Customer Reviews

The Tarnished Eye: A Novel of Suspense

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"The Tarnished Eye" is set in a small town called Blessed, located north of Petoskey, Michigan, an area of big lakes bordered by gorgeous beaches, sand dunes, and forests. The subject matter is an unsolved multiple murder of a wealthy downstate family staying at their vacation home in Northern Michigan, which took place in the 1960s. This fictional account takes place in the twenty-first century however, and DNA and forensics are part of the story. There is and has been a great deal of conflict between long-time locals and wealthy in-comers from downstate in this beautiful and formerly wide-open country. Several times in the book various characters from downstate make remarks to the effect that they are not in Northern Michigan to have a social life with the locals. They have used their money to buy land with million-dollar views but have no interest in becoming part of the community and hold the local population in contempt. Was this wealthy family, headed by a blunt, self-consciously superior outsider, murdered in reprisal for some percieved insult to a local resident? Or is a random maniac on the loose? Sheriff Hugh DeWitt investigates the case on two fronts, in Northern Michigan and in Ann Arbor, a wealthy university town in Southern Michigan, where the murdered family lived a life of influence and privilege. Sheriff DeWitt's counterpart in Ann Arbor is investigating a serial killing (also a true event, the subject of a book entitled "The Michigan Murders"), but offers his own perspective on DeWitt's case. Judith Guest successfully weaves together elements of both cases with the sociological tensions between the privileged and everyone else to create a book that really is more than just a simple murder mystery.

This book is about an unsolved murder that took place in Michigan during the 1960's. It was very fast paced and was well written. An excellent book for a plane, train, the beach or poolside.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Guest at a book signing in the fall of 2004 after the hardcover version of this book came out. She was friendly and approachable and the audience enjoyed her visit a great deal. In attendance were fourteen of her sorority sisters from her college days. What a special night it was for them. The overall turnout was excellent, and the audience appreciated Ms. Guest's comments, her discussion of the real stories behind this novel, and her revelation of some of her own life issues. She also shared her thought processes behind certain fictional characters in this book, particularly that of the depressive Sheriff Hugh DeWitt. DeWitt has a difficult time seeing the positive side of anything. That does not change during the course of the story.

Ms. Guest's writing is easygoing and fluid. The book is made up of short, fast-moving chapters. The concept is a little different than the usual mystery novel as Guest includes chapters about the Norbois victims at the time they were alive. Each member of the family has his/her own chapter.

Being from Petoskey, Michigan, and very much aware of the Robison murders (Norbois) and a student at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, during the time of John Norman Collins, I was interested in reading this book from the instant I first heard about it (one of Collins's victims was murdered two blocks from where we lived on campus). When you've been there, a story based on real events looks very different to you than to someone who knows nothing about these events. The Robison murders have never been solved. John Norman Collins remains in prison.

Judith Guest shared with us some of the fears she had about writing this story while the possibility exists that the Robison killer is still out there somewhere (even though she believes there's a connection between the Norbois murders and JNC). She also talked about some of the people still very interested in solving this horrendous crime. Hopefully, this fictionalized version of the real story will lead to that end. A good read.

Carolyn Rowe Hill

The principal crime under investigation in Judith Guest's 2004 police procedural is a gruesome mass murder: a family of six is found slaughtered in their vacation home, deep in the woods of a sleepy Michigan town. The discovery of the bodies is preceded by a number of chapters introducing the family--Edward, the type A executive, who runs his family like a business; his wife and children responding to the pressure of his obsession with control in various ways. We also meet Hugh DeWitt, competent small-town sheriff and family man, whose world view has been darkened by the death of his only son in infancy. The novel follows the sheriff's investigation as he interviews anyone who knew the reclusive family, both in his own precinct and in Ann Arbor, where Edward worked and his family lived most of the year. Unfortunately, help from the big city police department is hard to come by since the city is dealing with sensational crimes of its own, a string of women found raped and murdered.

It's hard to say why Guest's book works so well. It doesn't call attention to itself. The writing is smooth but transparent. The plot isn't gasp-inducing, and yet I couldn't stop reading. Somehow, Guest makes writing look easy. Reading the book, it's clear that you're in the hands of an author who has complete control of the story. Give this one a whirl: it won't take you long!

-- Debra Hamel

Loosely based on real-life murders, this book comes highly recommended from me. I was irked to my soul when I read this one, and had a hard time falling asleep. You might need a night light after you read the daughter's perspective of things. Ending was sheer brilliance.

The sheriff if the county surrounding Blessed is a man haunted still by the sudden death of hie eleven month old son. A gruesome murder scene is dicovered in the cabin of a rich, but little known seasonal family, the Norboys. As Sheriff DeWitt looks deeper into the crime we learn about the victims, the townspeople, the suspects, and the DeWitt family with grace--effortlessly the subplots coalesce with the main plot. Just a word of warning to all those that think they know who did kill the family: you are wrong. She left you a red herring to follow and you sniffedlazily away. Thr poor wrong man goes off to rot, and even the sheriffs dont catch on. Wierd endin, but I loved the book.