ARC Review: Eyes Closed Tight by Peter Leonard

Eyes Closed Tight
Author: Peter Leonard
Publication: Story Plant, The (March 4, 2014)

Description: O'Clair is a former Detroit homicide investigator who now owns a motel in Pompano Beach, Florida in his retirement. He runs the place with his much younger girlfriend, Virginia, who's a knockout and can fix anything. One morning, he’s cleaning up after the previous night’s partiers when he sees a lovely young woman stretched out asleep on a lounge chair. He shakes her gently. Then he touches her neck and feels for a pulse. There isn't one. Her skin is cold, body starting to stiffen, definitely in the early stages of rigor.

When a second girl is murdered, O'Clair knows someone is trying to send him a message. The way the girls are killed reminds O'Clair of a case he investigated years earlier. Now convinced the Pompano murders are related, O'Clair returns to Detroit Police Homicide to review the murder file and try to figure out what he might have missed.

And when Virginia is kidnapped by the killer, the stakes grow exponentially higher.

The most powerful work to date by one of the most thrilling suspense novelists of our time, EYES CLOSED TIGHT is relentless, surprising, and deeply satisfying.

My Thoughts: O'Clair has moved from his life as a homicide investigator in snowy Detroit to Pampano Beach, Florida. He has bought a motel and moved in with his girlfriend Virginia. He wanted a quieter - and warmer - life. Things start to go wrong when he finds the body of a young woman on the beach. Her death, including the removal of her eyes, reminds him of a case he solved in Detroit. When the motel maid is also murdered, the connections become even clearer.

O'Clair needs to head back to Detroit to look into that old case again to find out what he missed leaving Virginia to run the motel. He is quickly convinced that the wrong man was convicted and that he needs to have the investigation reopened. While he is chasing down clues in Detroit, the killer is targeting Virginia in Florida.

The story which is also told from the killer's point of view was tense, fast-paced and really enjoyable. I liked the relationship between O'Clair and Virginia. I liked following the clues with O'Clair. This was a fun story for suspense lovers.

Favorite Quote:

She could tell that O'Clair didn't like it; she could see it on his face, hear it in his voice. He wasn't good at hiding his feelings.

"I'm Irish," he'd once told her. "My ancestors were potato farmers. What did they know about hiding their feelings?"

I got this eARC for my post on the Blog Tour. You can buy your copy here.