In Her Eyes by Sarah Alderson
Published by Mulholland Books
Publication Date 14th November 2019
Crime/Psychological Thriller
320 pages
Book Description:
You're at home with your family.
You think you're safe.
You're wrong...
You think you're safe.
You're wrong...
Ava's life is the kind other people envy: loving husband; great kids; beautiful house. Until the night a violent home invasion turns the dream into a nightmare, and leaves her beautiful daughter fighting to survive.
And then things get worse. Ava realises that the attack wasn't random. Someone is targeting her family. Why? Who could hate them enough to kill?
Ava must find out what really happened that night, to save those she loves from even greater danger. But when everyone around you has been lying, how do you decide who to trust?
And Ava has secrets of her own...
My Review:
I'm not a huge fan of books set in the US which is my fault, not the writers', mainly because I don't understand the hierarchy of the police departments or the different names for the stages of school but this book didn't really relate too much to these, it was far more about the family and how events one night affected the individuals therein.
Ava and Robert have a seemingly perfect home and family life; Robert has made his money with a successful internet app and the business he now runs based on that. Maybe the fact of Robert's success in life being in the public eye caused them to be the focus of the break in that happened that night - or maybe it was just opportunists seeing a big house and expecting a successful raid. Sherriff Nate Carmichael's investigation would find uncover the truth.
Nobody should have been home that night if things had gone according to plan - another line of enquiry for Nate and his team to follow - and had that been the case then this would just have been a straightforward case of burglary rather than an attempted murder charge.
As Ava starts trying to work things out in her head, she realises that the pieces aren't fitting together quite right and maybe the family were deliberate targets. Arrests and accusations are made which shake Ava to her core and make her question the very foundation of her life with Robert. How well does she know her family after all?
The story does take some rather incredible twists and turns from here on, with Ava putting herself and best friend Laurie in some questionable positions given the traumatic experience she has just gone through and this was the point in the book where I kind of lost interest.
I kept going in order to find out whodunnit and why, but the unbelievable events needed to link the plot points together completely spoiled what could have been a pretty good book. A promising first third and an interesting overall plot were let down by the middle section which needed a far more convincing method of detective work to solve the case. If you can excuse that side of the book then it will be a decent read but sadly not one for me.
My thanks to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this ahead of publication.
Ava and Robert have a seemingly perfect home and family life; Robert has made his money with a successful internet app and the business he now runs based on that. Maybe the fact of Robert's success in life being in the public eye caused them to be the focus of the break in that happened that night - or maybe it was just opportunists seeing a big house and expecting a successful raid. Sherriff Nate Carmichael's investigation would find uncover the truth.
Nobody should have been home that night if things had gone according to plan - another line of enquiry for Nate and his team to follow - and had that been the case then this would just have been a straightforward case of burglary rather than an attempted murder charge.
As Ava starts trying to work things out in her head, she realises that the pieces aren't fitting together quite right and maybe the family were deliberate targets. Arrests and accusations are made which shake Ava to her core and make her question the very foundation of her life with Robert. How well does she know her family after all?
The story does take some rather incredible twists and turns from here on, with Ava putting herself and best friend Laurie in some questionable positions given the traumatic experience she has just gone through and this was the point in the book where I kind of lost interest.
I kept going in order to find out whodunnit and why, but the unbelievable events needed to link the plot points together completely spoiled what could have been a pretty good book. A promising first third and an interesting overall plot were let down by the middle section which needed a far more convincing method of detective work to solve the case. If you can excuse that side of the book then it will be a decent read but sadly not one for me.
My thanks to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this ahead of publication.
About the Author:
Sarah is a British born, LA based screenwriter and author.
Having spent most of her life in London, Sarah quit her job in the non profit sector in 2009 and took off on a round the world trip with her husband and toddler daughter on a mission to find a new place to call home.
She finished her first novel, HUNTING LILA, just before they left the UK, wrote the sequel on the beach in India, and had signed a two book deal with Simon & Schuster by the time they reached Bali. After living there for five years, during which time she wrote another ten books, she and her family made the move to California.
While now writing predominantly for TV and film, Sarah remains a prolific author, writing women's fiction under the name Mila Gray. Her novels in this genre include the #1 bestselling COME BACK TO ME, STAY WITH ME and RUN AWAY WITH ME.
Her first non-fiction book, CAN WE LIVE HERE, based on her family's travels around the world to find a new home, was published in 2015.
Her first psychological thriller, FRIENDS LIKE THESE, is out in December 2018, published by Mulholland Books.
Her books have appeared in translation in Germany, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Portugal, Russia and Poland.
You can find her on Facebook, Twitter (@sarahalderson) and at www.sarahalderson.com
Having spent most of her life in London, Sarah quit her job in the non profit sector in 2009 and took off on a round the world trip with her husband and toddler daughter on a mission to find a new place to call home.
She finished her first novel, HUNTING LILA, just before they left the UK, wrote the sequel on the beach in India, and had signed a two book deal with Simon & Schuster by the time they reached Bali. After living there for five years, during which time she wrote another ten books, she and her family made the move to California.
While now writing predominantly for TV and film, Sarah remains a prolific author, writing women's fiction under the name Mila Gray. Her novels in this genre include the #1 bestselling COME BACK TO ME, STAY WITH ME and RUN AWAY WITH ME.
Her first non-fiction book, CAN WE LIVE HERE, based on her family's travels around the world to find a new home, was published in 2015.
Her first psychological thriller, FRIENDS LIKE THESE, is out in December 2018, published by Mulholland Books.
Her books have appeared in translation in Germany, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Portugal, Russia and Poland.
You can find her on Facebook, Twitter (@sarahalderson) and at www.sarahalderson.com
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