This one has been on my radar ever since reading Amy’s raving review over at Tale At A Time. After finally getting an ebook copy, I bumped it up my TBR and devoured it in 3 days. With an original storyline, short chapters, a fast pace and an easy storytelling style, this book has all the ingredients of a gritty, twisty thriller.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

“The fear she felt as the blade severed her neck was locked inside her eyes”

Synopsis

Naomi wants to end to her life. Blind from birth, she feels trapped in the small town she grew up in and struggles to gain independence due to her condition. Add to that an ex-husband she still loves and a birth mother who abandoned her and Naomi is pretty much over her life.

That is until she stumbles across a brutal murder.

Sensing the killer is still there, she tries to escape but is taunted by them as they use her lack of sight to their advantage. As more violent incidents occur, Naomi continuously finds herself involved but is unable to give the police clear descriptions. The killer is following her, but why is she being kept alive?

The questions keep on coming until the police draw conclusions that can’t possibly be true.

Can they?

“For everyone else, it was as easy as catching someone’s eye. All Naomi could do was wait for someone to breach the darkness, someone she couldn’t even see coming.”

A True Thriller

There are so many books saturating the thriller market these days that it is very difficult to find one that has an original plot, clearly crafted twists and an ending that isn’t predictable. In my opinion, Jack Jordan nails everything.

Having a blind witness to a murder immediately gives this thriller a unique edge. As a reader, you have no idea how she will possibly be able to identify a person she can only sense. This hooked me before I even opened the first page.

Another thing I look for in a thriller is motive/whether the story is believable. If a motive is weak then I can’t fully invest in the story. However, this book had multiple motives that were all convincing, mainly due to characters being associated with one another (an advantage of setting the story in a small town where people have grown up together).

I also find many thrillers are spoilt by the ending, which often feels rushed and predictable at times, quickly tying up loose ends and bringing the story to an abrupt climax. With this book however, the story ends, the case is solved and the reader feels closure. But then the epilogue throws all that out the window. Throw in a last bit of surprise when you think its over – another big tick in the box.

Finally, Jack Jordan writes with effortless ease and this is the main reason I couldn’t put the book down. Every sentence flowed and the structure was perfect (a good balance of short and long sentences, dialogue and description to give the book a good pace).

If you are stuck in a reading slump like I was and you need a decent thriller to pull you out, I can’t recommend this book enough.

You can purchase a copy of Before Her Eyes here: Amazon

Disclosure: I am part of an affiliate program which means that I may earn a small commission if you purchase through my affiliate links at no additional cost to you.

Other books by Jack Jordan

Check out Jordan’s other thrillers:

Anything For Her

A cheating husband, a disloyal sister and now a missing daughter. Louise must put her anguish aside as she works with police to trace 18 year-old Brooke without mentioning that fateful night when it all went wrong.
Buy now from Amazon

My Girl 

Wife to a dead man. Mother to a murdered daughter. Paige has no reason to live. Until she starts uncovering her husbands secrets and realises she is suddenly in deep, deep water.
Get yours now from Amazon

A Woman Scorned (Novella)

The husband. The mistress. The neighbour. The wife. Revenge and love are ingredients for a dark thriller in this short story sensation.
Purchase from Amazon

What Next?

If you enjoyed Before Her Eyes and are looking for other books in this genre, I highly recommend:

I Let You Go by Clare Macintosh 

A fast-paced thriller with an abundance of jaw-dropping twists.

Racing his mum home from school in the pouring rain, Jacob runs straight into the path of an oncoming car. He doesn’t see it and neither does his mother before its too late. Unable to survive in the town that reminds her of Jacob, Jenna moves to Wales, seeking refuge in an isolated cottage where she slowly starts to rebuild her broken life. That is until the past re-emerges and she is forced back into the nightmare she has tried so hard to move on from. A nightmare with inescapable consequences.

Buy yours now from Amazon

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

A mind-mushing psychological thriller that you won’t be able to put down.

Amber Reynolds is in a coma. She can hear the people around her but is unable to communicate with them in any way. She spends her conscious moments trying to grasp the memories that put her in a hospital bed. She can’t remember much, but she does know that she doesn’t trust her husband. With secrets, lies and shockingly good twists, this book will suck you in from page 1.

Purchase from Amazon

Overview 

Genre: Thriller
Pages: 448 (paperback)
About the author: Jack Jordan is a bestselling author who lives in the UK. He has written 3 other books in the thriller genre (see below) and also dabbles in acting. His upcoming book ‘Night by Night’ is due to be released in 2019.