Dead Aim [Mass Market Paperback]

Iris Johansen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2004

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen returns with an electrifying and all-too-plausible thriller that pushes the level of suspense to the maximum and never lets up. From the tense opening scene to the final explosive page, Johansen delivers a knockout novel, as an unlikely pair of allies must expose a team of killers hiding behind an unspeakable act of terror—and risk ending up their next target.

She witnesses death through the eye of her camera. Now a relentless killer is focused on her. A celebrated photojournalist, Alex Graham has seen it all—but her latest assignment has forced her across a dangerous line. What happens when a reporter does more than just report? She has recorded some of the most tragic and heartbreaking of catastrophes, everything from natural disasters to infamous acts of terror. Her experiences have left her forever marked with the human side of tragedy. So when a dam breaks in Arapahoe Junction, Colorado, Alex is once more at the site doing more than just snapping pictures—she is in the mud with a shovel digging for survivors.

What happens when the reporter becomes the story? Alex finds more than she bargained for. In one terrible instant, she is witness to a conspiracy that will stun a nation. The official story is just a cover-up for a truth so frightening, so unthinkable, anyone who threatens to reveal it must be silenced. Forever. And now that someone is Alex Graham.

The first attempt on her life is swift and brutal. Only barely escaping, she finds an ally in an improbable source. Billionaire financier John Logan has his own reasons for protecting Alex, and these reasons alone are likely to get her killed. Using his vast connections and influences, Logan assigns a bodyguard to protect her. Judd Morgan is the best covert commando in the business, and if anyone can keep Alex safe, it’s this quietly dangerous man. The problem is, Alex doesn’t want to be kept safe by Judd, whose checkered past has made him the target of an unseen assassin who dogs his every step.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Heavy on verbs, light on adjectives, Johansen's latest fast-moving thriller offers lots of cinematic action, if not much to contemplate or savor. On assignment at a dam collapse in Colorado, photojournalist Alex Graham overhears a conversation between the conspirators who caused the collapse, which they disguised as an act of nature. When they realize that Alex has heard them, they go after her, and soon Alex's friend, Sarah Logan, is wounded in an attempt on Alex's life. Sarah's husband, John, a billionaire with political connections, believes he must hire someone to keep Alex safe. His contact is a man called Galen, a shadowy government operative, who in turn contacts Judd Morgan, a former military assassin who's been deep undercover. Knowing that Alex won't leave the dam mystery alone, and wanting to keep his own wife out of harm's way, John authorizes Judd to kidnap Alex and take her to a safe location. Alex persuades Judd that the dam collapse was a deliberate act, and that more sites are slated to be destroyed. The two team up to learn the identities of the conspirators, who appear to have ties to the FBI and the CIA, as well as to an assassin called Runne, who has his own agenda, and a Central American terrorist ring. There are chases and narrow escapes aplenty as Alex and Judd save the country-including the president himself-from violent mayhem. Some of the characters in Johansen's crowded cast remain murky, but the nonstop action and slick plotting won't disappoint.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Daring photojournalist Alex Graham concludes that a natural disaster she's been shooting is really a mass murder.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (March 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553584383
• ISBN-13: 978-0553584387
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Iris Johansen is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pandora's Daughter, Stalemate, Killer Dreams, On the Run, and many more. She lives near Atlanta, Georgia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than a tv miniseries, May 3, 2003

By 

Suzanne Vitale "jackeroophillip" (Bowling Green, Kentucky USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Aim (Hardcover)

Dead Aim is a fun read...hard to believe but it could happen.
Alex Graham, a photojournalist, is on location when a dam collapses in Colorado. The authorities believe it to be a natural disaster, but after several days of digging through the rubble to find survivors, Alex leaves the scene to try to get pictures from a better altitude. She becomes an unhappy witness to the destruction of the helicopter that is to pick her up and then overhears plans to cover up what has actually been a terrible sabatoge. The action picks up as her friend Sara Logan is wounded...We remember Sara and her rescue dog from previous Johansen thrillers. Sara is now married to a mega rich businessman with political connections all the way to the White House as well as contacts who are either CIA or former CIA operatives.

The characters in Dead Aim have been introduced in previous Johansen books, and while it is not necessary to have read them, it makes understanding Dead Aim easier. Alex is an unlikely hero,however, she does save the country in the end. It's a fun, quick and easy read and would make a good mini series.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars love2read, April 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Dead Aim (Hardcover)

This is an easy read as are most of Johansen's books; however, I was disappointed in the story itself. Most of the book focuses on what is considered a natural disaster with the underlying theme being "whodunit". A government conspiracy involving the FBI, CIA and a congressman from Texas as well as <gasp> the vice president of the United States! You spend most of the book getting pieces of information culminating to an anti-climactic, quick resolution.

I enjoy the returning characters like Galen (and references to his now pregnant wife Elena), Logan, Sarah & Monty, Salazar and Andreas (the president). Sarah & Monty are only in for a short period of time while Galen has a more prominent role. John Logan is in and out and a powerful voice on the phone. Andreas re-appears as the president who's life is in jeopardy. This story focuses on Judd Morgan (still hiding and being tracked by a trained killer, Runne, as retribution for killing his father) and a new addition to the cast, Alex Graham, a photo journalist trying to discover what exactly happened in the mud slide that killed hundreds of people, how it happened as she witnessed an event that made her realize there was nothing "natural" about it and why all of a sudden she's being deemed public enemy #1 after trying to help in the search and rescue mission. She's also struggling with her feelings for Morgan (no surprise there) who was recruited by Galen (at Sarah's request to John Logan)to protect her.

It gets a little confusing with all the CIA, FBI and congressmen's names as they refer to Z1, Z2 & Z3 (targets) and how all these people are linked -- especially to Runne who has been recruited for Z3 and to eliminate Morgan.

Predictably, the guy gets the girl and they live happily ever after. If your a Johansen fan, you won't be disappointed, same-old-same-old.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars same as every other Iris Johansen novel, June 3, 2005

By 

MDCPA (MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Aim (Mass Market Paperback)

If you've read one Iris Johansen novel, you've read all of them. You have the strong willed, hard headed, and emotionally crippled heroine. And then there's the equally strong willed, hard headed, sexual, and martial arts/weapons trained mercenery/cop/independently wealthy through suspicious means hero. Put those two together and you got your typical Iris Johansen book. The first time I read one of her novels ("the Ugly Duckling"), it was very enjoyable. It's refreshing to see an author describe women as the aggressor and not another damsel in distress. It's also good to read about the less than perfect hero, though jaded and harden in their own way, tried their best to seduce the heroine with their intellect and heart instead of flawless goodlooks. However, after the 5th novel of the same type of characters, just with different names, I grew tired of the same old stories.

What confused me most about this novel is that the heroine, Alex Graham, behaved with complete lack of common sense for a person in her position. If I was forced to be on the run, hunted by top US government agencies, and am protected by a trained mercenery (the hero) with years of experiences over me, I'd would do whatever I was told and not go against my protector's advice. It amazed me that 1) she hadn't been caught or killed within the first chapter 2) the hero hadn't slapped her for her stupidity 3) the hero actually falls in love with someone like her and 4) that after all the clumsy dumb moves she made dispite his advice, at the end he still had the patience to want her around.

Also what confused me was the inability of the combination of Homeland Security, CIA, FBI, and a well trained North Korean assassin to take down one mere woman. Considering the vast resources of just one of those above mentioned agencies, let alone the combination of all three, how had it been possible that the characters had not been caught? It may be possible to hide out for a week or so, but I refuse to believe that as long as they lived in the US, with such detailed backgrounds on them as the government agencies had, that they can hide out for as long as the author discribed.

Towards the end I had to constantly remind myself the novel is almost over with. When I did get to the end, it was as anti-climatic as could be. Definitely not one of Iris Johansen's finest work.