed by some of the twists this book took. Another drawback for me as a reader was the fact that it was set in the same world as the Eve Duncan series. I usually wouldn’t mind so much but seeing that I don’t feel any tenderness towards the characters in that series, it becomes somewhat of an issue.

The suspense itself was nicely developed and the book kind of just flew by in a way that didn’t feel rushed.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick entertaining read to help them cool off. 

The Killing Game by Iris Johansen

Title: The Killing Game
Author: Iris Johansen
Series: Eve Duncan #2
Release Date: May 2nd, 2000
Publisher: Bantam
Buy: Amazon

Goodreads Summary

A MERCILESS KILLER ON THE HUNT ... AN INNOCENT CHILD IN HIS SIGHTS ... A WOMAN DRIVEN TO THE EDGE TO STOP HIM ...

The killer knows Eve Duncan all too well. He knows the pain she feels for her murdered daughter, Bonnie, whose body has never been found. He knows that as one of the nation's top forensic sculptors she'll insist on identifying the nine skeletons unearthed on a bluff near Georgia's Talladega Falls. He knows she won't be able to resist the temptation of believing that one of those skeletons might be her daughter's. But that is only the beginning of the killer's sadistic game. He wants Eve one on one, and he'll use his ace in the hole to make sure she complies. And he won't stop playing until he claims the prize he wants most: Eve's life.

WARNING RANT AHEAD

After tossing and turning all night, I decided that I would set my mind free and lower the rating to this book. The rational side of me decided to come out and point out everything that was wrong with this book and why giving this book a rating of 4 would be a horrible idea. 

Yes I'll admit my main problem with this book was the romance. Before you label me as a fool who pays more attention to the romance then to the actual mystery, listen (read). You see when I picked up this series, I picked it up with the hopes of not having to deal with a romance, of course a slight one wouldn't hurt, but I really did not want to deal with a romance. In the first book, things were in my favor, there was a hint of a romance but that was not the focus. In this book it became the life of the novel (for at least me). I think the main reason for this is that when I see a flaw, thats all I can think off. I cannot concentrate on anything else.

Things were going well in the beginning, despite the fact that I thought Joe was acting like a pushover, but when he decided he didn't just want to be her friend anymore, things started going downhill.

It's not because I didn't want them together, of course I did, I had been rooting for them since the first book, but the problem was that gone was the soft and caring yet badass Joe I cared for, in his place was an aggressive asshole. 

And all my mental detectors started beeping. I am sure an aggressive guy who will do anything for his girl is considered hot but I really cannot stand men like that. It's kind of demeaning. That wasn't all of it though, there was this part in the book (SPOILER ALERT) where he forced himself onto Eve. THAT WAS NOT COOL! She actually said no but he had to show her that she needed him. (excuse me while I take a minute to calm down).

Okay back to Joe. That killed Joe for me, any feelings that I had left for him at that point evaporated. The next blow came when he told Eve why he married Diane. I could kill Joe. Poor Diane for having to deal with an asshole like him. I mean who marries someone so that they can give someone they actually love a girl friend? Oh wait... JOE DOES! My heart broke for Diane. I don't even know if I have words to explain how much that bothered me, it was enough for me to want to go punch Joe (not kill him of course, I am not that violent).

Of course with everything I am saying, it may seem like I would have preferred Logan as a love interest, this however is not the case and this is also the main reason I won't be continuing this series. 

You see when I was first introduced to Logan I really wanted him to not be the stupid cliche billionaire who falls in love with a down to earth/broken girl. I wasn't looking to read a cliche. I wanted something different. 

When I finished this book, I was hoping that when I went into the next book I wouldn't have to deal with any of this romance shit since it had been sorted out but unfortunately I wasn't that fortunate (I am getting this all from the synopsis of the next book, I haven't actually read it). It turns out there is going to be a passionate romance between Logan and Sarah. I don't think I can read the rest of the series when I am so busy hating on the characters. Seriously, the only character I managed to like by the end of this book was little Mike and we barely saw anything of him. 

I am still giving this a three because I did enjoy it and it would be unfair to give it a 1 (despite of how much I want to give it that rating).