One Eye Open
By Paul Finch
Rated: 5 stars *****

Incredibly gritty and fast-paced! Prepare to be plunged into a world of high-speed, fancy cars, a mysterious road-traffic incident; which all leads deep into the underworld of crime. It’s a thriller you won’t want to miss! See more about the author, the blurb and full review below.
Thanks to the publisher, Orion and Paul Finch for allowing me to review this book.

About the Author

Paul Finch is a former cop and journalist now turned best-selling crime and thriller writer, and is the author of the very popular DS Mark ‘Heck’ Heckenburg and DC Lucy Clayburn novels.

 Paul first cut his literary teeth penning episodes of the British TV crime drama, The Bill, and has written extensively in horror, fantasy and science-fiction, including for Dr Who.

 However, he is probably best known for his crime/thriller novels, specifically the Heckenburg police-actioners, of which there are seven to date, and the Clayburn procedurals, of which there are two. The first three books in the Heck line achieved official best-seller status, the second being the fastest pre-ordered title in HarperCollins history, while the first Lucy Clayburn novel made the Sunday Times Top 10 list. The Heck series alone has accrued over 2,000 5-star reviews on Amazon.

Paul is a native of Wigan, Lancashire, where he still lives with his wife and business partner, Cathy.

Blurb

YOU CAN RUN
A high-speed crash leaves a man and woman clinging to life.
Neither of them carries ID. Their car has fake number plates.
In their luggage: a huge amount of cash.
Who are they? What are they hiding?
And what were they running from?

YOU CAN HIDE
DS Lynda Hagen, once a brilliant detective, gave it all up to raise her family.
But something about this case reignites a spark in her…

BUT YOU’LL ALWAYS SLEEP WITH…
What begins as an investigation soon becomes an obsession.
And it will lead her to a secret so dangerous that soon there will be nowhere left to hide.

ONE EYE OPEN

Review

With a By-line of “If The Lies Don’t Kill You. The Truth Will”. It already is attention grabbing.
One Eye Open is vivid and bold from the first word in this stand-alone book. No hanging around, the action begins within the first 4 sentences. It’s a fast-paced, immersive and gritty read. It shows that the lines can be blurred and nothing is as black and white as it may first seem.
It begins on Monday, 6th January. It is as far removed from any Monday I know. It isn’t a Monday anyone would wish to have at all. Blood isn’t what Alan anticipated when he started his day. All he wanted to do was set off with the dog he didn’t see too much. The opening chapter would get any reader sitting up and taking notice.

Lynda, is a police officer with Essex Police in CID,  isn’t having the best Monday morning either, but better and more normal than Alan’s. Her children don’t want to start school again (let’s face it, staff don’t always want to either), for the spring term. It also isn’t good news on the traffic reports, which then gets her involved in a case with Detective Constable Clive Atkins, as Chief Superintendent Templeton looks on and applies the pressure to get traffic and the case moving alone from the mysterious incident, which leads onto a bigger crime scene than was anticipated and readers are plunged into a very gritty and gripping plot.

The book goes between January, with the case and December where readers meet Elliot Wade and the atmosphere feels darker as he is introduced to Ray Lonegon and some pretty fancy, expensive cars, which Elliot test drives. If you fancy burning some rubber in fast cars, these parts would definitely interest you. It isn’t all about posh cars though, there is the crime that and the family side in what unfolds to be very slick writing indeed, that takes readers also into quite the underworld. It is well-written, going between what the police are doing and the criminals. The tone also changes accordingly as everything builds up to create the bigger picture as it is a case of quite some magnitude that needs to be solved, which excites and intrigues as it takes you in deeper into this criminal world, which is masterfully written from beginning to end.

The domestic and work life are all intertwined to some extent, which works so well. It gives a deeper understanding of the characters. Don and Lynda have a stormy time in their marriage, over the effects of that work/life balance, something I am sure many people can understand. As the book unfolds, there is a realism to it all that does make it relatable. The way domestic and professional lives connect is done expertly, making it such a full dimensional story.

I highly recommend this book. It’s an incredibly good and impressively captivating and vivid stand-alone book.