What Doesn't Kill You: A Novel
Written by Iris Johansen
Narrated by Jennifer Van Dyck
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Catherine Ling was abandoned on the streets of Hong Kong at age four. Schooled in the art of survival, she traded in the only commodity she had: information. As a teenager, she came under the tutelage of a mysterious man known only as Hu Chang—a skilled assassin and master poisoner. As a young woman, she was recruited by the CIA and now she is known as one of their most effective operatives. Having lived life in the shadows, Catherine is aware of the wobbly moral compass of her existence and even more aware of just how expendable she is to those she deals with. When her old friend Hu Chang creates a formula that’s not only deadly but completely untraceable, the race begins to be the first to get it. With rogue operative John Gallo also on the hunt, Catherine finds herself up against a group so villainous and a man so evil that she may not survive in her quest to protect those she cares about: Hu Chang and Luke—the son who was stolen from Catherine and only recently brought home safe. Using all of her formidable skills, Catherine Ling proves the age-old belief that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Iris Johansen is at her best in this novel that takes you from the corridors of Langley to the alleyways of Hong Kong and the darkest places of the human soul.
Iris Johansen
Iris Johansen is the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing the Night, Blood Game, Eve, and Eight Days to Live, among others. She began writing after her children left home for college, and first achieved success in the early 1980s writing category romances. In 1991, she began writing suspense historical romance novels, and in 1996 she turned to crime fiction, with which she has had great success. She lives near Atlanta, Georgia.
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Reviews for What Doesn't Kill You
98 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5New characters to get acquainted with, but Johansen pulls it off. For suspense/thriller fans, this one will keep you turing the pages.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Another great Iris Johansen novel. I learned more about Catherine Ling, CIA agent, former street kid from Hong Kong, and devoted mother to Luke. She is tough, smart, and deadly. I also got to meet the enigmatic Hu Chang, master apothecary of Chinese medicine and manipulator, and Catherine's true friend. The story centers around a deadly undetectable poison created by Hu Chang. A vial of the poison has ended up in the hands of a ruthless, power-hungry criminal who wants not only more of the poison but also the formula. He will not stop at anything to get to Hu Chang or anyone who is close to him. I loved the twists and turns in the plot, the tension between the characters, and the ending.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Catherine Ling is a CIA operative who has just returned from a mission but gets a call that her friend and mentor, Hu Chang needs her help. Actually the CIA wants to use Catherine to draw Chang out in the open so they can either catch him or kill him. Chang has created a poison that leaves no trace, which of course someone wants to use to kill somebody Important. This is a fast-paced story even though it has a lot of background information about how Catherine and Chang meet. Enjoyable read and has made me want to read the previous book that included some background about Catherine's son's rescue.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pretty good, I really enjoy Hu Chang.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is her most recent book, the paperback published Oct 2012. Riveting suspenseful, keeping you wanting to see what happens next. True to all her books, a strong female character with a villainess' foe. Excellent read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I somehow missed the release of this book so I was glad when I stumbled across it in my Internet wanderings through the book world. I loved Catherine Ling when we first met her in Chasing the Night and then when we meet John Gallo in the Eve Duncan trilogy about Bonnie I became fascinated by the undeniable attraction between Catherine and John. When I read this book was focusing on Catherine and that John Gallo was back I was over the moon!Sadly I ended up with mixed feelings when I finished this book...See my full review at Debbie's World of Books
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Once I got used to the characters in this one I couldn't put the book down. What took me a while was that the main characters - Catherine Ling and Hu Chang - both had sort of strange reactions. I almost had a feeling that they were autistic because of the lack of emotion. Catherine had been on her own in Hong Kong since she was a young child. Her mother was a prostitute who died when Catherine was only four. Another prostitute took her in but there didn't seem to be any emotional attachment. Catherine learned to survive on the shady side of Hong Kong by selling information to anyone who would pay her. When she is fourteen she meets Hu Chang who is an apothecary and doctor of Chinese medicine who is clearly a genius but who also has an odd way of thinking. He determines that the two of them will be friends and he guides her to work with the CIA. He has some interesting morals as he creates and sells poisons among other sorts of potions. Years pass, Catherine joins the CIA, marries, has a child who is kidnapped by a monster when he is two, and has now recovered her eleven year old son. Her son Luke is another character who is extremely bright but has no concept of emotions or attachment. Catherine is determined to protect him and is gradually forging a relationship with him. She gets a call from her CIA boss to tell her that he needs her in Hong Kong again because Hu Chang has created a potion that has made him the target of an extreme villain named Nardik who will do anything to get the potion from Hu Chang.Catherine goes to protect her friend and asks her CIA boss to find someone who knows Mardik. Enter Gallo. Gallo and Catherine have met before and both been attracted to each other. Catherine isn't going to let any possible emotion sidetrack her from her quest and Gallo has his work cut out for him to try to find a place to fit into her life. The most intriguing character in this one is Hu Chang. He is the one who precipitates the actions through his various manipulations. Catherine is often torn between wanting to kill him herself and wanting to protect him. One thing is certain though, Hu Chang always has what he sees as Catherine's best interests in mind as he manipulates those around him. While she loves him, Catherine doesn't agree with many of his choices. There was lots of tension in this one and lots of suspense as Catherine, Gallo, and Hu Chang have to find out who Mardik's intended victim is and to save him. There are chase scenes, kidnapping, fires and other exciting events in this one. I found this one a satisfying way to spend a few hours. It does make me want to look for the other books in which Catherine appears and see her again now that I know her better.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Catherine Ling needs help, it seems her long time friend and once mentor Hu Chang has gotten himself into a heap of trouble and in the sights of some very bad characters, but it’s who the CIA sends to help her that’s not sitting too well. John Gallo is the one man she can’t seem to forget ever since they met on the case involving his and Eve Duncan’s daughter.John Gallo knows what he wants but Catherine is an enigma and he knows he can’t push her or she’ll run and he only wants her running towards him not away. He also knows that the relationship between she and Hu Chang is complicated and he’s not sure where they all stand. Right now they must focus on getting Hu Chang out of harms way and keeping his potentially Pandora’s box of a potion out of the wrong hands before they can even start to explore the attraction and sexual pull they have towards each other.Iris Johansen has thrilled fans for decades and this fan was indeed thrilled by this her newest release. In her previous trilogy she formed the sexual tension between her characters John Gallo and Catherine Ling and in this one she increases that tension by putting them in yet another impossible situation and inventing a plot that encases the aspects of a thriller and mystery mixed with romantic tendencies. Her characters are as usual over the top and yet she gives them humanity, humbleness and vulnerability, her villains are as nasty as can be and her supporting characters are just as important as her stars, you’ve noted I didn’t say hero and heroine because there seem to be multiple heroes and as she sometimes does I was left with more questions than answers regarding where these characters are heading next. The action is non-stop, edge of your seat and always imaginative and the narrative flows beautifully.If you’re a fan of Ms. Johansen you will not be disappointed, if you’ve never read her (you must live under a rock) and you like your thrillers mixed with a bit of romance this is your read.Ms Johansen wherever you take these characters I will follow as I look forward to their next impossible mission.