Pandora's Daughter

August 27, 2007
Orphaned at 15 and raised by her Uncle Phillip, the adult Megan Blair is an Atlanta pediatrician who hears terrified voices. Revelation comes when childhood friend Neal Grady, who is now a shadowy government agent, arrives to apprise Megan of her psychic powers. And to warn her: Molino—the relentless villain who killed Megan's mother, believing her touch killed his son—is targeting Megan next. Molino thinks Megan was born to an ancient Sephardic family of psychics, and plans to force her to reveal the location of the Ledger, a book that contains the family's secrets and finances. He then plans to kill her, if Megan, Neal and Neal's sidekick, Jed Hartley, don't find him first. Johansen increases the tension by alternating point of view, but two-dimensional characters, repetitious explanations and stilted dialogue make staying tuned difficult.

August 1, 2007
Best-selling author Johansen captivates readers with her latest suspense thriller. The paranormal element is eerily believable as Megan Blair, a Pandora with amazing psychic powers, suddenly faces her own mortality. Megan is working as a physician at an Atlanta hospital when she is contacted by Neal Grady, a man who knew her late mother. When Grady lifts his control of Megan, allowing her to experience the voices she hasn't heard in the 12 years since her mother's death, Megan agrees to help him capture Molino, the evil child-slave dealer who killed her mother. Together, Megan and Grady travel the globe in search of the Ledger, a centuries-old book detailing the descendants and financial holdings of the Devanezes, a family with strong psychic abilities. A white-knuckled race ensues as Molino, Megan, and Grady simultaneously search for the Keeper of the Ledger, and danger is never far behind. Scintillating love scenes between Grady and Megan fill the pages as the suspense escalates toward an explosive conclusion. Recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 6/15/07; a 500,000-copy first printing.Ed.]Sheri Melnick, Harrisburg, PA

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2007
Dr. Megan Blair has been living a lie.She heard voices up until her mother died in an accident. Raised by her mothers half-brother, Meganmanaged to live a normal life, became a doctor, and now worksin an Atlanta hospital. But once her car is run off the road and Neal Grady enters the picture, nothing is the same. Neal helps her realize that her mothers death was no accident. In fact, she was murdered because of her psychic ability, the very talent Megan inherited. Molino, an underworld kingpin, wants to see Megan, and everyone else he calls freaks, dead because he blames her mother for his sons death. Supposedly Megans mothers mere touch caused Molinos son to kill himself. She may have possessed the rare gift, just like the mythological Pandora, that magnifies a persons psychic ability, power that can either open someones mind or cause madness. Thehunt for Molino takes Megan and Neal through Europe in search of a ledger that traces a family of powerful psychics from the time of the inquisition to the present, keeping one step ahead of their enemy while trying to destroy him. Johansen delivers an exhilarating thriller filled with her trademark paranormal elements, truly heinous villains, and intriguing, multidimensional heroes. This isromantic suspense that will keepthe authorsfans on the edge of their seats.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)