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Happy Wednesday! Today I have a review of Open Your Eyes, Paula Daly’s newest work of domestic suspense, now available from Grove Press!

My Thoughts:

Open Your Eyes was a different ditty…in a good way! 

The main character, Jane Campbell, a creative writing teacher, does not like confrontation. I can relate to that. She is married to a top crime writer, Leon, and she takes the backseat to him. Jane’s focus is on the family, including her two young children; however, she finally submits a manuscript to a publisher only to be rejected. Rather than push her to try again, Leon asks her to let her “hobby” of writing go. 

Jane’s idyllic, quiet life comes to an abrupt end when Leon is attacked in the driveway of their home during the day with her children watching. 

Leon is now in a coma, and Jane’s eyes are opened to the truth about her life, including some hidden secrets. She is convicted to find the truth, including who attacked Leon. 

Leon is living with a traumatic brain injury, and Daly handles his recovery with care and empathy. I enjoyed the presentation of the story as if it were an autobiography written by Jane, since she is a talented writer in her own right. I was on the edge of my seat with the suspense in this one, lots of guessing, and the ending was ultimately satisfying. 

In Open Your Eyes, Paula Daly shatters the facade of what, for all appearances, is the perfect marriage. She examines the vices of pride and envy and arranges a masterful whodunit. Open Your Eyes answers that question we ask ourselves all too often: do we ever really know those closest to us? 

Thank you to the generous Grove Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own. 

Synopsis:

From acclaimed novelist and “master of psychological thrillers” (Library Journal) Paula Daly, Open Your Eyes follows a bestselling crime novelist’s tragic turn from fictional perpetrator into real-life victim.

Jane Campbell avoids confrontation at any costs. Given the choice, she’ll always let her husband, Leon–a bestselling crime writer–take the lead, while she focuses on her two precious young children and her job as a creative writing teacher. After she receives another rejection for her novel, Leon urges Jane to put her hobby to rest. And why shouldn’t she, when through Jane’s rose-tinted glasses, they appear to have the perfect house and the perfect life?

But then Leon is brutally attacked in their driveway while their children wait quietly in the car, and suddenly, their perfect life becomes the stuff of nightmares. Who would commit such a hateful offense in broad daylight? 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 must take matters into her own hands.

A surprising and gripping thriller of pride, ambition, and envy, Open Your Eyes is an unsettling whodunit about the illusions of a perfect marriage that confirms Paula Daly as a writer at the forefront of domestic suspense.

Have you read Open Your Eyes, or do you plan to? Do you have a favorite book by Paula Daly? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR