Customer Reviews

Hide Your Eyes

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I originally only picked up this book because the author has the same first name as I do. I didn't know if it would be a good book, but I was willing to give it a try. I am glad I read it. Samantha Leiffer has had a fairly normal life. That is, a life filled with arrogant, annoying boyfriends, ignorant parents, and low-paying jobs. She works part time at both a day care and the box office of a small performance theater, boyfriend-less, but content with her array of outrageous friends. From a gay guy named Yale St. Germaine, to a mute actress named Hermyn, each of her acquaintances are comedic in their own way.

Samantha's life was good, uncomplicated, until the night she witnessed two people dumping a dubious-looking ice chest into the Hudson River. It turns out that she has witnessed the aftermath of a murder by a serial killer, and the killer is not about to let Samantha live. Racing against the clock, Samantha has to figure out who the killer is before he or she kills again, before Samantha herself becomes the next victim. In Samantha's corner is the lovable Yale St. Germaine, the sexy(but sensitive) homicide cop named Krull, and a host of slippery characters from all over New York, each ready to do anything to stop another child's death.


I am not the best at plot summaries, so don't be turned off from this book just because you don't like my summary. Give the book a chance, you just might like it. I have to say, I was a little disappointed with the ending, however the rest of the book makes it a worth-while read. The characters are all interesting, the plot is smattered with plot twists, and the humor has a Janet Evonovich-ish air to it. So if you like Stephanie Plum, but don't know what to read next, try Alison Gaylin.

It's not often that a book about a serial killer can make you laugh out loud, but this one does. Hide Your Eyes is like a roller coaster ride. It's scary, but it's huge fun at the same time. The heroine of the book, Samantha, is smart and funny and someone you want to spend time with long after you're done reading. The book is filled with memorable characters, from Samantha's odd and oddly touching cohorts at the theater box office in which she works, to the sexy cop she must convince to take her seriously. When Samantha, also a part-time nursery school teacher, sees something she isn't meant to witness, she has a hard time getting either her friends or the police to believe her. But when strange things begin to happen to her and evidence of crimes begin to mount, it's obvious that she's next in the killer's line of sight. This is an excellent debut from a talented newcomer.

Sam works as a ticket-taker at an off-Broadway theater. She is happy with her own little world until everything changes one evening. While walking home, Sam sees two people throwing an ice chest in the river. A few days later, she hears on the news that an ice chest containing the body of a child was found. Sam is dumbfounded. She doesn't know what to do. Then she notices she is being followed. Sam doesn't know what to do: figure out the crime herself or go to the cops. Either way, she will have to figure it out fast or she could be next.

Excellent book! I was captivated by Gaylin's writing style and found the plot to be interesting and fast-paced. I will definitely be checking out more of Gaylin's work.

Highly enjoyable and eminently readable. The suspense built at a perfect pace and the main character was extremely likable. I love Gaylin's style. There were a few metaphors that made me laugh out loud. It was a true page-turner. The only reason I'm giving it 4 rather than 5 stars is that I wish children hadn't been tortured and killed in the book. It's too uncomfortable to read about. I'd rather only adults be killed.

Samantha Leiffer moved from California to Manhattan to be with her boyfriend who turned out to be cheating on her with men and women. She stays in New York and holds two jobs, one as a teacher at the Sunny Side Nursery School and the other at the Off-Broadway Space Theatre's box office. One day she takes a walk by the Hudson River and sees a man and a coatless woman toss an ice chest into the water. Sam has a real bad feeling about the scene.

Strange things begin happening to Sam. A word is printed in her book that she reads to her students. She finds a picture of her mother with her eyes pried out. A one word email arrives at her computer at the Space Theater. The police find the ice chest; inside is a three year old child with her eyes cut out. The killer escalates his attacks on Sam and more children die. Sexy Detective John Krull has her stay in his apartment and under his guard because it is clear that the killer wants her as his next victim..

The story starts out offbeat, funny and lighthearted as the heroine copes with the radical changes in her life and her runaway imagination. HIDE YOUR EYES gets scary very quickly as Samantha's imagination becomes real and the killer is stalking her and innocent children. The tension soars to unbearable levels and not even Sam's romantic affair with Detective Krull is enough to stop readers form wanting to know what the killer will do next. Allison Gaylin is a bright new star in the psychological suspense and thriller horizons.

Harriet Klausner

Read it in one day and was all sad that it will be a year 'til the next one!
Krull made me think of Vincent D'Onofrio on "Law & Order:CI".
I just love him! And the heroine is realistic and funny.
Buy it and read it!

I liked aspects of this book.
The pacing seems a bit rough to me through most of the book.
The characters are not quite cookie-cutter, but nothing
freshly original, either.
I think the apsect that works the least is the
juxtapostion of humor and gruesome crime.
Some authors write about gruesome crimes and can have
their lead: detective, or coroner, or amatuer sleuth crack
one-liners, go off and fall right back into their lives as if nothing has happened and have it work and not seem callous. The attitude seems to fit the character. Not so for Samantha. Somehow, for me, the humor
doesn't come off in this book.
By no means a bad read. Just, uneven.
I will be giving Gaylin's next effort a try.

Ever wondered about those contact lenses that makes your eyes wider and brighter can also look creepy & downright suspicious to some strangers? Well, this story is a case in point.

Samantha, or Sam, as she is known, spots a guy & gal dumping a mini fridge into the sea. The guy wears those magic mirror contact lens that gives Sam the creeps. She is a deeply suspicious lady & begins to question herself that something is not right with those folks with the mini fridge.

From then on, its downhill for Sam as she gets entwined with scary scenarios like messages left on her books, emails & voicemails. Things get worse when a friend is shot. Her vulnerablity is even more acute as she is a pre-school teacher who is in constant contact with kids and where the perpetrator and her share some common interest in this area.

Help comes in the form of a you guessed it, a brooding & handsome NYPD police detective, John Krull. He is more of a silent partner to Sam who is more active in solving the crime.

A very suspensful debut novel to keep you on the edge!!

I received this as a gift after having knee surgery and couldn't put it down. Great writing and suspense.

I'm afraid YUCK must have been off her meds when she picked up Hide Your Eyes because this is not only a great mystery it's really terrific writing--and I loved it. I have given it to many people, and they have loved it too, staying up all night to finish. Hide Your Eyes makes you laugh and scares you to death. What more can a reader ask? I can't wait for the next book in this new series.