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    Open Your Eyes
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    Open Your Eyes
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    Open Your Eyes
    Ebook348 pages4 hours

    Open Your Eyes

    By Paula Daly

    4/5

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    About this ebook

  • Consistently praised for her incisive depictions of domestic family life with a twist of suspense, Daly writes real characters, questioning the role of women and the demands placed upon them; one of Grove’s most promising domestic suspense writers, Daly’s audience continues to grow as readers discover her backlist through ebook and marketing promotions
  • For readers of Laura Lippman, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Lisa Scottoline, Heather Gudenkauf, and Liane Moriarty
  • ITV studios in the UK is filming a six-part series this fall based on Just What Kind of Mother Are You? and The Mistake I Made
  • OPEN YOUR EYES winks at the literary world as its protagonists are two authors, the husband is a crime novelist while the wife is a struggling women’s fiction writer
  • Keep Your Friends Close was a finalist for the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year
  • Just What Kind of Mother Are You? was a finalist for the Strand Magazine Critics Award for Best First Novel, named a Top Ten Fall Thriller by Publishers Weekly, a Library Journal top debut, and one of O Magazine’s “Five Page-Turners That Will Surprise You More Than Once”
  • Daly’s novels have been internationally published in over thirteen languages
    • LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGrove Press
    Release dateOct 9, 2018
    ISBN9780802146441
    Author

    Paula Daly

    Paula Daly is the author of several novels including Just What Kind of Mother Are You?, Keep Your Friends Close, The Mistake I Made, and The Trophy Child. A freelance physiotherapist, she lives in North West England with her husband, three children, and whippet, Skippy.

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    Reviews for Open Your Eyes

    4/5

    29 ratings5 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Unusual and clever plot rooted in real domestic life of a Liverpool author and his wife, who has to cope when he is shot on their driveway.
    • 3/5
      I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.Jane’s husband Leon is attacked with a nail gun while he waits for her in the car on the driveway of their house with the children in the back seat. This is part mystery novel, as the police and Jane try to work out who might have done such a thing, and part novel about what it is like to live with some one with a brain injury.I enjoyed the beginning, but the middle dragged a little. The brain injury parts read as if the author had researched the situation thoroughly, but I was in it for the crime elements really. As Jane discovered that Leon had been keeping things from her the plot thickened a little, but the resolution left Jane with a husband only recovered to an extent and who had done some morally unacceptable things. Given his current inability to remember doing them, there seemed no way for her to gain “closure”. The very ending - Jane has written her own novel! - struck a false note for me.
    • 5/5
      Open Your Eyes is such a good read. It's about lives being turned upside down and how secrets can come to light because of it.Leon is a crime fiction writer, a successful one. Jane is also a writer, but has not yet enjoyed any success. The book starts with them having a normal day. It's Leon's birthday and the family, Leon, Jane and their two young children, are off to his mother's for tea. There's the usual light bickering that happens when families are cooped up in the car together. But they don't even get off the drive before something terrible happens to Leon. You might think that after such a major event in the first few pages the story might dip a bit but it doesn't at all. Jane starts to make all sorts of discoveries whilst Leon is indisposed and it rocks her world.I got thoroughly involved in this story. I was pulled into Jane's predicament, I witnessed her confusion, her children's bewilderment. I, just like Jane, couldn't work out why Leon had been attacked (I have to say it is one of the most original methods of causing harm I have come across!). I was kept guessing until right at the end of the book when all was revealed.As Jane sets about discovering more about why Leon may have been targeted, there's a greater sense of foreboding looming over it all. Did Jane really know her husband at all? The pace is just right - it's not a hugely fast paced thriller, more an unfolding of events over a period of time. Nevertheless, it's utterly thrilling from start to finish.I loved the fact that the main characters are writers. It brought an extra level of interest to the story for me. And the supporting characters are all great too, from the policewoman to Jane's neighbours. They all play their own important part in the story.Open Your Eyes was an absolute page turner. I liked Jane immensely and hoped so much for some resolution for her. Whether she gets it or not I won't give away, but the conclusion was absolutely perfect, as was the whole novel. It's a tour de force in the domestic noir genre and I thought it was an excellent read.
    • 4/5
      This was a solid psychological thriller. The author puts a lot of red herrings in the book but I still was able to figure who did it in the end. It was a little surprising that Jane was so oblivious to the things that were going on in her husband Leon's life and with their finances. I hadn't read anything by Paula Daly before but will definitely be reading more of her books when I am looking to for a quick and enjoyable thriller. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.
    • 4/5
      4.5 stars.

      Open Your Eyes by Paula Daly is a clever, twist-filled domestic mystery.

      Jane Campbell and her husband Leon are happily married with two young children. As they are leaving to celebrate Leon's birthday, Jane runs into the house to grab something and when she returns, she notices something is not quite right with her husband.  After he crashes their car into a neighbor's brick wall, Jane learns the stunning truth-Leon has been brutally attacked. As Leon is placed into a medically induced coma, Jane learns some unsettling information that leads her to question everything she thinks she knows about her husband. When Detective Inspector Hazel Ledecky suspects Jane might be responsible for Leon's injuries, Jane begins conducting her own investigation to find out who wanted to kill her husband. Will she uncover the truth before it is too late?

      Jane is a fairly passive woman who avoids confrontation.  After giving birth to their children, she also turned over all financial responsibility to Leon.  Jane has struggled for years to publish her manuscripts and Leon is quite supportive of her efforts. She teaches creative writing and after her husband's attack, she realizes that Leon has been keeping several secrets from her.  She also finds some troubling files on his computer, but she is having trouble making sense of what her discoveries mean.

      Leon is a moderately successful author of a gritty detective series. He has a bit of a short fuse but Jane has no reason to fear for her safety. Leon can be a bit dismissive of other writers and he has had a few run-ins with another author. But as far as Jane can tell, no one would have any reason to want to harm her husband.

      After Leon emerges from his coma, Jane is shocked by the changes in her husband. His traumatic brain injury is quite serious and his recovery will be long. Although Jane is ill-prepared to care for him, Leon is quickly released from the hospital and sent home. His memory issues are severe and he is prone to angry outbursts. Jane is surprisingly firm with him when she needs to be but she continually questions whether she is up to the task of caring for him.

      The police investigation into Leon's attack soon stalls due to a lack of evidence, motive and suspects. Jane has reason to fear for her family's safety and she quietly continues trying to figure out who is responsible. When Jane stumbles onto the startling truth, will DI Ledecky believe her?

      Open Your Eyes is an absolutely riveting mystery that is quite engaging. Jane is a sympathetic and likable protagonist who discovers hidden strengths when faced with adversity.  The storyline is tautly plotted and moves at a brisk pace.  Paula Daly's meticulous research into traumatic brain injuries adds authenticity to the plot.  Readers will be genuinely surprised when Jane uncovers the perpetrator's identity and motive for Leon's attack. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this suspenseful mystery to fans of the genre.