Review: The Perfect Witness: A Novel

The Perfect Witness: A Novel by Iris Johansen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Once in a while, I read a book with no BDSM in it. Yes, my GR friends are in shock. I've been a fan of Ms. Johansen since her historical romance days. Her contemporary romantic suspense have me coming back for more. Her line of paranormal-esque ones are a bit iffy for me. Still, it is Ms. Johansen so I can't help but want to read it.

This one is a 3 star - maybe a 2.5 star. First off, Ms. Johansen is a great writer. Her grammar, plot, world building - all of it is good. There is no question about it in my mind. It's her characters which are becoming a bit bland for me. That is why I'm having a hard time writing this review. While I can appreciate her long and well written story, I just couldn't connect.

Teresa aka Allie is a girl with special powers. Not only does she have perfect recall, she can also see into a person's memories. This is not the most pleasant experience when the people she is surrounded by are career criminal thugs with violent pasts, present and future. Allie's skill is something her father exploits until his untimely and premeditated demise. Her escape is facilitated by Andre who is mysterious, dangerous and sexy.

Now, Andre is the one I like. Why he is hooked on Allie when she is spiteful and ungrateful, I don't understand. What is with these male characters who have to suffer a shrew? And make no mistakes, Allie is a shrew needing a lot of spankings.

This story is littered with violence and serial killers. Allie's mother is a pathetic excuse of a parent. It appears Allie's power are from her mother. While the story never says anything directly about Allie's mother's power, it's quite clear the picture Ms. Johansen paints.

After reading through this book, I have a few things I've learned. Killing is good, especially when putting down a psychopath. Matricide is not a bad thing depending on the mother. In fact, in this case, I fully endorse it. A tiger starved as torture is a terrible thing and I can't abide by it. In fact, that was the only disturbing part to this book. I can't stand animals hurt and the tiger in this book is abused. So to be clear, this story is for those who are okay with putting down bad people and not okay with animal abuse.



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