
TEST
This is not the book to pick up for a quick read before going to bed. You won’t want to turn off the light and go to sleep like you’re supposed to. Instead, like a gawker transfixed by a train wreck, you will find yourself reading far past your bedtime as Don’t Close Your Eyes becomes more than just a title and instead turns into an admonishment you can’t ignore.
She never leaves home. Having gone from international jetsetter to extreme shut-in, Robin Marshall is content to live life vicariously, engrossed in watching her neighbors through the dirty windows of her suburban home. That and the punishing workouts she puts herself through help keep the past at bay. But not completely. She still finds herself sleeping under the bed more than she slumbers in it. She has not spoken to anyone in her family in years. She plans to keep it that way.
That old saying about the best laid plans is about to catch up with her. Sarah Marshall, Robin’s twin, was recently marched out of her home and advised to never return or face the police. The blood. The lies. They will work against her should she go to the law. Determined to regain custody of her beloved daughter, she resolves to get her sister’s help in taking back all that was taken from her.
As Katherine Anne Porter said, “The past is never where you think you left it.” In the case of Robin and Sarah the past is not behind them as they had hoped, but all around them. It influences all they do, think, and feel. For in the past there was a boy, Callum. Close as a brother and once deeply loved by both. A boy whose family was deeply entwined with theirs. That entanglement brought no end of pain to all three children – a pain which should have been laid to rest but never has been.
This is a story of secrets, lies, misunderstandings and big mistakes. Peopled with characters whom you may never love, but whom you will certainly find addictive, it puts its hook in you and doesn’t let you go. Its power lies in two compelling aspects: the first is that the twists and turns give the story an edge of your seat excitement. It’s a complete disaster but it’s one you won’t want to look away from. The second aspect is that each dollop of truth comes just after you’ve bought the lie. The combination makes for a very intense read.
The personalities in the book provide the momentum for this tale. Since childhood, Robin has had the nasty habit of blurting out dangerous truths and stepping where angels fear to tread. Her meddling moves things forward, backward and into places where they weren’t planning to go. Sarah’s good girl façade hides an ability to manipulate people into alarming acts, and her machinations often backfire, leaving great damage in their wake. Callum’s gentle nature makes him the most vulnerable member of the trio and the one most likely to suffer from the repercussions of the problems the girls have caused. Together, they are an explosive combination – and they spend all of their early years together.
Don’t Close Your Eyes is the kind of book that thrusts ordinary people into macabre situations. In this case, simple acts of selfishness set several lives on a disintegrating spiral into some truly dark places. While the book had a slow, if fascinating, start and Robin’s sudden blurting out of the truth often serves as a bit of deus ex machina, these flaws will be forgotten as you become engrossed in a story that twists, turns and plummets to a shocking conclusion.
Buy Now: A/BN/iB/K
Grade: B+
Book Type: Suspense
Sensuality: N/A
Review Date: 30/06/17
Publication Date: 07/2017
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.