Customer Reviews

THE TRICK OF THE EYE

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Jane Stanton Hitchcock's first mystery Trick of the Eye was a wonderful discovery. Her writing is fresh and descriptive and in the imagination department her cup runeth over.

The plot, while seemly simple, is filled with elegant twists and turns. This is the story about an artist who paint's trompe l'oeils (paintings that are made to look as if they are real - a 3-d image that tricks the idea into believing it exists)and is called upon by a wealthy, eccentric woman to recreate her now deceased daughter's coming out ball upon the walls of the ballroom where the party was held.

She brings her up to her estate and keeps her there while she is working on the piece and entertains her with stories from the past. The artist becomes enmeshed when she discovers she is the spitting image of the woman's dead daughter and tries to discover who killed her.

All in all a wonderfully woven tapestry of characters, writing, plot and images.

I read this book a few years ago and I continue to recommend it as a first rate thriller. The premise, a wealthy woman manipulating an artist for her twisted purposes, is clever and memorable. The characters and the prose are compelling. I only wish there was more work by this talented writer! There are few books I have read that have made such a lasting impression. This is a definite "must read". If you've stumbled across this review, it's a sign, buy this book you won't be disappointed.

'Trick of the Eye' is a truly compelling book. It kept me up until 2am on a week night (I overslept and was late for work the next day!) so I could finish it and find out what would happen to its protagonist, Faith Crowell, and what secrets she would discover about her patron Frances Holt Griffin.

I happened to read 'Trick of the Eye' because I recently saw again the movie that was made out of it some years ago. Meg Tilly played the role of Faith and Ellen Burstyn played that of Frances. I've always found Meg Tilly fascinating (a combination of beauty, sexiness, sweetness, and mystery that is all-too-rare in Hollywood these days; the fact that she only made one more film after this before retiring is a great pity).

Anyway, I noticed that the movie was based on a novel, and I decided to read it. I thought that as a guy, I might find it to be too much an example of "chick lit." But it wasn't. It was an engrossing tale of psychological suspense, obsession, and art. It kept me guessing about the outcome to the very end. It is also a much better book than the movie, which benefited greatly from Tilly and Burstyn's performances but suffered from the plot being severely abridged).

'Trick of the Eye' is beautifully written in simple, clear, and evocative prose that sets mood and tone perfectly. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I think Faith is a sympathetic character. I also think that the charges of it not being realistic are specious. Is it unlikely that something like the story might unfold in real life? Yes, but sometimes fact is stranger than fiction (and one can only wonder if the author drew on experiences of her own or those of close friends to create the plot). And the story certainly does not suffer from the clich6s and stale chestnuts that mar most suspense fiction produced these days.

The narrative follows a "twisty" path where the reader is led to believe a succession of different answers to the riddle that Faith tries to unravel: who killed Cassandra Griffin, Frances' daughter, so long ago. Some readers might not like the final twist to the story that comes at the very end of the book, labeling it a cheat. But I did like it, and I think that was because I remembered the title 'Trick of the Eye' (which is the English translation of "trompe 'oeil," a style of painting that deceives the viewer into viewing something as real that is not). So I would say read the book, and remember as you approach the end that 'Trick of the Eye' is a literary version of a trompe l'oeil. Besides, as a reader, you're free to make your own conclusions about what the ending really meant, and I've decided that the final "trick" did not mean that all that preceded it was illusion.

One of the greatest mysteries ever written, Trick of the Eye entrances the mind and roils the heart with its Trojan tracery of cues and colors that lead the reader, step by quickening step, down an aphoristic path of sumptuous literary pleasures to a rapturous ambush at the end both shocking and inevitable.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. The story is interesting, the characters felt real, and the descriptions are amazing. I love Jane Stanton Hitchcock's work, and of all of her books, this one is my favorite. I flew through this book and was very sad to see it end. This is a book everyone should read.

This book first appealled to me, an almost old woman, since the main character, Faith, is no longer young. Well written descriptions of Faith's changing perception draw one into the mystery. The solution and the ending are tart,yet satisfying. On a deeper level,it serves as a grim reminder that your life is what you choose to make of it. Read the dedication after you finish the novel. I hope to read more from this writer, & would like to know more about her.

This wonderful book is the best evidence ever that works in the mystery genre can transcend the genre stereotype and land full force among the best writers of contemporary literature. I loved the plot, found the characters compelling and extraordinarily well-developed. Jane Hitchcock is a terrific writer and I look forward to reading her a lot more in the future.

The heroine gets sucked into finding out the truth about matters. Everything has the ring of suspense. Will she cross the line of decency and do the wrong thing in appeasing her curiosity? The customer who gave a bad review simply doesn't like mysteries. Yes, it is exaggerated, but masterfully so, because integrity is in question. Is Faith worthy of the challenge? There is perhaps only one other writer that matches or excels Stanton Hitchcock in this genre that I have read, and that would be Daphne DaMaurier. The bathroom scene heightened the psychology that Faith was somehow related to the dead daughter of the old dame, making the wall of mirrors there a sort of truth or consequence moment. The effect was chilling. I gave it four stars, because the ending frustrated this sense that something deeper was going to be revealed here than just an old dame playing tricks with her power of wealth. The absolute evil of the benefactor and the quality of the work of art that is finally destroyed provides the tension with the goodness of the artist and her resolve not to be eaten alive. It was excellent writing regardless of the bittersweet ending. One would prefer not to have such a black and white judgment, but that would contradict the intended emphasis: Faith is the kind of person that you would like to know because of her wonderful maturation through the trials that she is put through, but that cannot destroy her threathened sense of self, and spending a few hours with this novel is a great way to do so. She is the prey and the underdog, but she achieves the victory that we all hunger for in life and art: to know the truth, to have lived well, and to have loved despite the lack of love in return. Few novels achieve such a personal grand de force as this one exemplifies. Each page is a treasure of fine writing!

As Dominick Dunne said in his review of this book, it is a "sleek and elegant" mystery with a fantastic twist at the end. I notice it was nominated for an Edgar Award and a Hammett Prize and deservedly so. The author creates an atmosphere of beauty and suspense. Anyone interested in art should have a ball with this book. I dare readers to put it down once they've read the first chapter. I've given it to many friends. They all agree it's great..

Whether or not being typical would help or harm this novel, I can't begin to hazard a guess. I openly admit picked up this book only because the words "psychological thriller" were used on the cover. As I began to read, I immediately didn't like the novel's use of first-person narrative. For some reason, Faith's comments and utterances seemed forced, expected, and/or just plain flighty. The writing was good overall; I just didn't appreciate the style in this particular setting.

I must allow that I was highly involved in the book, reading it on the train every day and longing to find out what would happen next. In that respect, it was a true page-turner in the literal sense of the expression. But. . .I was rather disappointed with the ending. In fact, as the mystery began to unfold, I was also rather disgusted. Many parts seemed forced and even illogical.

Bottom line: I didn't like the main character. She didn't garner my compassion or my respect. In fact, I feel it wasn't truly a "thriller" at all, merely a twisted and somewhat predictable mystery. I'm not a mystery fan, so perhaps others will enjoy this book more than I did. But don't be misled: I expected a thriller to grab hold and never let go of me; Trick of the Eye merely was a loose tease whose hold was all too easy to escape from.