Eve is a freelance professional forensic sculptor. Jill, an investigative journalist, asks her to provide closure for parents of an attack on an African schoolhouse that killed 27 children. Though Eve suggests others and feels slightly manipulated, she agrees to go to the Congo. After she arrives, Eve discovers that the job is just a Smokescreen for Jill’s real motive in inviting her to the work site.
This is the 25th Eve Duncan mystery series that began in 1998 with The Face of Deception. I read the first book but I haven’t read any others in the series until this one. I didn’t have any problem catching up with Eve’s life so this novel can be read as a standalone. Smokescreen has a thrilling plot with lots of heart-breaking details about the mercenary tribes treatment of women and children in Africa. Some of those details are graphic and there is a rape scene. If those are triggers for you, you should avoid this book. Otherwise, it is an interesting look into another world that hopefully none of us will have to face in real life. 4 stars!
Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.