Official Review: Through Narrowed Eyes by Kimberly Williams

[Prisallen]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Through Narrowed Eyes" by Kimberly Williams.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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A young girl’s mutilated body was discovered in Ingleton, Minnesota. Sadly, she was only the first of several murders. Anthony Hatchett was the detective on the case; however, the police obtained few clues as to the identity of the perpetrator.

Anthony’s wife, Lisa, who works as a criminal psychoanalyst, has a stalker. After a weird phonecall, gifts, a note, and someone trying to break into her home, she wonders if her stalker has a connection with the murders. She doesn’t understand how dangerous her life is about to become.

Through Narrowed Eyes by Kimberly Williams is a chilling crime drama/mystery written from the third-person point of view. The author has a Master of Science in Psychology degree and has used her education to create the frightening story. The prose is simple and easy to follow.

The story jumps right into the action in the prologue with someone breaking into Lisa’s hotel room and causing her to scramble for her life. Then, it immediately goes back in time and begins laying the groundwork for the story. I loved the suspense in the book, which was captivating.

Although I enjoyed the plot and the suspense, this 134-page short book felt a little rushed and would have been better if the story was fleshed out more. For example, we weren’t given much information about the actual police investigation, other than being told several times that they hadn’t obtained any clues. They gained a lead eventually; however, readers weren't notified where it came from or any information about it. We were merely informed that the clue led to a person of interest. In addition, the police didn’t seem to think that looking into Lisa’s background to find her stalker was worthwhile, which was irritating. Some effort could have been put into following that lead, which would have made it more realistic and given the story additional depth.

Lisa, the leading character in the story, was someone that I liked but was frequently annoyed with as she took unnecessary risks. In addition, she was not the strong heroine character that I would choose. I prefer when the leading female is proactive about protecting herself, especially when knowing about possible impending danger. Lisa never seemed to put any thought into anything other than where she was at the moment. Also, it felt like very little effort was put into searching her past to figure out who might be stalking her. Personally, I would have spent every available waking moment trying to discover their identity, so that seemed unlikely to me.

Through Narrowed Eyes achieves a rating of two out of four stars. One star was removed because a few too many errors were discovered; it could use another round of editing. The other star was taken away due to the aforementioned issues. Because of the suspense and the book’s potential, I thought it deserved better than one star. I think readers who enjoy thrillers could still appreciate the novel. People who prefer to avoid books with profanities should be aware occasional ones are encountered in the story. However, they are not egregious.

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Through Narrowed Eyes
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[Bookishkrish24]

Too sad that the female lead is not strong enough. Thanks for a great review.

[Raluca_Mihaila]

I like a good psychological thriller, but this one seems to have a lot of flaws. I understand your frustration about the heroine taking risks! I also get annoyed when I see this reckless attitude in books or movies . Thank you for this engaging review!

[Lisa A Rayburn]

I'm not really into crime/mystery novels, and the lack of character development is a huge detriment to any book. I'll be passing on this one. I enjoyed reading your review; it was wonderfully detailed.

[Mbrooks2518]

Lisa's characterization would bother me too. Thanks for the great, informative review!

[NetMassimo]

This seems like a thriller with good potential let down by the flaws you pointed out. A lame investigation is quite a big flaw in this kind of story. Thank you for your honest review!

[Smmwallace]

This sounds like it could’ve been really good, unfortunately with the issues listed I’m going to pass on it. Thanks for the informative review.

[Prisallen]

Too sad that the female lead is not strong enough. Thanks for a great review.

Yeah, it surprised me. Thanks for the comments.

[Prisallen]

I like a good psychological thriller, but this one seems to have a lot of flaws. I understand your frustration about the heroine taking risks! I also get annoyed when I see this reckless attitude in books or movies . Thank you for this engaging review!

I know. You are thinking, "Don't do that!" and they do it anyway. Thanks for reading my review and commenting!

[Prisallen]

I'm not really into crime/mystery novels, and the lack of character development is a huge detriment to any book. I'll be passing on this one. I enjoyed reading your review; it was wonderfully detailed.

Thanks for taking the time to read it and giving your thoughts!

[Prisallen]

Lisa's characterization would bother me too. Thanks for the great, informative review!

I appreciate your thoughts about the review. Thanks!

[Prisallen]

This seems like a thriller with good potential let down by the flaws you pointed out. A lame investigation is quite a big flaw in this kind of story. Thank you for your honest review!

I did expect more from the investigation, especially since her husband was the detective. Thanks for your comments!

[Prisallen]

This sounds like it could’ve been really good, unfortunately with the issues listed I’m going to pass on it. Thanks for the informative review.

I hope the author works on it a little more to help it reach its potential as it has promise. Thanks for stopping by!

[Avafisherman]

Seems almost as though this book was a failed attempt at 'Silence of the Lambs'–too bad, the plot line seems interesting! Hopefully the author can do a little reworking and get it to a better place. Thanks for the great review!

[Josephe-Anne]

It sounds like this crime drama has a lot of potential to be great with a little bit of work. Hopefully, the author will fix the issues with the plot holes and the editing.

Thank you for an honest review.