Hide Your Eyes

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 show more 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. show less

The trouble started for Samantha Leiffer when she felt "dead man's fingers" (a chill on the back of her neck) on Valentine's Day. What follows is a fast-moving story involving a sinister man with mirrored contacts, an ice chest dumped in the river, a sexy cop, and Samantha's variety of friends and co-workers at both her jobs: at a preschool, and a box office.

Hide Your Eyes is an unusual romantic suspense, not least because it's written in first person. The chilling suspense is balanced by humor, romance, and humanity, as Samantha takes some wrong turns while trying to unravel the mystery.

I thoroughly enjoyed Hide Your Eyes and had trouble putting it down. I'm looking forward to seeing more from Alison Gaylin.

I loved this book. The characters were wonderful...quirky, interesting and very well drawn. This book is a mystery, but the heroine has a wonderful, witty sense of humor and it's told in first person. She balances two jobs...working in a theater box office and as a preschool teacher. The story is well told and interesting. The clues or messages are properly macabre. It's full of characters who seem to be the killer...but aren't. Quick, fun read.

When preschool teacher Samantha witnesses a couple pushing an ice chest into the Hudson River, she wonders if she's imagined it - until the ice chest shows up on the news with the body of a child in it. As attacks on her life begin and increase, she relies more and more on the help of an attractive police officer, with whom she eventually falls in love. Secondary characters are fun and the action between Sam and her cop is HOT...the 'bad guy' is a bit of a joke, though.

**(2nd summary)
When preschool teacher Samantha witnesses a couple pushing an ice chest into the river, she wonders if she imagined it, until the chest shows up in the news with the body of a child inside. As the attacks on her life begins and increase, she relies more and show more more on the help of an attractive police detective, with whom she eventually falls in love. Secondary characters are fun, and the relationship, er, action between Sam and her officer are, er, exciting… show less

I started that book 3 times - once I was hooked it was very good though. Kept me guessing til the end.