Blink of an Eye (Kendra Michaels, 8)

If you haven’t been following the adventures of supersleuth Kendra Michaels, now is the time to get on the train. “Blink of an Eye,” book 8 in Iris and Roy Johansen’s best-selling series, might be their strongest entry yet.

The formerly blind and now-hyperperceptive consulting investigator Dr. Michaels (think Sherlock Holmes by way of Daredevil) once again finds herself pulled into peril when pop music superstar Delilah Winter, a personal friend, is kidnapped during a performance at the historic Hollywood Bowl. Kendra will need all her extraordinary talents, and the help of her resourceful crew, to get the songbird back alive.

Her supporting cast, including dreamboat covert operative Adam Lynch and tough-as-nails P.I. Jessie Mercado, share the spotlight in this book as never before — great news for fans of the ever-expanding Johansenverse of interconnected series and characters.

The installment is also notable for the memorable use of iconic Los Angeles locations as Kendra leaves her usual San Diego digs to crack a high-profile case in the noir-stained metropolis to the north.

The Johansens’ patented brand of spine-chilling suspense, Kendra’s romantic roller coaster ride with Lynch, scrappy heroines who don’t know how to quit — could this series be any more fun?

I have read all the Kendra Michael's books and am always waiting for the next one. Blink of an Eye was a huge disappointment. Short length, light plot and flat characters. Never expected to give this kind of review to a book she wrote and I am an avid fan of all her books. So sad.

I had a hard time with this one. Some of the plot points were just a little too far out there for my taste, including the high speed limo chase. The characters never drew me in enough to suspend my disbelief.

Overview:

“Dee saw them the minute they got close to the Big Rock. She smiled as she waved enthusiastically at them, then turned to the people in the audience. “Hey guys, two of my old friends have just dropped in. Jessie Mercado is an awesome private investigator who’s usually busy saving not only Hollywood but the entire planet, and Kendra Michaels was once a student here just like you. You all know her story. Blind girl has miracle operation, regains sight, and becomes an FBI superstar.” She gave a mock yawn. “That script has been written a hundred times before, but I guess it’s a classic. But I thought my audience deserved more so I got Kendra to agree to come up here and show you what the shouting was really all about.” Her face was suddenly alive with mischief. “So give her a hand to encourage her to tell us how a kid who had been blind all her life could make those FBI wizards sit up and take notice.”

Delilah ‘Dee’ Winter is one of the hottest pop stars on the planet, so how in the world was she kidnapped right in the middle of a show at the famous Hollywood Bowl? If anyone can figure it out, it's Dr. Kendra Michaels, who works with local and federal authorities on only the most impossible cases. Blind for the first twenty years of her life until a revolutionary surgical procedure allowed her to regain her sight, Kendra uses her powers of observation—honed during her years in the dark—to detect what other investigators don't. She agrees to lead the race to rescue the young singer before time runs out.

Joined by Jessie Mercado, the singer's former bodyguard and a military hero, Kendra closes in on the hideout location but not before casualties mount up. Desperate for leads, Kendra must set aside her personal feelings when agent-for-hire Adam Lynch also volunteers his special skills to aid in the search.

But as the abductor's true purpose becomes clear, the trio uncover a plot they never could have imagined—leading to a showdown they won't soon forget.

Opinion:

‘Blink of an Eye’ is the creative mother-and-son Johansen team’s eighth novel featuring FBI consultant Kendra Michaels.

As this book is the first of the ‘Kendra series’ I’ve read, I didn’t feel a connection to or between the characters, which may have developed had I begun with the first book. The only character to whom I was drawn was Dr. Kendra Michaels, the strong and perceptive protagonist, who having been blind for most of her life has developed skills for survival that serve her well once she regains her sight.

Fans of the Johansens, familiar with the Kendra books, have surely eagerly awaited ‘Blink of an Eye’ but I’m afraid that it fell flat for me and I struggled to pick the book up and really get into it. I often found myself putting it back down as I found the pacing slow and I was unable to remain invested in the story.

Thank you to Goodreads and Grand Central Publishing for the Goodreads giveaway copy in exchange for an honest review.

Blink of an Eye: Iris and Roy Johansen
Perceptive, astute, insightful and detail-oriented Kendra Michaels can assess a crime scene so meticulously that even the FBI is often stumped and awed by what she does. How can someone look you right in the eye and tell you everything you do that morning, the night before or even what you ate for breakfast? Kendra Michaels was blind for the first 20 years of her life and then a miraculous surgeon came along with a surgery to restore her eyesight. Spending her youth attending the Woodward Academy for Physically Disabled Students, she is often there to help raise more awareness of the wonderful work being done at this school, restoring positive feedback and knowing that pop singer Delilah Winters returns there often to entertain the children and bring them some love and cheer. But Dr. Allison Walker is tired of hosting her high-profile reporters and wishes that she would not return any time soon. Kendra and Delilah’s former head of security are on hand and her popularity is so huge that everyone wants to see her in person. Able to get two tickets from the star to her show at the Hollywood Bowl, little does Kendra and Jessie Mercado her former head or security know or expect that she’d be kidnapped right in front of everyone but who took her and why?
Kendra and Jessie are determined to be part of the investigation and Metcalf has connections that lead her to meeting Special FBI Agent Kelland and then billionaire Noah Calderon who dated Delilah and offered 5 million dollars for her return. Things get out of hand and the plan to make the drop and give the kidnappers the money goes awry but not before Adam Lynch shows up causing Kendra even more stress. Things get out of hand and the kidnappers call and Kendra demands proof of life. But they seem to be one step ahead of the team even when chasing the getaway cars, they manage to foil them with a decoy. Added in we learn about the man in charge of the sound stage, Adrian and when Kendra and Jessie find him promises are made to him but not kept when something goes wrong and Adrian is sacrificed.
With the first ransom going south as the kidnappers even manage to get ahead of Lynch and when he finally hands over the money what he learns about the markers in it might cause him his life.
Someone wants Jessie out of the way and making sure that she does the drop for the next ransom demand puts her in a difficult and dangerous position. When the instructions come, and she follows them she does not see it coming when she is blind sighted and winds up in the hands of the same people that have Dee. But why? Someone wants revenge and someone wants Dee isolated and away from those who support and keep her safe and you won’t believe who and why?
While Dee and Jessie are battling to stay alive, Kendra, Lynch and the FBI and the police are trying to figure out where they are as Dee attempts to give her a clue when she is allowed to speak to prove she’s alive.
FBI agent Kelland along with Metcalf supply a lot of the support as Kendra and realizes that Jessie is in trouble and that the man who was guarding Dee is no longer in service. Anyone that is expendable is reduced to nothing by the one person that his orchestrator of the kidnaping wants disposed of.
Kendra and Lynch finding where they think Dee might be help were halfway to the factory when she receives a call from the Swiss AV lab where they identified the software used to alter the voice on the recording that requested and demanded the ransom.
Tensions rise, lives are at stake and a decoy is planted and someone is found dead in the trunk of a car but just who is it and why? When Dee faces off with the kidnapper her voice is heard loud and clear as she expresses her true feelings, does not attempt to backdown as a dangerous and pathological killer will stop at nothing to gain control of her at all costs. Sometimes these people actually justify their actions and think that the other person just needs to be convinced to come around to their way of thinking but will Dee?
A faceoff you won’t see coming and an ending that will give you heart palpitations as Dee, Jessie, Kendra and Lynch come face to face with the killer and his minions hoping to stop when someone started when she was kidnapped in a Blink of An Eye!
Characters well developed, straightforward and Kendra at her best when she assesses the final places where she thinks Dee might be held, her perceptions are they right on target and will Dee realize just how many people care for her? A lifechanging decision is made, a young starlight must decide on her future and Lynch and Kendra have to part or possibly call a truce. Iris and Roy Johansen have once again raised Kendra to new heights and adding Kelland is a plus and I hope we see more of him in the future.

My reading material

good book

Not long enough. Liked it very much.

I have read all the books in the Kendra Michaels series but this book can easily be read as a standalone, I think.

Dee is a young superstar who is suddenly kidnapped from a concert. Kendra and her friend Jessie are asked to provide some support to the team who are tasked with finding her. There is the usual suspense that you can expect in a Johansen book and, as usual, I like the sorts of things that Jessie does in the course of fighting off the bad guys. Kendra's powers of observation come to the fore again, out of all the characters that Iris Johansen has developed, she is my favourite, but I think she was underutilised in this particular book. Lynch makes an appearance but he really is on the periphery on this occasion.

This was a good book but not as good as it could have been.

4 stars from me.

Love all of Iris Johansan’s books