Eve Duncan, a well-known and highly respected forensic sculptor, has just finished an extensive job in the African village of Maldara, recreating faces from the bones of children who were slaughtered by tomb raiders. She is living in seclusion there, as far away as possible from her nemesis, Adam Madlock, the current president of the United States.

Eve’s husband, Joe, and son, Michael, are in Scotland, where they too are in hiding. Madlock is a would-be dictator, out to destroy the US and assume full power. Eve and Joe are doing everything they can to escape his clutches while simultaneously trying to figure out ways to bring him down.

"As with the other Eve Duncan books, A FACE TO DIE FOR is filled with danger and suspense from the beginning and keeps building until the end."

The father of archaeologist Riley Smith was recently killed by a terrorist group led by Dakar, the leader of a band of tomb raiders, the same men who murdered the children of Maldara. Most historians believe that Helen of Troy never really existed, but not only were Riley and her father certain that she was a real historical figure, they had been looking for her final resting place and were convinced it was in Azerbaijan. They were fans of Eve’s extraordinary sculpting talents and wanted her to do the reconstruction of Helen’s face once her tomb was located. Even though her father is dead, Riley is on a mission to finish the search and “bring Helen back to life” via forensic sculpting.

At first, Eve is reluctant to get involved as she doesn’t believe in Helen’s existence. Also, leaving Maldara and traveling to Azerbaijan would certainly put her life in danger from Madlock and his cronies. But with additional encouragement, Eve decides to help Riley. In fact, she and her husband come up with a plan that they hope will bring Madlock down.

As with the other Eve Duncan books, A FACE TO DIE FOR is filled with danger and suspense from the beginning and keeps building until the end. While it’s possible to dive into this 28th installment without having read any of the previous entries, I highly recommend you savor this fascinating series from the beginning. Meanwhile, fans of Iris Johansen and her plucky protagonist will not have long to wait for #29; CAPTIVE releases on September 6th.