After discovering the body of a young woman, Naomi Hannah fears for her own life when she realises that the killer is still there, watching her. Knowing that she could provide valuable information to help them apprehend the assailant, the police quickly step in to interview her, only to be bitterly disappointed when they meet her; Naomi has been blind since birth. With her life already seemingly in tatters, Naomi’s life soon starts to spiral out of control when a connection is made to an unsolved case from twenty years ago – a case that is still fresh in the minds of the people of Balkerne Heights. Just who is responsible and why have they let Naomi live?
From the very start of the book, my heart went out to Naomi. Abandoned at birth by her drug addict mother, separated from her husband due to their differing opinions on starting a family and trapped in a sightless world, she feels as though suicide is her only way out. I couldn’t even imagine the terror she must have felt when finding the body and then being dismissed by the police due to her disability. After experiencing several other horrifying encounters, Naomi’s world begins to get smaller and soon, the option of suicide starts creeping back into her mind. By having his protagonist as a blind woman, Jack Jordan has created a claustrophobic, tense thriller where nowhere, even her own home, is safe.
With the exception of Detective Marcus Campbell, the police in Balkerne Heights are a particularly unsavoury bunch. Secrets dating back to the disappearance of a local girl twenty years ago are beginning to rear their ugly head and Marcus wonders just how much was covered up. I admired Marcus’s tenacity even in the face of some quite overt bullying in the workplace.
Although I could understand why Naomi wanted to retain her independence by staying at her own home, I was desperate for her to cut her losses and move back in with her adopted mum. Every time there was a knock on the door, I was yelling at her to not answer it – either that or have an intercom fitted so she at least knew who was calling! Despite my frustration with her, I had lots of respect for the amount of courage she displayed throughout each of her setbacks.
I had my own theories as to who the killer was, theories that continually changed as I was reading. This definitely kept me on my toes and made me desperate to find out how it would end. I did enjoy the sting in the tail – a well-written ending. This is my first Jack Jordan book but it won’t be the last.
From the very start of the book, my heart went out to Naomi. Abandoned at birth by her drug addict mother, separated from her husband due to their differing opinions on starting a family and trapped in a sightless world, she feels as though suicide is her only way out. I couldn’t even imagine the terror she must have felt when finding the body and then being dismissed by the police due to her disability. After experiencing several other horrifying encounters, Naomi’s world begins to get smaller and soon, the option of suicide starts creeping back into her mind. By having his protagonist as a blind woman, Jack Jordan has created a claustrophobic, tense thriller where nowhere, even her own home, is safe.
With the exception of Detective Marcus Campbell, the police in Balkerne Heights are a particularly unsavoury bunch. Secrets dating back to the disappearance of a local girl twenty years ago are beginning to rear their ugly head and Marcus wonders just how much was covered up. I admired Marcus’s tenacity even in the face of some quite overt bullying in the workplace.
Although I could understand why Naomi wanted to retain her independence by staying at her own home, I was desperate for her to cut her losses and move back in with her adopted mum. Every time there was a knock on the door, I was yelling at her to not answer it – either that or have an intercom fitted so she at least knew who was calling! Despite my frustration with her, I had lots of respect for the amount of courage she displayed throughout each of her setbacks.
I had my own theories as to who the killer was, theories that continually changed as I was reading. This definitely kept me on my toes and made me desperate to find out how it would end. I did enjoy the sting in the tail – a well-written ending. This is my first Jack Jordan book but it won’t be the last.