Publication Date: 5th May from Quercus
Source: Netgalley
One, two, three . . .
Lisa Dale shuts her eyes and counts to one hundred during a game of hide-and-seek. When she opens them, her four-year-old daughter Ella is gone. Disappeared without a trace. The police, the media and Lisa’s family all think they know who snatched Ella. But what if the person who took her isn’t a stranger? What if they are convinced they are doing the right thing? And what if Lisa’s little girl is in danger of disappearing forever?
While My Eyes Were Closed is an interesting and slightly different take on the plethora of missing child books there are around – in that it is very focused on cause and effect, on the fallout to the family, on the wider aspects rather than on “whodunnit” – I found this refreshing especially as Linda Green managed to make it thought provoking and interesting throughout.
It is a fast read in that you really want to keep going to find out what ultimately happens – this is more character study and social intricacy than it is thriller, although there is the edge of the seat aspect in waiting to discover how things will pan out. As such its a bit of a page turner, most of my fascination was with the abductor in this case and the fact that we get to see things from their point of view, even have the chance to sympathise with them despite their actions, made it an excellent read for me.
The vagaries of Social Media play a part, the anguish of the family, the way they are viewed and taken apart by people who know nothing about them beyond the media portrayal, this was cleverly done with an authentic turn. The author still manages to weave a twisty tale throwing in unexpected developments along the way, characters are well drawn and the writing is engaging and pacy.
Good read. Recommended for those who like their psychological thrillers to have more than a “by the numbers” feel, a fairly decent attempt to take it above and beyond. Will look forward to more from Linda Green.
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