Lacy Eye

I’d done my best to convince myself it was Dawn I was trying to save from repeating the humiliation she had suffered the first time. What I find too much to let in, most days, is the possibility that I was also trying to save myself.

I am going to try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible because I really feel like readers need to go into reading this with as free a mind as possible. I am really conflicted about this book because on the one hand I found the plot to be pretty predictable but on the other hand I couldn't put this book down. If I had stopped to think about the plot of this before I read it I could have guessed most of it. I kept waiting for some sort of twist that would leave me completely shocked but alas there show more were no twists (or at least nothing that I thought was a twist).

This book is filled with characters that were so frustrating that at times I couldn't help but hate them. Hanna and her incessant need to make excuses for her daughter, Dawn, had me wanting to throw my Kindle. She just wouldn't listen to anyone and it drove me mad. Now Dawn, she is just something else. I felt like when her teacher said 'It just seems like there’s something missing' that she really managed to describe Dawn.

While I found this to be predictable and the characters to be frustrating it was still pretty interesting. Whenever I had to put it down I would still be thinking about it. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the galley. show less

4.5 stars.

Lacy Eye by Jessica Treadway is an intriguing and thought-provoking novel that is also rather heartbreaking. Loosely based on a real-life crime, this tightly plotted novel is a suspenseful mystery about a family whose lives have been torn apart by a vicious attack that left Hanna Schutt permanently disfigured and her husband, Joe dead. Also deeply affected by the tragedy are the couples' adult daughters, Iris and Dawn. Three years after the bludgeoning, Iris continues to struggle with depression while Dawn cannot escape the cloud of suspicion that has plagued her since her boyfriend Rud Petty's arrest and subsequent conviction of the horrific crime. Hanna has always adamantly believed Dawn's assertion Rud acted alone, but with show more no recollection of the crime, how certain can she be of her daughter's innocence?

On the surface, the Schutt family appears to be the typical suburban family. Joe is a hardworking CPA who is incredibly organized and very comfortable in his skin. Hanna is a dedicated wife and mom who defers to Joe on most issues. Oldest daughter Iris is beautiful, smart, talented and popular. Youngest daughter Dawn struggles to fit in as she contends with bullies who make fun of her because of an eye condition. Of course Joe and Hanna are concerned about Dawn but they are hoping now she is in college, she will finally "come into her own". At first, it appears their prayers have been answered as she forms a close friendship with her college roommate and she begins dating Rud.

But when Dawn brings Rud home to meet the family, they become suspicious of Rud and his reasons for dating their daughter. A confrontation between the four during a holiday visit occurs just hours before the horrific attack on Joe and Hanna, and the police quickly zero in on Rud and Dawn as their prime suspects. Without enough evidence to indict Dawn, the district attorney charges Rud and although most of the evidence against him is circumstantial, he is convicted of the crimes. After Rud wins an appeal three years after his conviction, the pressure is on Hanna to testify in the upcoming trial, but she truly has no memory of the attack.

Hanna's blind faith in Dawn begins to falter as she reminisces about her daughter's difficult childhood. Has she overlooked key aspects of Dawn's personality that could indicate serious psychological problems? Were she and Joe too quick to dismiss teacher's concerns about Dawn over the years? Is Hanna somehow responsible for Dawn's ongoing issues? When Dawn returns home after a long absence, Hanna is forced to admit that everything might not be quite right with her daughter, but does that mean Dawn is capable of murder?

Written in first person from Hanna's perspective, Lacy Eye is a contemplative story with quite a few twists and turns. This mesmerizing character study is quite compelling despite its sometimes dark and disturbing subject matter. It is an exceptionally well-written and fascinating mystery that Jessica Treadway brings to an stunning and absolutely chilling conclusion. show less

It's been three years since Hanna and Joe were brutally attacked in their own home. Joe died as a result, while Hanna was left with permanent physical and mental injuries. Now the man charged with the crime is seeking an appeal, and Hanna is desperate to recover her memories of the night her youngest daughter's boyfriend tried to kill her, both to ensure he remains incarcerated and to put to rest any suspicion that her daughter, Dawn, was complicit in the attack.

The narrative unfolds from Hanna's perspective and can at times feel claustrophobic. Hanna is isolated, her belief in Dawn's innocence angers her older daughter, Iris, the case prosecutor and even strangers.

Hanna's wilful self deception is frustrating though it soon becomes show more obvious she has a long history of avoiding uncomfortable truths. And though her past reflects somewhat poorly on her, it's difficult to blame Hanna in the aftermath of the attack, for what mother would willingly entertain the idea that her daughter, whom she loves, wished her such harm.

While Treadway makes clear her sympathy lies with Hanna she demonstrates compassion for Dawn who struggled as a bullied child in the shadow of her older, popular sister. Nature vs nurture is a theme obliquely explored in Lacy Eye, through the relationships between mother and daughter and the differences between the two sisters.

The pace is measured as Hanna recalls the past and struggles with the events of the present. There isn't a lot of dialogue or action but the tension is palpable as Hanna comes closer to understanding the truth of what happened that night.

Lacy Eye is a powerful psychological drama, inspired by a real life incident. It's not an easy read but it is interesting and thought-provoking. show less

As I read this book, I kept wondering how different this family's life would have been if the mother had been courageous enough to tell the truth and expect it from others. Great imagination to create a character who led her entire life in deception, to herself, her family and everyone else and suffered the consequences for doing so. Despite my frustration with this character, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and finished it in two days since I was so anxious to find out what happened. If you're looking for a happy story, there is nothing happy here. Great story and very well written.

This was quite a story it kept me on the edge of my seat, especially when you listen to it as a mother and wonder what would you think and feel? Would you also stand up for your daughter even when everyone else thinks she’s guilty? There’s no way you could have raised a daughter who had a hand in killing her father and left you severely beaten and left for dead. Yes, your daughter has always been a bit odd and was bullied and teased as a child because of a lazy eye but she isn’t a monster right??!!??

I had a hard time putting this one down, I needed to know if Hanna was right or if she had just let one of her attackers back into her home. Yes there were times when I thought Hanna open your eyes and listen to what everyone is show more telling you but then when you look at it from a mother’s perspective of always defending and protecting your child I could understand where she was coming from.

I also liked the way this is written almost from inside Hanna’s head who doesn’t remember anything about the night of the attack but that night when a police officer asked her who did this she implicated her daughter Dawn and her boyfriend Rud. Rud ends up in prison but Dawn is never indicted because her roommate gives her an alibi. A lot of the book is Hanna going through memories of Dawn’s life, I think in her own way trying to justify why she said Dawn did it because she can’t come to terms with the possibility that her daughter had anything to do with it. There are times in these memories when you feel so bad for Dawn and how her classmates and even her own sister, Iris, treated her but there are other times especially in the present day that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and wonder if Hanna is wrong about everything.

Okay I will stop now before I give anything away; this is a taut psychological thriller that I think would be fabulous for a book club because right now I wish I had a friend who had also read this book so I could talk to them about it. This is a powerful story and especially as a mother will pull at your heartstrings and leave you with a lot of “What if this happened to me?” questions.

Ellen Archer’s narration was very well done I thought the tones and sarcasm she gave Iris were perfect and also her narration of Dawn showed us that she really never grew up and seemed stunted as a child/teen. And with Hanna so much of the book is inside her head and I liked that I could tell when she was speaking to someone or just remembering things. I would definitely listen to this narrator again.

This was my first read by this author and I am now curious about her other books and will search them out.

4 ½ Stars show less

Lacy Eye, Jessica Treadway, author, Ellen Archer, narrator
When the novel begins, the reader learns that on the same day that the Schutt family was robbed, by an unknown thief, Joe Schutt was awakened and murdered in his bedroom, and his wife Hanna was brutally bludgeoned and left for dead on the bed. She suffered a brain injury and was severely disfigured, but did survive. We later learn that Joe’s inhaler had sadistically been smashed, and the phone was ripped from the wall to prevent a call to 911, in this horrific home invasion.
While suspicion falls upon their younger daughter Dawn, for orchestrating both crimes, she is not indicted. It is her boyfriend, Rud Petty who is sentenced to prison, largely based on witnesses to Hanna’s show more responses to questioning on the night of both crimes. Because of a technicality regarding her “death bed nodding”, and the severity of her injuries, Petty has been granted a new trial. At the same time as this happens, Dawn, who had left home and moved to California after her boyfriend was sentenced, declaring she no longer loved him, decides to return home to help her mother get through the ordeal of another trial. The community is leery of her as many believe she committed or participated in the horrific crime, including her older sister, Iris, who never wants to see her again. Dawn is ridiculed and compared to Lizzie Borden.
Dawn Schutt has always been in the shadow of her sister who is the achiever in the family. Dawn is different. She had a lazy eye as a youngster and was bullied. She also seems to have an arrested emotional development, often reacting in unexpected immature ways. She has a lack of confidence, exacerbated by the way her fellow classmates and “friends” tease and torment her, calling her fish face and ding-dong because of how she looks and responds to them. Her reactions are often inappropriate and naïve. She seems to withdraw from confrontations, rather than respond with anger.
When she agreed, unexpectedly to go away to college, her parents were surprised but happy. There, she met and fell in love with Rud Petty. He is the first boy to ever really look at her, and although a decade older, she never even stops to wonder why he has such an interest in her, although everyone else seemed to be surprised. Dawn had created an entirely false persona for her friends at school, telling everyone stories about her background that had nothing to do with the truth. To hear her tell it, she was pretty much an heiress with a trust fund.
Next door to the Schutts there is a family with a child who is also different. Emmett Furth is the neighborhood troublemaker. Suspicion was immediately cast upon him because of his previous vandalism and malicious behavior around the neighborhood. Even Dawn tries to cast suspicion upon him regarding the robbery, murder and attack on her mother.
Now that there is going to be a new trial, the prosecutor has contacted Hanna. Gail wants her to help in the new trial by giving testimony, and she encourages her to try to remember anything she can about that horrible night. She does not want the original conviction reversed, but Hanna is beginning to wonder if Rud is guilty. She has begun to have strange flashes of memory and she doesn’t want to have the wrong man pay for the crime. She is determined to try and remember, but she has always been the “procrastinator in chief” and she keeps doubting the veracity of her flashbacks. Hanna, who generally tries to avoid confrontation, keeps lots of secrets, and she continues to do this with her recent thoughts about that fateful night. She attributes this closed-mouth behavior to her Scandinavian background. She insists to both the prosecutor and Dawn that she remembers nothing of that night.
While some of the clues misdirect, the solution to this whodunit is always at the edge of the reader’s vision, just waiting to come into full view. It is read expertly by Ellen Archer. When she engages the character of Dawn she is Dawn, and her diabolical nature shines through. With Hanna, her personality and practice of avoidance becomes so obvious I wanted to scream at her to wake up. The author’s descriptions of the characters, major and minor truly brought them to life. Once I started listening to this book, I couldn’t stop. I listened until the wee hours of the morning to finish it. It is a page turner or an ear burner! show less

Wow...just WOW. This is by no means the perfect book, nor is it even the most enjoyable. However it is a book that grabs you by the back of the neck and shakes you until you don't know whether you are coming or going. It forces us to face the question of -do we really know the people we love the most in the world, and how far would we go to make them happy.

As the synopsis says - Hanna is the only one left alive when her husband and she are attacked by Cricket bat wielding intruders. Hanna did live through massive injuries but not with all her memories intact. Now the man put behind bars for this murder is getting a new trial and just guess as to who his beloved girlfriend is, and she has been since before the attack...Dawn, Joe and show more Hanna's youngest and oddest daughter. She too had been implicated but never brought to trial.

This book is told from Hanna's point of view, more like an autobiography than a novel. This ploy helps us keep on track of wondering what really happened that fateful night.

This story skips around quite a bit, helping us to fill in the personalities of the main players. It helped me so much that I wanted to alternately smack the heck out of the parents sometimes and then smack the daughter other times. The mother can come off as very naive, head-in-the-sand type, yet she is loving with her whole heart. The daughter can come off as a pathetically bullied misfit - but on the other hand, she can give you chills.

Now Hanna is regaining her memory-in huge chunks and it is fascinating to be there when she realizes just what happened that night and all is not what she was led to believe.

An ensnaring novel that is both gritty and clever, at times tedious yet still fascinating enough so you can't put it down.

ARC supplied by publisher for reviewing purposes show less