Part of the "Eve Duncan Forensics Thriller" Series ( )

Eve is contacted by Montalvo, a dangerous man out of Colombia, to do a reconstruction. At first, she refuses. But when he offers to help her find Bonnie...that changes things. Under the guise of protecting Joe, she leaves after he has gone to work, hoping that her moment of deceit doesn't undo their relationship.

And, on a fairly predictable note, Joe and Galen come to rescue Eve from herself. Upon meeting Joe and Galen in the jungle to talk it out, she and Joe are shot and wounded. Joe manages to knock her down at Galen's warning. Joe gets the brunt of the hit.

In pain and infuriated, Joe is now motivated by revenge to get Diaz, the man behind the hit, before he can hurt Eve. Eve is pushing to get the reconstruction done before Joe heals enough to after Diaz. Will they get out alive? Is this the end for Eve and Joe? Has Eve fallen for Montalvo?

This is one of the better titles with a few more twists and turns despite some of the obvious predictability.
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I found this book to be overall a decent read. Listening to it rather than physically reading it myself made for some enjoyable housework and drive time.

The Good Stuff: It was nice to get an Eve Duncan book that actually featured Eve Duncan. I do like her adopted daughter, Jane, but this series is not the Jane series and I was getting tired of having Jane be front and center. The suspense was really good as was the setting. For the most part the plot was solid...too bad the characters were not.

The Bad Stuff: At this juncture I'm over and done with Eve's obsession with her long dead Bonnie. I know one doesn't just get over the loss of a child but by this point Eve is making terrible judgement calls and putting herself in danger constantly in order to find that closure. This is not the Eve Duncan that I remember. Also Joe, an ex-FBI agent, makes some TSTL decisions and almost dies...twice. WTH?!? The combo of Eve and Joe was disastrous also. After this many years together why is Eve constantly shutting Joe out? Even the most independent and strong willed person, after being with someone for a decade or more, learns to lean on someone to make important life altering decisions. Not Eve. She pretty much lies and manipulates her way then sneaks off into the night like a thief. I almost hate her. Oh and the introduction of a potential "love interest" in the form of a Colombian drug lord for Eve...Give me a Break! So frustrating.

On the Audio: While I think Jennifer Van Dyck did an ok job narrating the book, her accents, in my opinion, were off. The Colombians almost sounded European. In addition a reoccurring character named Galen had an Irish brogue yet at one point I could have sworn the book said that he spoke in a British accent.

In a Nutshell: I'll probably continue with the series but only because I really want to read the whole Bonnie closure but honestly, I feel this series has just about run it's course. ( )

Poorly written -- spotty editing w/poor word choices -- fast read.

I got a Great Story and a Good dose of Forensic Science!

My good friend told me about this book, since she knew I got "hooked" on the field of forensic medicine after watching a certain tv show. Tv is fine, but for me nothing is better than a good novel that can weave a story around a subject that I'm interested in. Anyway I thought "Stalemate" was a fantastic novel and the forensic professor Eve Duncan was just the character I was looking for to keep me hooked on the field of forensic science. I was thrilled with the author's detailed descriptions of this field and way she just pulled me into this fascinating story. In summary, I really enjoyed Iris Johansen book. ( )