And Then You Die

By Iris Johansen

Book Overview

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....

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553579983
• ISBN13: 9780553579987
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Strong Heroine Makes for a Super Thriller

Photojournalist Bess Grady is recovering from her previous assignment in Croatia, where an entire village had been butchered by guerrillas. She had been hospitalized for weeks after Croatia and has just been released. She is traveling to Tenajo, Mexico, with her sister Emily for a travel shoot on supposedly a relaxing assignment, but when she arrives there, all the villagers are dead. Her sister, a doctor, believes a contagious disease is responsible and they go from house to house searching for survivors. There is only one, an infant. Then, as Bess is shooting pictures of the bodies, army trucks arrive. Bess realizes the trucks have come too soon after whatever tragidy had befallen the village, and she sends her sister into the hills with the child, while she is captured. It seems a biological weapon has been tested, morever it seems like Bess is immune as the weapon is a mutated strain of anthrax that kills within six hours of contact and she is still alive. Has she been lured to Mexico on purpose? Did the terrorists or her government know about her immunity? Iris Johansen writes strong female characters and Bess Grady is as strong as they come. I suppose that's why I like her work so much. Also, the fact that she knows how to pull her readers into her stories right from the beginning doesn't hurt either. This is an excellent thriller with great characters

Sometimes it's Hard to Figure Out Just Who the Good Guys Are

Photojournalist Bess Grady is recovering from her previous assignment in Danzar, Croatia, where an entire village was slaughtered by guerrillas. She had been traumatized for weeks after that assignment, has just gotten out of the hospital and is now traveling to Tenajo, Mexico, with her sister Emily, who is a doctor, for a travel shoot, which is supposed to be much easier on both mind and body than her last job. However when they arrive in the village, everybody is dead, except for a lone infant. Emily's sister thinks some kind of horrible contagious disease killed them all, but as Emily is shooting photos military trucks show up and Bess knows right away that something isn't right. How did they know? She tells her sister to head for the hills with the child, but she is captured. It seem that an evil group of terrorists, headed up the infamous Esteban, is responsible for the deaths. The village was apparently their testing ground for a new strain of anthrax that kills humans swiftly, then dissipates without a trace. However, Bess didn't die. Neither did that child. A CIA agent named Kaldak, frees Bess, tells her about the anthrax and tells her that she is immune. Kaldak wants to use her to get a vaccine, which involves keeping her sedated and taking sample after sample of her blood. Beth isn't very happy about this and does not cooperate, furthermore she seems to be telling Kaldak what to do every step of the way and though their confrontations are sometimes very violent, he winds up doing things her way, putting himself and others at risk. Bess is a strong woman. Her sister has been killed and she wants to get even. She also wants to save the child, who like her is immune. There is a lot going in this book and it kept me on my toes. I liked it, though it wasn't very realistic at times, I found I couldn't close the pages. I kept reading and that's what fiction is all about.

Strong Heroine Makes for a Super Thriller

Photojournalist Bess Grady is recovering from her previous assignment in Croatia, where an entire village had been butchered by guerrillas. She had been hospitalized for weeks after Croatia and has just been released. She is traveling to Tenajo, Mexico, with her sister Emily for a travel shoot on supposedly a relaxing assignment, but when she arrives there, all the villagers are dead.Her sister, a doctor, believes a contagious disease is responsible and they go from house to house searching for survivors. There is only one, an infant. Then, as Bess is shooting pictures of the bodies, army trucks arrive. Bess realizes the trucks have come too soon after whatever tragidy had befallen the village, and she sends her sister into the hills with the child, while she is captured.It seems a biological weapon has been tested, morever it seems like Bess is immune as the weapon is a mutated strain of anthrax that kills within six hours of contact and she is still alive. Has she been lured to Mexico on purpose? Did the terrorists or her government know about her immunity?Iris Johansen writes strong female characters and Bess Grady is as strong as they come. I suppose that's why I like her work so much. Also, the fact that she knows how to pull her readers into her stories right from the beginning doesn't hurt either. This is an excellent thriller with great characters

A Nice Way to Wile Away an Afternoon

I don't know why I liked this book, but I did. The protagonist, Bess Grady, was way over the top, Bossy, stupid, uncaring, unfeeling, a person I couldn't identify with or care about. However, I cared about everybody else in the book. What a switch. Could that be what Johansen was after? Somehow I doubt it. The book was a quick read, fun too, a nice way to wile away an afternoon. I bordered on three or four stars, but I'm giving it four, why, I don't know, I guess because I really kind of liked the story, especially in light of what's been happening in the world today. Reviewed by Vesta Irene

Loved It!!!

This is the second Iris Johansen book I have read, and like an earlier reviewer, I read it after Ugly Duckling. Since then I have read just about everyone of Iris Johansen's books. I have to say that in comparrison to ALL of Iris Johansen's books Ugly Duckling is unbeatable.... but all of the rest are a definate 5 Star quality. I positively loved this book because it had a huge element of suspence, not to mention the intrigue of a town killed suddenly off by an unknown poison. The main character is Bess who has brought her sister along on a work trip to Mexico (she is a photojournalist). Then something terribly goes wrong.....the people of the city start dying off and then suddenly Bess is captured by a villian and her sister has vanished (A lot to absorb---I know). To make matters worse, Bess has only one hope of escape---to put her trust in a man she believes is a dangerous murderer. From then on Bess and the "murderer" make a run for it in search of her sister and in escape of the villian. I think I've said enough for now.....So I would highly recommend this book to any Iris Johansen fan or just anyone who enjoys a GREAT book (especially suspence, myster, heroism). I loved it and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!