Hide Your Eyes

I liked Hide Your Eyes because mysteries usually aren't funny, which this one truly is. The plotting was very scary and kept me up late wanting to see what happened next. I see a lot of movie potential with this book. I was also happy to see that there will be a sequel out next year, the main character was very engaging and I look forward to seeing what kind of storyline she gets caught up in.

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!

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

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.