12 June 2015

Review: The Shut Eye by Belinda Bauer

*Copy courtesy of NetGalley *

The Shut Eye by Belinda Bauer is a gripping and entertaining read, straddling both the thriller and crime genres equally.


Anna is a mother trying to come to terms with the disappearance of her young son Daniel, who disappeared one morning and hasn't been seen since. Every day she painstakingly preserves the last sign of him, footprints left in wet cement in front of her house, being poured the morning Daniel disappeared.

Anna's husband James left the front door open on the morning of Daniel's disappearance and their marriage is feeling the strain of the blame game.

We also hear from Detective John Marvel assigned to a different case, but whose investigations will cross over into Daniel's disappearance.

Anna is close to losing her mind with grief, and can't be sure if she is seeing visions or not. There is a subtle tint of the paranormal in The Shut Eye that is slight and well-handled and it added to my enjoyment of this mystery crime thriller.

The character's despair felt so real, and the mystery of the disappearance and other cases Marvel was investigating definitely kept the pace flying along.

This was going to be a five star rating for me until the end; there was one aspect of the ending I wasn't entirely satisfied with, although I - kind of - understand why the author chose to leave one of the cases open ended. We don't always get all the answers we want in life, but I was selfishly hoping for all the answers here.


Highly recommend The Shut Eye by Belinda Bauer to readers who enjoy a good mystery, thriller or crime novel.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

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