EYE OF THE BEHOLDER [Mass Market Paperback]

Marc Behm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 1981

The Woman. She's beautiful, and seductive, and as shifting as a shadow. Her name, her appearance, and her victims are forever changing. There is only one constant in the woman's life: her chilling motive. . . .

The Eye. A private investigator, driven and obsessed. A desperate loner with secrets of his own. His job? To follow the woman. But catching her is the last thing on his mind. He likes to watch. And the closer he gets, the more dangerous his fantasy becomes. . . .

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the most remarkable combinations of a private-eye crime novel and psychological suspense story . . . that has ever been published."
--The New York Times Book Review

"ENGROSSING . . . TANTALIZING . . . A GRABBER, AN UNUSUAL AND HYPNOTIC PAGE-TURNER ABOUT OBSESSION."
--Philadelphia Inquirer

"A surrealistic private-eye novel written with skill and poignancy. . . . Behm has created a daring fantasy form for detective fiction."
--Booklist --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

The Woman. She's beautiful, and seductive, and as shifting as a shadow. Her name, her appearance, and her victims are forever changing. There is only one constant in the woman's life: her chilling motive. . . .

The Eye. A private investigator, driven and obsessed. A desperate loner with secrets of his own. His job? To follow the woman. But catching her is the last thing on his mind. He likes to watch. And the closer he gets, the more dangerous his fantasy becomes. . . . --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (September 12, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034529260X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345292605
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,289,825 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Private eye novel like no other, April 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The eye of the beholder (Hardcover)

This 1980 private eye novel isn't like any other I've ever heard of. Some private eye novels have PI's who are obsessed with women. Or who shadow femme fatales. In this one, a nameless, at-the-end-of-his-rope private eye shadows the same woman (who happens to be a serial killer of men) all over the U.S. for 10 to 15 years, without her ever knowing. Occasionally he acts to protects her; it's like he's appointed himself her angel; it's his reason to be. "Eye" is a pure, uncluttered novel, poignant to the max. Though it's presently out of print, it's achieved a genuine cult status, and I firmly believe that it will find its audience and literary place in coming years

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great psychological thriller, July 1, 2000

By 

M. Desoer (Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Eye of the Beholder (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book because, despite the 1-star rating I gave the film, I suspected that there was some at-least-decent material in the underflying source (the novel). My expectations were vastly superceded; it is clear that the movie was unintelligible because (a) too much was cut out and (b) there was an obvious effort to over-modernize it (the book was written almost 20 years ago).

"The Eye," a private investigator becomes obsessed with a woman after he witnesses her kill a man who he has been surveilling. Unlike the film (which takes place over a relatively short period of time), in the book he trails her for over a decade. Also, unlike the film, one begins to really "understand" both characters' motivations. The result is a fast-paced, tight psychological page-turner.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing, August 27, 2000

By 

Mark A. Stewart "Author" (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eye of the Beholder (Mass Market Paperback)

This novel is a hynotic journey that questions the definitions of love and compassion and presents a wasteland America seen through the eyes of one man who has stumbled on a woman who quickly becomes the center of his universe. All other questions become secondary when she walks into the lense of his camera. A tragic love story or a disturbing novel of obsession? The line between the two is cleverly blurred in this breathtaking novel.