Blog Tour: The Naked Eye by Iris and Roy Johansen

Authors: Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date of publication: July 2015

Kendra Michaels was instrumental in bringing serial killer Eric Colby to justice. And yet, despite his apparent execution at San Quentin, Kendra is convinced that Colby is still alive. The problem is that she can’t prove it. Even her razor-sharp powers of observation-developed to an amazing capacity during the twenty years she spent blind and now in constant demand by law enforcement agencies-have gotten her nowhere.

But then a reporter who very publicly humiliated Kendra is murdered. Visiting the crime scene in search of anything that might link the brutal homicide to Colby, Kendra instead finds evidence that points to her. Finally Colby’s master plan becomes clear to her: he is framing Kendra for murder.

Suspicions mount and Kendra is thrust into deadly pursuit to clear her name and catch the killer no one believes exists anymore. A killer who is always nearby, watching, waiting to make his next move, even as everyone believes him to be dead. A killer whose trail of destruction is invisible to the naked eye, despite the carnage he leaves in his wake. It will take everything Kendra has to find and stop Colby-and save her own life one more time.

I'll start by saying that I went into this book not having read any of the books prior to this one.  It's the third in a series featuring Kendra Michaels.  For the most part, I thought it did a pretty good job as a stand alone, but there were times that I wished I had read the first couple to get more of a feel for the characters. Still, I really enjoyed The Naked Eye.  I felt like the story took off running and didn't let go until the end.

I loved Kendra.  I thought her to be a unique character as she had spent most of her early years blind. After groundbreaking surgery, she has gained her sight.  This has given her a cool ability to be extremely observant, which comes in handy in at crime scenes.  I loved how she could look at a scene and solve a crime in minutes.  That was pretty cool.  I also really liked the peripheral characters, especially Beth and Sam. I love me a geeky computer guy and a tough kick-ass woman! I will confess, I haven't read any of the Eve Duncan books, so I don't know the background on Beth and Eve, but this book has intrigued me enough to hunt them down.

The story involves Kendra's insistence that a serial killer she helped catch and have executed is still alive.  No one believes her.  This is where I kind of wished I had read the first books.  But the hunt for Colby was exciting and surprising, so I was able to let go of that regret.  I have read this mother/son team before in a stand alone before.  They make a great team!  I look forward to the Kendra's next case!

About the authors

IRIS JOHANSEN is The New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Witness, Live to See Tomorrow, Silencing Eve, Hunting Eve, Taking Eve, Sleep No More, What Doesn’t Kill You, Bonnie, Quinn, Eve, Chasing The Night, Eight Days to Live, Blood Game, Deadlock, Dark Summer, Pandora’s Daughter, Quicksand, Killer Dreams, On The Run, Countdown, Firestorm, Fatal Tide, Dead Aim, No One To Trust and more.

ROY JOHANSEN is an Edgar Award winning author and the son of Iris Johansen. He has written many acclaimed mysteries, including Deadly Visions, Beyond Belief and The Answer Man.

Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen have together written Close Your Eyes, Shadow Zone, Storm Cycle, and Silent Thunder.

Connect with Iris and Roy

Iris’s website | Roy’s website

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TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS for The Naked Eye:

Tuesday, July 14th: Books that Hook

Wednesday, July 15th: BookBub – author guest post

Monday, July 20th: Kimberly’s Bookshelf

Wednesday, July 22nd: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Thursday, July 23rd: From the TBR Pile

Monday, July 27th: Books a la Mode – author guest post

Tuesday, July 28th: Life is Story

Monday, August 3rd: Vic’s Media Room

Monday, August 3rd: I Wish I Lived in a Library

Wednesday, August 5th: Mallory Heart Reviews

Monday, August 10th: Lilac Reviews – mini reviews of Books 1 & 2

Friday, August 14th: FictionZeal

Friday, August 14th: Luxury Reading

Monday, August 17th: Lilac Reviews

Tuesday, August 18th: A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, August 20th: Kay’s Reading Life

Throwback Thursday: Strong, Hot Winds by Iris Johansen

Author:  Iris Johansen
First published in 1998 by Loveswept

Sheikh Damon El Karim had kidnapped her son Michael and taken him to Kasmara! Cory Brandel was filled with fury at his betrayal -- and shattered by guilt. She'd kept the child a secret from his father when her passionate affair with Damon had ended four years earlier, and now he had sworn revenge. He'd vowed to punish Cory for depriving him of his son, his heir, but could he really mean to imprison her in his palace and refuse to let her see Michael unless she surrendered to him? It was barbaric, savage, unthinkable -- and Cory had no choice but to go. 

Honestly, I'm not quite sure what to say about this one.  You can definitely tell that it is an older book by this author.  It is a bit dated and I don't think it stands up to the test of time.  I also think you have to keep in mind that it does take place in a country where they think a bit differently about women.  So, I guess part of that would hold up for today. 

I really didn't care for Damon or Cory.  Cory really had no right to keep her son from Damon. I also kind of lost a bit of respect for her putting her career before her son. She doesn't win mother of the year award by basically having her kid live with another family while she travels to world as a reporter. I lost some respect for her on that point.  Damon was a a royal tool (no pun intended) when he found out about the kid.  Kidnapping, what a way to a woman's heart!   I'm not sure why authors think that forced or coerced sex equals passion and love. I didn't buy it. This was a quick read.  I'd say skip it if you haven't read it.

Throwback Thursday: One Touch of Topaz & Tender Savage by Iris Johansen

 These two books are loosely related. While second one has a character from the first book, I think they could both be read as stand alone books.

The first in the older series is One Touch of Topaz (Loveswept, July 1988).  I'm not sure I liked this one all that much.  I didn't care for Samantha (Topaz). She was just too self sacrificing for me.  I'm not sure that a 15YO who witnessed the murder of her father and who had fought in a revolution for so long would be wiling to give up so much of herself for the sake of others.  It kind of got annoying after a while. 

I liked Fletcher a lot more.  He is an honorable man and can clearly see that Samantha needs to be rescued.  He fights his pull to her for so long only to realize her can't live without her.  I was happy to see that Samantha realizes in the end that she can deserves to be happy and is able to reach for what she wants.

Tender Savage (Loveswept, September 1990) was a better book.  I liked it a lot more than the first book.   Laura was a great character.  She was a strong person and had a lot of guts.  Any woman who is willing to go through what she did just to rescue a man from imprisonment would have to be,.  I thought the characters were a bit more realistic and more mature. 

Laura and Ricardo have a great chemistry together.  I was so frustrated with Ricardo and his insistence that he couldn't be president of his country and have happiness as well.  I was rooting for their HEA.

I listened to the audio  versions of both books.  They were well done and I was able to listen to both in an afternoon.  If you have to pick on over the other, I recommend Tender Savage.

Throwback Thursday - Blue Velvet by Iris Johansen

Author: Iris Johansen
First published in 1985 by Loveswept


Kate Gilbert is a woman without a past—or even a passport—to tie her down. Raised by smugglers, she lives on her wits, relishing the sense of freedom that only the life of the open sea can provide. All she knows of love she has learned from classic literature.

Nothing she read about in Shakespeare, however, could prepare her for Beau Lantry. The brash, handsome playboy helps her out of a tough scrape and puts his own life on the line to save her friend. Now Kate is in Beau’s debt, and as reluctant as she is to compromise her hard-won independence, she’s intrigued by the prospect of a new kind of life in the arms of this wealthy stranger. But can Beau keep her out of harm’s way long enough to convince her that happiness is worth leaving behind a world of ever-present danger?


Blue Velvet contains characters that appear in White Satin, which I reviewed as a DNF book earlier this week.  While I wasn't totally crazy about this book, it was a big improvement on White Satin.  Kate was abandoned by her mother as a young girl and has been living with smugglers ever since.  She has had no formal education, yet she is pretty smart when it comes to the ways of the world.    I liked Kate.  Even though her choices weren't always the smartest and were often done out of a sense of misplaced loyalty, I still thought she was a great character.  She stood up for what she believed in and wasn't afraid to risk herself for it.


Beau on the other hand was a little annoying.  While understood why he was so protective of Kate, I got tired of waiting for him to see that she really could take care of herself.  She really didn't need to be made better because she was pretty great already.  As for the over all story, it was just OK for me.  Nothing really happens as she is never is any real danger.  I guess I was hoping for more action with this one, given the setting.  

Throwback Thursday: The Golden Valkyrie

Author: Iris Johansen
First Published in 1984 by Bantam Books

When P.I. Honey Winston is hired to steal incriminating letters from visiting dignitary Prince Rubinoff, she’s prepared for a dangerous mission that could end her career. But when she blows her cover, she finds that the amused prince is everything the media have made him out to be: part Adonis, part playboy—and irresistibly charismatic. The problem is, the feeling is mutual. Intrigued, the prince is determined to keep his gorgeous young trespasser by his side as long as possible.

For he’s never met anyone quite as daring, or breathtaking, as Honey. With the tables turned, Prince Rubinoff has Honey appointed his personal bodyguard. The official reason is an assassination plot. The truth is far more dangerous…

The Golden Valkyrie is an early work by Iris Johansen. This one is a little hard to swallow. Honey is a PI who gets caught breaking into a prince's hotel room. He is so enamored with her that he has her appointed his bodyguard saying there is a threat on his life. He flies her to his private island where he sets about seducing her, only to find out that she is a virgin (big surprise!) Honey annoyed me throughout the whole book. She was whiny and, well, annoying. She seemed too naive for someone in her profession. I did like Lance's character, but I wasn't sure how he could fall for Honey. Despite my dislike of Honey, the story isn't all bad. The peripheral characters do make it interesting. Their HEA ending is cute.

The book was re-issued a couple of years back, so it should be easy to find. As always, pick it up and give it a try. You might like it.

--Kari