Don't Close Your Eyes

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Three very different women have been murdered and NYPD Detective Stephanie Chalice wants to know why. Her case begins on the Roosevelt Island tram. The conductor has been shot, but lying next to him is the real mystery: a woman who might appear to have died of natural causes if not for the handwritten note stuffed in her mouth that simply reads "Look back!" When a second woman is found dead with a rag in her mouth and another cryptic note found nearby, Chalice realizes that a psychopath is stalking Manhattan, on the prowl for a very special type of woman. Part of the murderer's twisted game is leaving intentional clues for the police, clues designed not only to taunt, but also to do something much worse. Chalice will uncover startling truths about who she really, but will it help her to discover the killer's real purpose before another woman dies?

BookWire Review

DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES
LAWRENCE KELTER, Leisure Books, New York, NY
(322p)
ISBN: 0-8439-5554-6

"Don't Close Your Eyes" begins with a whimper and a bang--two seemingly
unrelated deaths. The first is a teenage girl whose asthma suffocates
her while sleeping. The second is a man shot on the tram that connects
Roosevelt Island to Manhattan. Lying next to the man is the real
puzzle: a woman who might appear to have died of natural causes if not
for the handwritten note stuffed in her mouth that simply reads "Look
back."

Murder mystery thrillers are often driven by tough, fast-talking,
streetwise detectives with a sad story about their past and a penchant
for nabbing perps. The cop on the case in "Don't Close Your Eyes" is
all these things and more. Meet Stephanie Chalice. She's a smart,
beautiful, 28-year-old NYPD homicide detective whose acerbic repartee
is like an arsenal of nuclear missiles--it convinces her male
colleagues that she means business.

Behind all the bluster, though, is a young woman with fierce passions
who shows the same tremendous dedication to her ill mother as she does
her job. Chalice is an excellent detective, but it comes at a cost. She
suffers recurring nightmares, and obsesses that the diabetes that
killed her father and weakens her mother will one day come for her.

When a second woman is found dead with a rag in her mouth and another
cryptic note nearby, Chalice realizes a serial killer stalks
Manhattan's Upper East Side. Her detective work combines intelligence,
persistence, a skilled partner, and well-connected friends. Secret
allies also work on her behalf to thwart dangers that lie just beyond
her periphery. As she follows a trail of clues and corpses to the
murderer, she also pursues her own demons, uncovering startling truths
about who she really is.

"Don't Close Your Eyes" is entertaining and engrossing. Detective
Chalice is a strong character, the killer is devilishly intriguing, and
the well-paced plot will keep your eyes wide open.
BookWire Review

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