Jennifer W. (GeniusJen) reviewed Hide Your Eyes (Samantha Leiffer, Bk 1) on + 5322 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
If someone had told me a few months ago that there was such a book as chick-lit romantic suspense, I would have said they were crazy. Alas, little did I know that not only does such a book exits, it's a totally awesome new genre! You really don't want to miss HIDE YOUR EYES by Alison Gaylin, and you definitely don't want to overlook her brand of sassiness, sarcastic humor, and down-and-dirty romantic suspense.
Poor Samantha Leiffer-the girl just cannot get a break! She moved to New York to be with the love of her life, Nate, a man more breathtaking than a god and more charming than a snake. The only problem was, Nate really was a snake, one who boinked everyone within walking distance of his and Samantha's apartment. And by everyone, I mean everyone-seems old Nate wasn't very discriminating when it came to the male or female status of his conquests. So here's poor Sam, working two jobs-one as a teacher at the Sunny Side nursery school, the other in the box-office of an off-off-off-off-off Broadway theater named the Space-and on Valentine's Day, that day of love and passion, she just so happens to witness a man and woman drop an ice chest into the Hudson River. That alone might be suspicious, but after all, it's a low point in Sam's life, and she's suspicious by nature.
What follows is something that even her mother, Sydney Stark-Leiffer, self-help guru and mostly off-her-rocker publicity hound, wouldn't be able to come up with a quick answer to. There really was something suspicious in that hastily dumped ice chest-a body, to be exact, and one with it's eyes gouged out, to be even more exact. Suddenly, Sam's life is in more upheaval than her Space coworker who took a three-year vow of silence to save her voice for her upcoming one-woman show.
Now a mystery psychopath in mirrored sunglasses is following her around, she's getting heavy-breathing and intimidating phone calls in the middle of the night, and a one-man Hercules show by the name of John Krull is helping Sam in her find-the-bad-guy detective show.
HIDE YOUR EYES is, beyond and without a doubt, simply awesome. Told in first person, you'll nevertheless feel as if you're walking beside Sam as she comes to terms with everything that's going on in her life-the departure of slimy Nate, the entrance of yummy Krull, the schizophrenia of her mother, the eccentricities of her circle of friends, and not to mention her need to single-handedly bring justice to New York. Alison Gaylin has penned a true winner, and I can't wait for the sequel.
Poor Samantha Leiffer-the girl just cannot get a break! She moved to New York to be with the love of her life, Nate, a man more breathtaking than a god and more charming than a snake. The only problem was, Nate really was a snake, one who boinked everyone within walking distance of his and Samantha's apartment. And by everyone, I mean everyone-seems old Nate wasn't very discriminating when it came to the male or female status of his conquests. So here's poor Sam, working two jobs-one as a teacher at the Sunny Side nursery school, the other in the box-office of an off-off-off-off-off Broadway theater named the Space-and on Valentine's Day, that day of love and passion, she just so happens to witness a man and woman drop an ice chest into the Hudson River. That alone might be suspicious, but after all, it's a low point in Sam's life, and she's suspicious by nature.
What follows is something that even her mother, Sydney Stark-Leiffer, self-help guru and mostly off-her-rocker publicity hound, wouldn't be able to come up with a quick answer to. There really was something suspicious in that hastily dumped ice chest-a body, to be exact, and one with it's eyes gouged out, to be even more exact. Suddenly, Sam's life is in more upheaval than her Space coworker who took a three-year vow of silence to save her voice for her upcoming one-woman show.
Now a mystery psychopath in mirrored sunglasses is following her around, she's getting heavy-breathing and intimidating phone calls in the middle of the night, and a one-man Hercules show by the name of John Krull is helping Sam in her find-the-bad-guy detective show.
HIDE YOUR EYES is, beyond and without a doubt, simply awesome. Told in first person, you'll nevertheless feel as if you're walking beside Sam as she comes to terms with everything that's going on in her life-the departure of slimy Nate, the entrance of yummy Krull, the schizophrenia of her mother, the eccentricities of her circle of friends, and not to mention her need to single-handedly bring justice to New York. Alison Gaylin has penned a true winner, and I can't wait for the sequel.
Helpful Score: 2
I liked this book. A suspense mystery but not too dark, likable and quirky characters. I'll read the next one.
Helpful Score: 2
Nice thriller. Fast read.
GAIL L. (my2luvsemmyandmally) reviewed Hide Your Eyes (Samantha Leiffer, Bk 1) on + 758 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Liked this one......good twist for the ending...will continue to look for more books from this Author.
Good blend of mystery, suspence, and a little romance.
dont get involved! dont make eye contact! if you must breack the rules get some help from new yorks finest!
This one ended totally different than I thought it would, and I guess that should be a good thing. I would have written the ending differently, but I'm not the author. I did enjoy it enough to order the next int he series though.
Really original thriller. I definitely recommend it.
In journalist Gaylin's sharp debut suspense novel, preschool teacher and off-off-Broadway box office staffer Samantha Leiffer is happy with her offbeat life in downtown Manhattan--"the kind of muted happy that you don't notice at the time." Then, sitting on an abandoned pier taking a break from a tough day, she witnesses a couple disposing of an ice chest in the Hudson's chilly waters. Sam realizes that the man has seen her watching--and when the chest turns out to hold the body of a mutilated child, she's drawn into a world of intrigue. Attacks on Sam as well as key friends force her to try to unravel clues to the murder. Her chief ally is policeman John Krull, whose quiet solidity leads her gradually toward love. Though the crime plot overshadows several of Gaylin's most appealing secondary situations late in the book, this is a consistently entertaining evocation of Manhattan's strange and artsy underside, narrated by a heroine with a beautifully judged blend of warmth and wit, independence and edge.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW
Creepy! An interesting concept revolving around eyes. A murder witness can identify the killer only by the mirrored contact lenses he wore. The problem is that mirrored contact lenses are the current rage and so everyone is wearing them. This is another one that'll make you want to check on your kids, not just because the murder victims are children, but because it's so realistic...AND because the killer turns out to be someone you'd never suspect, and so makes the reader to look at everyone who may have any sort of relationship with their children in a different light.
Interesting plot, fun characters, good twist for ending.
A flaky New York girl faces very real fears, past and present. Breezy conversational first person style contrasts with the grim events, but the combination was interesting. Exciting till the very end.
