The first Eve Duncan book was The Face of Deception, where Johansen introduced most of the characters that appear in The Killing Game. In that book Eve, Logan, and Quinn face a rather farfetched conspiracy in the federal government. Many readers recommend reading the earlier book first since the second book picks up a few months after the first ends. The Killing Game is more realistic though the sense of paranoia is equivalent in both books.

The characters do not really change too much except Eve, who finally surrenders to Quinn. But in both books the "new woman" is evident in the female characters who are almost uniformly strong, intelligent, and compassionate. The sole dissenter is the villain of The Face of Deception, who lacks compassion. The new heroines no longer wait for a man to give their lives meaning.

They make their own way and...