Open Your Eyes

by Paula Daly

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802128454
Publisher:	Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date:	10/09/2018
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

PAULA DALY is the author of Just What Kind of Mother Are You?, Keep Your Friends Close, The Mistake I Made, and The Trophy Child. Open Your Eyes is her fifth novel. She lives in North West England.

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/27/2018
Jane Campbell, the narrator of this superior domestic thriller from British author Daly (The Trophy Child), is accustomed to having her husband, Leon, handle their finances, household decisions, and even any comments that may arise over their biracial marriage (she’s white, he’s black). The family lives comfortably in Liverpool on Leon’s income as a top-selling crime fiction writer. Jane concentrates on their two children, their home, and teaching creative writing a couple of times a week. That her own manuscripts have been rejected several times is her one sore spot. Jane’s life changes when Leon is shot in the head with a nail gun in their driveway minutes after a confrontation with their elderly neighbor with whom they’ve had an ongoing feud. As Leon recovers, Jane begins to learn how much her husband has hidden from her—they are deeply in debt, he is way behind in his latest manuscript, and he has made some dangerous enemies. Believable twists and characters who realistically change distinguish this brisk story. Agent: Jane Gregory, David Higham Assoc. (U.K.). (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Open Your Eyes

“Sharp and thoughtful . . . Daly writes deftly about ordinary life; Open Your Eyes is a subtle and nuanced suspense novel that will best suit readers looking for a story made chilling by its plausibility . . . Open Your Eyes is tense, chilling reading material, and a breath of fresh air in the domestic thriller genre.”—Crime By The Book

“Believable twists and characters who realistically change distinguish this brisk story.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“An evenly paced thriller; Daly delivers just enough clues and twists, a little bit at a time, to keep the reader guessing . . . [Open Your Eyes is] A satisfyingly original thriller.”—Kirkus Reviews

“An electrifying plot that keeps you guessing to the last.”—Fiona Barton, author of The Widow

“[Open Your Eyes is] another gripping, heartbreaking read from a brilliant writer.”—Jill Mansell, author of You and Me, Always

“Dark and delicious . . . Daly does it again!”—L. V. Hay, author of The Other Twin

“Effortless writing, brilliant storytelling, characters that you really root for (even the villains!) So cleverly done. Her books just get better and better.” —Susi Holliday, author of The Deaths of December

“Brilliant characters, fast paced and gripping.”—Claire Douglas, author of Local Girl Missing

From the Publisher

05/15/2018
Jane Campbell unassumingly lets husband Leon, a thriller writer, handle the family's dramas and traumas. But when Leon is left in a coma after an attack, she's determined to find out who did it.

Library Journal

2018-08-21

When her husband is assaulted in broad daylight, a woman must fight to uncover his secrets in Daly's (The Trophy Child, 2017, etc.) domestic thriller.

Jane Campbell prides herself on her equanimity even as she also recognizes that she will do almost anything to avoid face-to-face conflict. She's not someone who actively seizes her dreams, as evidenced by the fact that she teaches creative writing instead of fighting to publish her own book. Her husband, Leon, in contrast, is not only a successful crime novelist, but also a strong personality who doesn't turn away from a fight. One afternoon, as they prepare to pull out of the driveway with their two children in the car, Jane goes inside to fetch something. When she returns several minutes later, Leon has been brutally attacked. Most of the novel follows Jane's struggles as she works to support Leon, who is in a medically induced coma; keep her children safe; and make enough money to keep them all afloat. For as she begins digging into her husband's life, she finds out that he's been lying to her about his writing and about their finances. Perhaps the list of suspects is longer than at first it appears—and maybe Leon was even having mental problems before his brain surgery. This is an evenly paced thriller; Daly delivers just enough clues and twists, a little bit at a time, to keep the reader guessing. It's easy to relate to Jane; her general passiveness leads to few character surprises, but she firmly gains and keeps our sympathy, unlike many more unreliable narrators who pepper domestic suspense novels these days. After the shocking beginning, Jane's dogged pursuit of the truth keeps the novel grounded.

A satisfyingly original thriller.

Kirkus Reviews