Title: Open Your Eyes
Expected publication: today
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2
Book Description:
Haven’t we all wanted to pretend everything’s perfectly
fine? Jane Campbell avoids confrontation at all costs. Given the choice, she’ll
always let her husband, Leon—a bestselling thriller author—fight their battles.
She’d prefer to focus on the good things in life: precious days with her two
young children, a steady and loving marriage, their mischievously playful cat
Bonita, and her fulfilling job as a creative writing teacher. In Jane’s eyes,
life is altogether sweeter than any individual bump in the road.
But when Leon suffers a brutal attack in the driveway of their home, in front of their children, Jane has to finally face reality. Who would commit such a hateful offense in broad daylight? Leon has imagined his fair share of crime on the page, and now this unthinkable violence has landed on the Campbell family doorstep. With her husband in a coma, Jane must open her eyes to the problems in her life, as well as the secrets that have been kept from her. Although she might not like what she sees, if she’s committed to discovering who hurt her husband—and why—Jane needs to take matters into her own hands.
A surprising and gripping thriller of literary ambition and envy, from acclaimed novelist Paula Daly, Open Your Eyes exposes an ordinary suburban family to a shocking act of revenge that irreparably changes their lives.
But when Leon suffers a brutal attack in the driveway of their home, in front of their children, Jane has to finally face reality. Who would commit such a hateful offense in broad daylight? Leon has imagined his fair share of crime on the page, and now this unthinkable violence has landed on the Campbell family doorstep. With her husband in a coma, Jane must open her eyes to the problems in her life, as well as the secrets that have been kept from her. Although she might not like what she sees, if she’s committed to discovering who hurt her husband—and why—Jane needs to take matters into her own hands.
A surprising and gripping thriller of literary ambition and envy, from acclaimed novelist Paula Daly, Open Your Eyes exposes an ordinary suburban family to a shocking act of revenge that irreparably changes their lives.
My musings:
When Jane’s husband Leon is brutally attacked in the
driveway of their suburban home, suffering a severe traumatic brain injury, the
whole family’s life is suddenly turned upside down. Not only does Jane fear for
her own and her children’s safety whilst the assailant is still on the loose,
but she has also discovered that her husband has been keeping secrets from her
– secrets that may put their future in jeopardy.
I have always enjoyed Paula Daly’s writing style, and Open
Your Eyes is no different – it drew me in from the very first page and kept me
interested until the very end. With so many psychological thrillers out there,
it is becoming more and more difficult to find an original premise, but Daly
has delivered a clever narrative with a very unique twist that totally took me
by surprise. I especially appreciated her portrayal of Jane, a mother of two
young children, facing the difficult task of caring for a husband who has
suffered a severe traumatic brain injury that has not only changed his
intellectual capabilities, but also his personality – and the whole family’s
livelihood. Throughout the story, I could not help but put myself into Jane’s
position, wondering how I would cope with this difficult situation – on top of
fearing that her husband’s assailant is still out there posing a threat! I also
enjoyed the background of the publishing world, as Leon and his best friend are
both successful novelists, and Jane an aspiring writer who has yet been
unsuccessful in getting her books published. Daly’s portrayal of her characters
is insightful and sensitive and really brought this story to life for me.
Whilst this was a bit of a slow-burner in terms of action,
the character driven narrative held an underlying sense of tension that had me
frantically turn the pages to find out more, wondering what deep, dark secrets
Leon has been hiding from his wife. I love a good relationship drama, and when
this is combined with a mystery, it makes for the perfect weekend read! Each
character was relatable, from the nosy interfering neighbours to Jane’s aloof
mother, creating a background I could really empathise with. There were a
couple of instances where I thought that some scenes had not been used to their
full potential in creating even more menace and threat, but it probably
satisfies the general audience who don’t crave their stories quite as dark and
sinister as I do!
Summary:
In summary, the background of dealing with the repercussions
of a brutal attack in Jane’s own home and Leon’s severe traumatic brain injury
gives this clever mystery an extra depth not found in many other novels. I
thoroughly enjoyed how Daly’s mind works, and the air of danger and menace
underlying the story that had me frantically turning the pages to find out the
answers.
Thank
you to Netgalley and Random House UK for the free electronic copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment