When I Close My Eyes ~ Review

When I Close My Eyes
By Elizabeth Musser

For years The Awful Year has had power over their family. It was a year when everything changed and since then they have avoided it. But when someone tries to end the life of popular author Josephine Bourdillion's life they may have to face the secrets that have lurked just below the surface.

Henry Hughes never wanted to be a killer-for-hire but he desperately needs the money for his son's surgery. But when everything goes wrong and the woman he was hired to kill survives he knows he is in trouble. But how can he complete the kill now that his target has a name? And worse how can he not attempt it? His son's life depends on his next decision.

When I Close My Eyes is told from the viewpoints of Josephine, Henry, and Paige (Josephine's 17-year-old daughter). Interspersed throughout are memories from The Awful Year and from Josephine's youth. This is a book that touches on depression, PTSD, and suicide and just how it touched the lives of not only those suffering from the condition but the effect it has on those around them.

This book is thoughtfully written as the various characters face their unique challenges. I really liked Paige who is determined to protect her family even though the awful year still weighs heavy on her heart. Forgiveness and the love of Christ is the driving force that propels the story forward to its ending that will satisfy readers.

I've never experienced Elizabeth Musser's work before and was more than pleased to discover another author to add to my list of to-be-read authors. The characters are engaging and one can empathize with the situations in which they find themselves in. This would be an excellent book club selection and would provide hours of discussion.

I received a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.


About the Book:

Won't they find out about The Awful Year. . . ?

There is one story novelist Josephine Bourdillon shirked from writing. And now she may never have a chance. Trapped in her memories, she lies in a coma.

The man who put her there is just as paralyzed. Former soldier Henry Hughes failed to complete the kill. What's more: he failed to receive payment--funds that would ensure surgery for his young son.

As detectives investigate disturbing fan letters, a young but not-so-naïve Paige Bourdillon turns to her mother's tormented past for answers. How bad could remembering The Awful Year truly be compared to the one they're all living?

Set against the flaming hills of North Carolina and the peaceful shores of the Mediterranean Sea, When I Close My Eyes tells the story of two families struggling with dysfunction and finding that love is stronger than death.