Belinda Bauer The Shut Eye

review by showhost oct 2016

This is another psychological thriller genre book. It kept me reading and the idea was good.

Anna and her husband James live in a flat next to the garage where James works, with a couple of illegal immigrants and a tight fisted, unlikeable boss. 

Most mornings Anna could be seen cleaning the 5 footprints of her young son which are the last sign of him since his disappearance a few weeks ago. James had left the door open on his way to work and little Daniel had gone out and walked in the freshly poured cement of the garage next door where her husband works  .  Anna has gone into melt down and just spend her days polishing those foot prints.  Plus everything in her house is scrubbed clean of germs.  Gone is the loving, happy, carefree woman James married.

Abrasvie cop DI John marvel had been working on the case of a missing 12 yr old girl Edie and they had even paid for the help of a local psychic (even though he totally dissed the concept of being able to talk to the dead) but she still hasn't been found, just her bike.  The fact that he can’t solve the case haunts him.

Anna, crazy lady as people call her, goes to the local church to listen to a psychic session, to ask if he could find Daniel.  The psychic tells Anna he can't help her.  At the hall she meets Sandra who is looking for her missing dog, and hands Anna one of the photos she's handing round of her dog. 

But when Anna gets home and she looks at the picture she starts to see and feel things.

DI Marvel is asked by his boss to help his wife find their missing dog, much to his disgust, but does on proviso he can open up the Edie case.

The narrative is also broken by Edie as we slowly find out what happened to her and where she is and her thoughts as she is kept prisoner.

It's an interesting concept and all the characters are well drawn (the parents of the missing children, the police, the psychic, the perp, the police). The only thing I was a little disappointed with was the ending, I found it a little confusing and left questions.

I would read another by this author.

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