And Then You Die [Mass Market Paperback]

Iris Johansen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

She expected sunshine and balmy breezes. What she saw was everyone's worst nightmare.

Bess Grady has heard the unmistakable sound before. She knows what it means. But not even the eerie lament of the howling dogs can prepare her for what has taken place in the small village. The seasoned photojournalist had been sent there on an easy assignment, and now she has stumbled upon something she was never meant to see. Amid chaos and fear, she joins forces with an intimidating stranger, a man whose alliances are unclear but whose methods have a way of leaving bodies in his wake. For what she has witnessed is only the first stage in a plan of terror that may kill us all. And she has no choice but to stop it—or die trying....

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As a photojournalist, Bess Grady is far more comfortable viewing life through her camera lens than firsthand; the extra distance makes it easier to accept life's atrocities. Still recovering from an assignment on which she witnessed the massacre of an entire Croatian orphanage, Bess accepts an easy assignment from a travel magazine to photograph a small village in Mexico and brings her sister along for fun. What awaits her is worse than she ever could have imagined: everyone in the village has been killed by a deadly poison. After rescuing the only survivor, Bess and her sister split up. Bess finds herself captured by the villain who seems to have plotted the horrible destruction. Her sister has disappeared, and the only hope Bess has to save her is to trust a man she believes to be a murderer. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Photojournalist Bess Grady goes to Tenajo, Mexico, with her sister to photograph the reportedly beautiful scenery there for a travel piece. What they find is a village full of dead people; only a baby girl remains alive. A detachment of soldiers arrives on the scene, and with no time to react Bess is knocked unconscious. When she wakes, her sister is dead, and she is a prisoner in a Mexican hospital. Johansen, abandoning the lush narrative style she used so effectively in her historical novels (e.g., Dark Rider, Bantam, 1995) opts for a leaner, faster-paced prose that she uses to enhance the thriller-like atmosphere here. From the first page, the reader is pulled into a realm of danger, intrigue, and suspense with a touch or romance and enough twists and turns to gladden the hearts of all of her readers. Sure to be a winner in all libraries.
-?Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights- University Heights P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553579983
• ISBN-13: 978-0553579987
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #469,626 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

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Preposterous and Awful, November 27, 2005

By 

Brandon Peters "BRICHP" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: And Then You Die (Mass Market Paperback)

I made the mistake of picking up this book to read over a long weekend. The title caught my eye and the concept seemed promising, but once I actually got into the story I was very disappointed.

Too many of the major plot points are entirely unbelievable. For instance, a child who the protagonist encounters abandoned in a village becomes a singular focus and driving element--even though the protagonist barely spends any time with her and hithertofore has not been the motherly type. Over and over again the CIA frontman gives into her unreasonable and irrational demands, to the point that one starts to root for the bad guys. To anyone with a high school biology class under the belt, the science is preposterous and completely unbelievable. Much effort is put forth to develop an "antidote" (actually an antibody) to anthrax. Cipro, anyone?

The writing is also very stilted, often awful, and at times laughable. Too many times to count a character "smiles sardonically" or "speaks jerkily". At times the plot turns are so poorly described it is difficult to judge just what the heck is going on. And, ultimately, the characters behave so irrationally one does not really care.

I would only recommend reading this if you need perspective on how bad books can really be. Otherwise, look elsewhere.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This rates a minus star., August 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: And Then You Die... (Hardcover)

What a waste of time! I got this on audio for a long trip and had to stop and rent a replacement. Bess is so annoying you want to slap her (she's reminds me of Kate Scarlatta's obnoxious niece), Kaldalk is one-dimensional and unrealistic, the author's research is sloppy, the plot is trite, etc, etc. Thank goodness it was from the library and I didn't spend any money on this pitiful effort.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Annoying, Horrible Book, January 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: And Then You Die (Mass Market Paperback)

This book should have never been printed. Very poor characters and plot, annoyingly unbelievable. Oh sure, the CIA would let Bess direct the action and dictate their behavior. I wanted to slap some sense into her. She was obnoxious, stupid and reckless. Bodies fall all around her because of her self-centered obsession. She stupidly minimizes her importance as a walking antidote for a deadly biological agent and jeopardizes her own life and that of many others for an infant of three days acquaintance. I've never before encountered a character, the heroine, who I wanted to see killed because she was so bad. I wanted to scream several times at the stupid plotting, characters and dialogue and regret spending money on this nonsense. I won't be reading another Iris book.