Book Review | Shut Your Eyes Tight

Title: Shut Your Eyes Tight (Dave Gurney, No. 2): A Novel

Author: John Verdon

About the Book:

Shut your Eyes Tight is a novel about retired police detective Dave Gurney who is asked to assist on an intriguing murder case. The case has been at a stand still for four months with no new leads and multiple dead ends. There are more mysteries than solid fact, so Gurney can’t resist getting involved, even though his wife would rather he leave his detective days in the past.

My Review:

This book was fascinating. I loved the idea of a murder that appeared to be perfect, with no trace evidence and contradicting facts. Detective Gurney was an interesting character. It was easy to see how serious he takes his job. It is obviously difficult for him to live a normal life without a puzzle to solve.

The relationship with Gurney and his wife, Madeleine was also amazing. Verdon does a great job at building the tension between them. I could really feel for her. She didn’t want to change who Gurney was, but she longed for him to be able to be happy living a simple life. It created an interesting dynamic. Particularly when she would help Gurney work through pieces of the puzzle. As the reader, you knew she didn’t want to be a help, but she couldn’t stand to see her husband get frustrated over it. She truly loved him and I loved that.

The mystery part of the book was well written, but I guessed how it ended about a third into it. It almost became frustrating to me that the characters hadn’t reached the same conclusion that I had. When I finally finished, I received a great deal of satisfaction that I had been right and relief that the characters finally caught up to me.

However, a large key to me figuring it out was the fact that I became invested as I read. I found myself thinking about the case for hours after I had put the book down. I wanted to beat the brilliant Gurney to the solution, and it turns out I did.

That being said, I feel I have to mention the amount of language that was used. The use of the ‘f’ word felt extreme and unnecessary most of the time. There was one character where it felt natural that he swore a lot, the rest just felt excessive. If I hadn’t been reading it as a review, I would have put it down halfway through and not finished it, even though I loved the intriguing plot. I just don’t like reading that much language.

If language doesn’t bother you and you crave a good mystery, Shut Your Eyes Tight will satisfy that craving.

Giveaway

One reader is going to win Shut Your Eyes Tight.

*I received a copy of this book to review but I was not financially compensated in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my observations while reading this novel.*