Alfredo Salazar, a Mexican drug lord, seeks to kill 11-year-old Cara Delaney, the daughter of a rival drug gang leader, in bestseller Johansen's outstanding 19th Eve Duncan novel (after 2015's Shadow Play). Eve and her live-in lover and former FBI agent, Joe Quinn, agree to bring Cara from California to their Atlanta home for her protection. When Joe decides that Cara will be safer elsewhere, Eve takes the girl to Scotland, where Eve's adopted daughter, Jane MacGuire, and Jane's associates, including Lord MacDuff, are searching for ancient treasure buried in the remote reaches of the Highlands. Extracts from Jane's dreams about Cira, MacDuff's ancestor who purportedly hid a chest of gold coins, provide a mystical undercurrent. The suspense rises as Salazar and his henchmen get on Cara's trail, and Joe knows that both Eve and Cara are in danger. This first-rate novel of romantic suspense will please Johansen's many fans and newcomers alike. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

In Johansen's latest tale about intrepid forensic-sculptor Eve Duncan, her protagonist runs afoul of rival Mexican drug lords Alfredo Salazar and Juan Castino when she rescues Castino's 11-year-old daughter, Cara, following the murders of Cara's sister and caregiver. In doing so, Eve puts herself, lover Joe Quinn, and Cara in the crosshairs of ruthless assassins who will go to the ends of the earth to eliminate threats to their cartels. And that is just what happens when Eve and Joe accept the offer from their adopted daughter, Jane, to bring Cara along on an archaeological expedition searching for ancient Roman treasure in Scotland's remotest Highlands region. Just as when she sheltered Jane years earlier, Eve feels a maternal protectiveness towards the innocent Cara that is heightened by her own recently discovered pregnancy and the suspicion that Cara's own mother may be the girl's worst enemy. With this new event about to unfold in Eve's life, Johansen brings a gentleness to her tough-as-nails heroine that will invigorate and intrigue loyal fans of this long-running series.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2016 Booklist