The Eye
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3.8 • 4 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Two award-winning masters of crime fiction, Bill Pronzini and John Lutz, join forces for a chilling tale of a serial killer who targets the residents of a single city block on Manhattan’s Upper West Side
Lewis Collier watches the people living on West 98th Street through his telescope, the “Eye of God,” ready to mete out the ultimate punishment for every perceived sin. Those who transgress must suffer and die, and no one is safe—not the building superintendent or his junk collector friend, not the musician or the brave and beautiful woman who has struggled back from a nightmare of pain and brutality.
Detective E. L. Oxman of the NYPD is assigned to investigate the bloody horror that has descended on the frightened residents of the terrorized neighborhood. But Oxman’s adulterous attraction to Jennifer, an abuse survivor, has caught Collier’s attention. And all sin is punishable by death.
Separately, Bill Pronzini and John Lutz have won numerous prizes for their acclaimed mystery and suspense novels, including the coveted Edgar and Shamus Awards, two of crime fiction’s most prestigious honors. With The Eye, these giants of the mystery genre have combined their remarkable talents in a truly unforgettable collaboration.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
He's won an Edgar Award and several Shamus Awards (including, in 1995, a Lifetime Achievement Award), but Lutz (Burn, 1995) isn't likely to collect any prizes for this brisk but lightweight and predictable psychothriller. Anyone who's seen the movies Fatal Attraction or Single White Female (the latter filmed from Lutz's novel SWF Seeks Same) will anticipate many of this novel's twists and turns, which follow Hollywood's formula for stalk-and-slash stories; in fact, this work is based on a screenplay of the same title that's currently in production from producer/director Mark Lester. The villain here is ravishing redhead Deirdre Chandler, who, after killing a guard while escaping from a state mental institution, heads for Manhattan and her ex-husband, literary agent David Jones. Never mind that David has remarried; in no time, Deirdre works her way back into his life, moving into his apartment building and serving as the new babysitter for his son, Michael, after she kills off the old one. David's sweet young wife, Molly, wrinkles her nose at Deirdre early on, but before she can take action the femme fatale has kidnapped Michael, leading to a familiar climax, awash in blood. Characterization throughout is simple but convincing, particularly David's self-loathing as he falls in sexual thrall to Deirdre. Lutz offers a few over-the-top scenes, including a coupling in a funeral parlor, to spice up the story; but what he's serving here is yesterday's meal all the same.
