Open Your Eyes – Paula Daly

Psychological Thriller
5*s

Here is an author that can start her latest book with a seemingly mundane argument, one of the kind that many married couples have, and yet for all its familiarity, I was instantly pulled into the story. Jane and Leon Campbell are off to his mother’s to celebrate his birthday. Both are tetchy; Leon because he’d rather spend his birthday doing what he wants to do and Jane because having to visit his mother for his birthday is somehow her fault. Put two young children, a car journey and a declined manuscript, her sixth, into the mix and it is easy to get the picture. So far so predictable as is the opposite neighbour’s untimely moan about an ongoing neighbourhood niggle. Jane is relieved when she can return to the house to pick up the forgotten beer while the disagreement rumbles on taking a deep breath before returning to the car. By the time she returns, this is no longer a normal day, it is one of the worst days of their lives.

I won’t say anything further about the plot because all of the above happens upfront, what comes next is thrilling, baffling and at times almost incomprehensible. How can such devastation occur out of the blue. To Jane, to Leon, to his brilliantly portrayed mother and sister, and to his two children. Life will never be quite the same again. Paula Daly has painted her supporting cast in equally bright characters from the Police who visit and tries and fails to be comforting, to the circle of friends that are most supportive but balk at revealing the secrets that they know Leon has concealed from Jane. Their actions, dialogue and interactions are all totally believable.

If all the excitement about what happens to Leon, why the police are involved, what they find and plenty more ‘whats’ besides, isn’t enough it should be noted that the couple are authors; Leon Campbell a well-known crime thriller writer while Jane is an aspiring women’s fiction. Leon has been very supportive of Jane in her quest to be published even if he does use his writing to get out of the many mundane jobs that are part and parcel of parenthood. Readers will be pleased to know that the fact he is an author is woven throughout the plot and what us readers love more than anything, is reading about books. So it’s a winner all around.

All I can say is that Paula Daly has done it again, by which I mean take an everyday event and transform it into the most gripping of reads. I will confess, despite having visitors this book was barely out of reach and I snatched it up at each and every opportunity. I anticipated another pure read of entertainment, and I got that in spades, but below the fast-paced thrills there is also a strong vein of truth of not just the emotional consequences of serious injury but the ongoing change to the person and those who are part of their lives.

Open Your Eyes is a psychological thriller that stands out from the crowd, perhaps because the characters are far from dislikeable, but you will have to be on the ball to work out the truth of the seemingly unsolvable puzzle. Even better I let out a pleased and satisfied sigh at the ending.

I’d like to thank the publisher Random House UK for allowing me to read a copy of Open Your Eyes prior to publication on 26 July 2018, and to Paula Daly for the rollercoaster ride.

First Published UK: 26 July 2018
Publisher: Random House UK
No of Pages: 400
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Amazon UK
Amazon US

 

This Week in Books (July 18)

Hosted by Lipsy Lost & Found my Wednesday post gives you a taste of what I am reading this week. A similar meme is run by Taking on a World of Words

I have just started Fatal Inheritance by Rachel Rhys (aka Tammy Cohen) which will be published next week on 26 July 2018.

Blurb

1948: an English housewife trapped in a dull marriage escapes to the South of France to claim a mystery inheritance. But rivals to her unexplained fortune begin to emerge, and now they want her out of the way …

She didn’t have an enemy in the world…
until she inherited a fortune
London 1948: Eve Forrester is trapped in a loveless marriage, in a gloomy house, in a grey suburb.
Out of the blue, she received a solicitor’s letter. A wealthy stranger has left her a mystery inheritance but in order to find out more, she must travel to the glittering French Riviera.

Eve discovers her legacy is an enchanting villa overlooking the Mediterranean sea and suddenly, life could not be more glamorous.
But while she rubs shoulders with film-stars and famous writers, under the heat of the golden sun, rivals to her unexplained fortune begin to emerge. Rivals who want her out of the way.
Alone in paradise, Eve must unlock the story behind her surprise bequest – before events turn deadly… Amazon

My last read was Open Your Eyes by Paula Daly, a very clever psychological thriller by this oh so dependable author.

Blurb

Haven’t we all wanted to pretend everything is fine?

Jane doesn’t like confrontation. Given the choice, she’d prefer to focus on what’s going well, the good things in life.

But when her husband, Leon, is brutally attacked in the driveway of their home, in front of their two young children, Jane has to face reality. As he lies in a coma, Jane must open her eyes to the problems in her life, and the secrets that have been kept from her, if she’s to find out who hurt her husband – and why.

Maybe it’s time to face up to it all. Who knows what you might find . . . Amazon

Next up I plan on reading Mrs Woolf and the Servants by Alison Light

Blurb

When Virginia Woolf wrote A Room of One’s Own in 1929, she established her reputation as a feminist, a woman who could imagine a more open and liberal reality, and an advocate for the female voice. Indeed the Bloomsbury set has often been identified with liberal, open-minded views; Woolf’s circle of artists and writers were considered Bohemians ahead of their time. But they were also of their time. Like thousands of other British households, Virginia Woolf’s relied on live-in domestics for the most intimate of daily tasks. That room of her own she so valued was cleaned, heated, and supplied with meals by a series of cooks and maids throughout her childhood and adult life. In Mrs. Woolf and the Servants, Alison Light gives depth and dignity to the long-overlooked servants who worked for the Bloomsbury intellectuals.

The result is twofold. For one, Light adds revealing nuances to our picture of Virginia Woolf, both as a woman and as writer. She also captures a fascinating period of British history, primarily between the wars, when modern oil stoves were creeping into kitchens to replace coal, and young women were starting to dream of working in hat shops rather than mansions.

Despite the liberal outlook of the Bloomsbury set, and their conscious efforts to leave their Victorian past behind, their homes were nevertheless divided into the worlds of “us” and “them.” Alison Light writes with insight and charm about this fraught side of Bloomsbury, and hers is a refreshingly balanced portrait of Virginia Woolf, flaws and all. Goodreads

What do you think? Do any of these take your fancy?

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph (July 10)

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Vicky from I’d Rather Be At The Beach who posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

This week I’m sharing the opening paragraph of Open Your Eyes by Paula Daly which will be published on 26 July 2018.

Blurb

Haven’t we all wanted to pretend everything is fine?

Jane doesn’t like confrontation. Given the choice, she’d prefer to focus on what’s going well, the good things in life.

But when her husband, Leon, is brutally attacked in the driveway of their home, in front of their two young children, Jane has to face reality. As he lies in a coma, Jane must open her eyes to the problems in her life, and the secrets that have been kept from her, if she’s to find out who hurt her husband – and why.

Maybe it’s time to face up to it all. Who knows what you might find . . . Amazon

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph ~ Intro

Dear Mrs Jane Campbell,

Thank you for sending us your novel, which we have now read and considered. We are sorry to say though that your novel is not something this agency could feel 100 per cent confident of being able to handle successfully. However, there are as many opinions as there are agents and publishers, so we wish you all the success in finding suitable representation elsewhere. Due to the large numbers of submissions we receive, we’re afraid we’re unable to respond individually to your query, or to provide feedback on your work.

Sincerely yours,
Phoebe Claystone
Literary Agent

1

Another year of my life… wasted. All that work. All that time I’d devoted when I could be doing something else. Something more productive.

Hell, I could probably have learned Mandarin by now.

Please note I have broken off mid paragraph here otherwise I’m in danger of typing forever!

What do you think? Would you keep reading?

Weekly Wrap Up (June 3)

It feels like summer here – last Sunday we had a bbq to belatedly celebrate my daughter’s birthday on her return from holiday, and yesterday we took a walk so that we could have breakfast while looking at this wonderful view.

This Week on the Blog

With summer actually making a proper appearance it was fitting that my week started with my first selection for Cathy’s 20 Books of Summer 2018, a challenge that shapes my summer.

My excerpt post came from Ngaio Marsh’s book Off With His Head which is one of my reads for The Classics Club.

This Week in Books featured the authors Fredrik Backman, Rhiannon Navin and Kim Izzo

So we are up to Thursday before I posted my first review of the week for Portrait of a Murderer by Anne Meredith.

Then, it was 1 June and time for me to make my selection for Five of the Best for May from 2014 to 2018.

My second review of the week was for Only Child by Rhiannon Navin, a heartbreaking tale narrated by a six-year-old boy called Zach.

This Time Last Year…

I was reading Love Like Blood by Mark Billingham. I love a crime fiction book t with a strong contemporary feel and Mark Billingham uses his fourteenth book in the Tom Thorne series to use honour killings as the starting point. The fact that he does this within a brilliantly constructed mystery certainly makes for compelling reading. Mark Billingham has clearly researched his subject matter speaking to those who have been part of those families where the younger generation are resistant to following the rules their parents are keen to uphold but he never forgets that this is a work of fiction, and as such it was gripping.

You can read my full review here or click on the book cover

Blurb

A BLOODY MESSAGE
As DI Nicola Tanner investigates what appears to be a series of organised killings, her partner Susan is brutally murdered, leaving the detective bereft, and vengeful.

A POWERFUL ALLY
Taken off the case, Tanner enlists the help of DI Tom Thorne to pursue a pair of ruthless killers and the broker handing out the deadly contracts.

A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE
As the killers target their latest victim, Thorne takes the biggest risk of his career and is drawn into a horrifying and disturbing world in which families will do anything to protect their honour. Amazon

Stacking The Shelves

I have one new addition from NetGalley this week; Open Your Eyes by Paula Daly, an author who had me thoroughly gripped with her previous novels Just What Kind of Mother are You?, The Mistake I Made and The Trophy Child. Open Your Eyes will be published on 26 July 2018.

Blurb

Haven’t we all wanted to pretend everything is fine?
Jane doesn’t like confrontation. Given the choice, she’d prefer to focus on what’s going well, the good things in life.
But when her husband, Leon, is brutally attacked in the driveway of their home, in front of their two young children, Jane has to face reality. As he lies in a coma, Jane must open her eyes to the problems in her life, and the secrets that have been kept from her, if she’s to find out who hurt her husband – and why.
Maybe it’s time to face up to it all. Who knows what you might find . . . NetGalley

And my holiday is coming up so I cashed in two of my tokens. Limiting my choices for buying new books has caused endless debates about which books I really, really want – that debate is ongoing and I’m hoping to have another token in the bank so I can choose two more before I leave!

First up is Dying Truth by Angela Marsons, the eighth in her Kim Stone series and a sure fire winner as far as this reader is concerned.

Blurb

When teenager Sadie Winter jumps from the roof of her school, her death is ruled as suicide – a final devastating act from a troubled girl. But then the broken body of a young boy is discovered at the same school and it’s clear to Detective Kim Stone that these deaths are not tragic accidents.

As Kim and her team begin to unravel a dark web of secrets, one of the teachers could hold the key to the truth. Yet just as she is about to break her silence, she is found dead.

With more children’s lives at risk, Kim has to consider the unthinkable – whether a fellow pupil could be responsible for the murders. Investigating the psychology of children that kill brings the detective into contact with her former adversary, Dr Alex Thorne – the sociopath who has made it her life’s work to destroy Kim.

Desperate to catch the killer, Kim finds a link between the recent murders and an initiation prank that happened at the school decades earlier. But saving these innocent lives comes at a cost – and one of Kim’s own might pay the ultimate price. Amazon

I’ve also bought a copy of A Fractured Winter, the latest book by Alison Baillie after being so impressed by Sewing the Shadows Together

Blurb

A missing girl.
Threatening notes.
Sinister strangers.

Olivia’s idyllic family life in a Swiss mountain village is falling apart. She thought she’d managed to escape the past, but it’s coming back to haunt her.

Has somebody discovered her secret – why she had to leave Scotland more than ten years ago?

What is her connection to Marie, a lonely schoolgirl in a Yorkshire seaside town, and Lucy, a student at a Scottish university?

A story of the shadows of the past, the uncertainties of the present and how you can never really know anybody. Amazon

What have you found to read this week? Do share!

Since my last post I have read 3 books and I have gained 3 so the TBR is at a consistent 175
Physical Books – 112
Kindle Books – 46
NetGalley Books –16
Audio Books –1

Having used 2 tokens I am 1 book in credit!