The Shut Eye
"..a dramatic tour de force; a one-sitting read... buy it, take the day off work, turn the phone off, and devour every brilliant word."
Synopsis:
Five footprints are the only sign that Daniel Buck was ever here. And now they are all his mother has left. Every day, Anna Buck guards the little prints in the cement, polishing them to a shine. Keeping them safe and spiralling towards insanity.
When a psychic offers hope, Anna grasps at it. Who wouldn't? Maybe he can tell her what happened to her son.
But is this man what he claims to be? Is he a visionary - a shut eye? Or a cruel fake, preying on the vulnerable and desperate? Or is he something far, far worse?
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Review:
Belinda Bauer is rapidly becoming my favourite crime writer. I'm not sure how she does it but she gets better with every novel. Her first, 'Blacklands', won the CWA Gold Dagger for best novel of the year. Where do you go after such an accolade for your first novel? Bauer has maintained her own high standard throughout her novels, and this, her sixth, is possibly her best yet. 'The Shut Eye' is an original, compelling, and thought-provoking thriller. It is brilliant on every level; characterisation, plot, pace, and energy. It crackles with dramatic tension and Bauer's keen eye for detail makes this a novel that every crime fiction fan must read. Bauer is a terrific writer who can sum up an entire character's backstory in one paragraph. Her prose and sense of realism is spot on. 'The Shut Eye' is a dark and multi-layered story with genuine laugh-out-loud moments from the main detective, DCI John Marvel, who is indeed a marvel creation. I'd like to see him again in a future novel as Bauer has created a very likeable protagonist. This genuinely is a dramatic tour de force; a one-sitting read. In fact, buy it, take the day off work, turn the phone off, and devour every brilliant word.