Most Popular Books by Iris Johansen

When her mentor, Hu Chang, tasks her with rescuing an imprisoned journalist in Tibet, shadowy CIA operative Catherine Ling is pitted against a man so vile that she wonders if she is being used as a pawn in a game of revenge that is not hers to play.

In Close Your Eyes, The New York Times bestselling duo Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen are back with a suspenseful novel about a once-blind woman with a talent for tracking serial killers The FBI doesn''t usually consult with music therapists to solve their cases. But Kendra Michael''s astonishing powers of observation and analysis have made her a favorite of law enforcement agencies all across the country. Blind for the first twenty years of her life, she cares little for investigative work but can''t deny her unique skill, or the results she''s been able to facilitate. Kendra learned at an early age to become hyper-aware of her surroundings, perfecting the art of picking up the most subtle audio, olfactory, and tactile cues in the world around her. Like a secret weapon, she is in high demand. Former FBI agent Adam Lynch, known as The Puppetmaster, has weapons of his own. He''s a notorious master manipulator, skillfully handling criminals and colleagues alike to get the results he wants. Now he needs Kendra''s special brand of help, but she''s not interested until Lynch reveals that Agent Jeff Stedler—Kendra''s ex—is missing and may have run directly into the path of a serial killer. What began as a heinous murder investigation escalates into something even larger and more frightening: a multi-million dollar conspiracy to hide a secret that''s worth killing for, again and again and again.

She wanted to save lives. The killer wanted to end hers. The first warning was triggered hundreds of miles away. The second warning exploded only yards from where she and her son stood. Now Kate Denby realizes the frightening truth: She is somebody''s target. Danger has arrived in Kate''s backyard with a vengeance. And the gifted scientist is awakening to a nightmare world where a ruthless killer is stalking her...where her innocent son is considered expendable...and where the medical research to which she has devoted her life is the same research that could get her killed. Her only hope of protecting her family and making that medical breakthrough is to elude her enemy until she can face him on her own ground, on her own terms—and destroy him.

Forensic Sculptor Eve Duncan''s mission is to bring closure to the families whose loved ones have vanished. She knows their anguish – her own beloved daughter, Bonnie, was taken from her when Bonnie was just seven years old. It is only recently that this mystery was resolved and Eve could begin her journey to peace. Now Jim Doane wants the same kind of answers that Eve always longed for. His twenty-five-year-old son may or may not be dead, and he has only burned skull fragments as possible evidence. But he cannot go to the police for answers without risking his own secrets and exposing his dark past, so instead he chooses a bold step to find the truth – a truth that takes Eve down a twisted path of madness and evil and into the darkest heart of her own history. Doane needs Eve Duncan''s skills and he''ll do anything to get them.Even if it means ''taking Eve''.

She expected sunshine and balmy breezes. What she saw was everyone''s worst nightmare. Bess Grady has heard the unmistakable sound before. She knows what it means. But not even the eerie lament of the howling dogs can prepare her for what has taken place in the small village. The seasoned photojournalist had been sent there on an easy assignment, and now she has stumbled upon something she was never meant to see. Amid chaos and fear, she joins forces with an intimidating stranger, a man whose alliances are unclear but whose methods have a way of leaving bodies in his wake. For what she has witnessed is only the first stage in a plan of terror that may kill us all. And she has no choice but to stop it—or die trying....

With Open Eyes, an original short story from The New York Times bestselling duo, Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen Blind for the first twenty years of her life, Kendra Michaels learned at an early age to become hyper-aware of her surroundings, perfecting the art of picking up the most subtle audio, olfactory, and tactile cues in the world around her. Kendra''s astonishing powers of observation and analysis have made her a favorite of law enforcement agencies all across the country. She cares little for investigative work but can''t deny her unique skill, or the results she''s been able to facilitate. Like a secret weapon, she is in high demand, but her talents are put to the test when her mentor calls on her to help solve a mysterious disappearance and she uncovers one explosive secret that not even the police want her to find.

When it comes to Eve Duncan, never say never... IS SHE DEAD OR ALIVE? That is the question on everybody''s lips. Eve appears to have been the victim of James Doane, the psychopath who kidnapped her and forced her to use her skills as a forensic sculptor to reconstruct the skull of his depraved son. That''s what everyone attending her funeral thinks, at least. But not even some of her top-brass colleagues know for sure whether her death is a hoax - a way to ensnare her brutal captor once and for all. But even if Eve really is still alive, how much longer can this charade continue before she falls into even greater danger? CIA agent Catherine Ling will waste no time in trying to find out. Years ago, Eve risked everything to help Catherine find her missing son. Now Catherine, along with Eve''s beloved Joe Quinn and Jane MacGuire, will go to the ends of the earth to save her.

Number-one New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen delivers a thriller that will chill you to the core: Eve Duncan''s adopted daughter Jane has been targeted by a mysterious cult who has decided that she has only eight days to live 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?

C.1 GIFT. 11-09-2010. $7.99.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Final Target, Iris Johansen raises the stakes and the heart rate with this relentless thriller that follows the harrowing trail of a ruthless killer on the hunt—and the woman who is determined to hunt him down. 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.

Another one freed by the truth.

He was a dangerously seductive stranger . . . Jon Sandell. Confident, controlled, a man with many secrets—and one remarkable power: the ability to read a woman''s mind, to touch her soul, to know her every waking desire. Who rocked her world . . . Now he''s on a vital mission: to rescue a woman who doesn''t even know she''s in danger from the ruthless agents who wish her harm. But who will protect her from him? With breathless intrigue . . . Alone in her ivy-covered cottage, Elizabeth Ramsey welcomes Jon''s sudden appearance, for he is a link to the husband she loved and tragically lost. Until this mesmerizing stranger reveals his true intentions: to lure her from her ordered home and into his violent, passionate, precarious world. . . . And desperate desire. . . . Soon, alone in a secluded mountain lodge, Elizabeth will walk a glittering tightrope between fear and fascination, unable to tell friend from foe, lover from enemy. Caught in a sensual game of love and lies, she must find the truth before she loses her life.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen comes a classic tale of excitement, risk, and romance, as two people make a connection so unexpected and so intimate, it may have consequences for a lifetime. Gorgeous Hollywood stunt double Kendra Michaels is vying for the job of her life—a high-paying, high-risk jump that will clear the debt on her brother’s medical bills. Casey Michaels was a stuntman himself until a job went tragically wrong. Now Kendra is prepared to take the same chance. There’s just one man standing in her way, a man whose irresistible magnetism seduced her in ways she’d never experienced—and never before surrendered to.... Director Joel Damon gets what he wants. And he wants Kendra. But the explosive attraction he feels at the mere sight of her is entirely new to him, and it hasn’t disappeared, not since their one unforgettable night together—and not since Joel discovered she wasn’t the experienced starlet he’d mistaken her for. Now he’s determined to extend that night into many more. But he’ll have to keep Kendra alive to do it, even if it ruins her career. For he has bigger plans in mind for her than she ever imagined.

In this classic novel, New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen spins a marvelous love story about a world-class figure skater, her distant, demanding mentor, and the high-stakes competition that could bring them together at last—or put all their dreams on ice. WHITE SATIN On the smooth, silvery surface of the ice skating rink, Dany Alexander cuts a figure of strength and fire, beauty and grace. One man alone is responsible for Dany’s success: Anthony Malik, a former skating star who has managed her career for the past sixteen years. And for all that time, deep within his fortress of money, sex, and power, Anthony has found his attraction for Dany growing more intense. Now he wants Dany—not as a prodigy, but as a lover. Part guru, part taskmaster, and total mystery, Anthony is adept at finding out things about Dany that she’s kept hidden—even from herself. The depth of his desire for her can’t be denied. But what about Dany’s own need to get to know her mentor as the man he really is? With the Olympics just weeks away, an extraordinary contest of wills has begun. It could culminate in a crushing fall, or the greatest prize of all.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen gives readers plenty of heat in a sultry tale of love and betrayal in the hot desert sun. Four years ago, after Cory Brandel’s passionate affair with Sheikh Damon El Karim ended, she gave birth to his son—and kept it secret from him. When Damon finds out the truth, he kidnaps the boy and takes him across the world to his desert kingdom, knowing Cory will follow. Damon vows to punish Cory for depriving him of his son and heir, but does he really mean to imprison her in his palace until she surrenders to him? It is savage, unthinkable—but because she is fighting for her son, Cory has no choice. Time seems to have deepened the alarming heat of her attraction to this desert pirate, and Cory knows he has only to stoke her body and she will go up in flames. In rage, Damon had intended to bind Cory to him by force, but instead he is bewildered by his need for her touch. Until now, Cory never understood Damon’s loneliness, but is she strong enough to give him the enduring love that he needs?

Now, from nationally best-selling Iris Johansen comes a thrilling tale of abduction, seduction, and surrender that sweeps from the shimmering halls of Regency England to the decadent haunts of a notorious rogue... She was a hostage torn between passion and loyalty... Marianna Sanders realized she could not trust this dark and savagely seductive stranger who had come to spirit her away across the sea. She possessed a secret that could topple an empire, a secret that Jordan Draken, the duke of Cambaron, was determined to wrest from her. In the eyes of the world the arrogant duke was her guardian, but they both knew she was to be a prisoner in his sinister plot—and a slave to his exquisite pleasure. He was the fabulous rake they called the Duke of Diamonds... For years, brilliant, deadly Jordan Draken had schemed to destroy the emperor who threatened everything he valued most in the world. Now that he held this defiant woman who was the key to his final triumph, he felt a fierce sense of satisfaction...and the first stirring of desire. She was only supposed to be a pawn in his plans, but once alone with his captive, Jordan realized she was a prize he could never surrender.

After eight years of raising her daughter Frankie on a horse farm in Tallanville, Tennessee, single mother Grace Archer finds her life shattered by the dark secrets of the past, forcing her to resume an old identity and to join forces with a former ally to take on a cunning and deadly enemy. (Suspense)

If fate suddenly made you more beautiful that you ever dreamed possible, would it be the beginning of a fairy tale, or your worst nightmare? The brutal attack should have killed anybody, but Nell Calder did more than survive. She emerged a woman transformed, with an exquisite beauty found only in fairy tales. Nell Calder deserved a happy ending. Instead, her descent into terror has just begun. Her attacker is still on the hunt, determined to finish what he''s started. And Nell, protected by a new face, is just as determined to fight back and take her revenge. But to catch her prey, she will have to expose herself—even if it makes her a killer''s prime target.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen comes a simmering, sensual story of a powerful man who will do anything to capture the voice—and heart—of a talented soprano. Jason Hayes isn’t used to hearing the word “no”—not from performers, not from critics, and certainly not from women. He is the greatest composer the stage has seen in a century, and musicians and actors the world over covet his roles. So when the woman he wants—needs—to play Desdemona in his musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello turns down the role, he launches a relentless campaign to win her over—and maybe even secure her heart, too. Daisy Justine has a powerful gift, a sweet soprano voice with beauty to match. She desperately wants to accept the role Jason Hayes has offered her; it would be the job of a lifetime. And there is an undeniable, vibrant magnetism between them—a current that both thrills and frightens her. But she absolutely cannot go to New York with Jason, and she can’t tell him why—unless her body betrays her. Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: The Notorious Lady Anne, Along Came Trouble, and Strictly Business.

Eve Duncan is a forensic sculptor goes to South America to help a drug lord in need of her services, after he offers to help her find her seven-year-old daughters body and killer.