Eyes Closed Tight by Peter Leonard

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.

Eyes Closed Tight by Peter Leonard: O’Clair, a retired detective living in Florida, finds a dead girl on the beach right outside the motel he is running with his girlfriend on two different occasions. Their bodies are killed with the same M.O. as a killer that was captured by O’Clair and convicted in Detroit. He now has to back to Detroit to re-investigate the case he thought he had solved years ago. 

The book is a quick read because it grabs you from the first morning/dead body. What stood out for me the most besides the story itself, was the dialogue or conversations between O’Clair and the other characters. It didn’t feel forced and you could easily visualize it because of how real life it sounded. The author did a great job of allowing the reader to unravel the mystery of the real killer’s identity right along with O’Clair. The story keeps you guessing right up to the end when you finally find out the who the real killer is, where he was really staying/keeping his victims and who all was involved in this killing spree. This smartly written murder mystery is a must read. 



*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  Roberta


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