Interesting. Compelling storyline. Good twists. But I just didn't really connect with any of these characters. I'm giving 4 stars though because the story did hold me enough to read till the end.

I have a new author to follow. I really enjoyed Open Your Eyes. What a thrilling read. Thank you for letting me read.

Daly does a great job with the now familiar trope of a wife finding out that her husband may not have been the man she thought he was. But in this instance, the husband has not disappeared, he has suffered a traumatic brain injury after being shot in the head with a nail gun. But who did it, and why? Was it the feuding next door neighbors or their creepy son? Or was it something darker? Was husband Leon actually involved in some sort of criminal enterprise that led to this warning (or revenge)? As wife Jane tries to hold everything together after Leon is attacked, she faces the difficulties of raising two very young children on her own with the added burden of a brain-addled husband who does not even recognize her. Jane struggles to hold down a much-needed job while realizing that the threat is still out there and that she must protect herself and her children. Daly puts together an excellent and suspenseful plot that kept me turning the pages and the villain is definitely not someone I suspected. Good read!

Wasn't sure if I would like this book, but it really came together! This had a bit of everything in it, some intrigue, some family drama, and it really was a fun book to read.
Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

3.5

A bit of an unfinished feeling as I wrapped up this one. You find out the culprit of the crime but things still feel rather bleak. I guess that’s real life where there isn’t always a happily ever after, people don’t always get what they want, blah blah blah

The story itself is interesting and the characters were fully fleshed out. The writing was good and the twist was unexpected. That being said, I didn’t love it. I try to stay away from stories about writers or reporters. For some reason they just don’t generally work for me. Please keep that in mind as you read this review. I will check out other work from this author as I liked the style this just wasn’t the story for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Grove Atlantic for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting story about the impact on a head injury on a family as well as a 'whodunit' around the crime. I found this a 'steady away' book rather than a page turner but I thought it was written well and had a good range of character development. Always interesting when an author writes about being an author and the challenges that go with it!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Grove Atlantic through my membership of NetGalley. Thank you for my copy sent in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Leon is a famous author. He’s married to Jane and they have two young children. They met when aspiring author Jane went to a book signing and found herself in the shortest queue, Leon’s queue. She has had novel after novel of her own turned down but still wants to persevere and achieve her ambition. The family are on their way out one day when their neighbour collars Leon and begins another trivial argument. Jane slips out of the car for a moment and returns to the house. She hates confrontations and knows Leon will get really wound up. Minutes later she hears a terrific crash and finds Leon has reversed into the neighbour’s wall. The minute she sees Leon she knows something is very wrong. He is totally unresponsive and Jane suspects that he has had a stroke. An ambulance arrives and Leon is taken away to a specialist hospital where he undergoes an emergency operation. Luckily the two children are unhurt but naturally very frightened, as is Jane.
Over the next few days a nightmare scenario unravels and it becomes obvious that Leon has been savagely attacked in his driveway. During the surgery he is placed in an induced coma with a very worrying brain injury. He may never fully recover. The police investigation begins and Jane’s life is turned up-side-down. Leon has been keeping secrets from her that may be the reason for the attack on him. All their money has gone and she wants to know what has been going on. She must also step up and become the breadwinner, but is still filled with determination to solve the mystery of Leon’s attack. So she begins investigations of her own, even after she is warned off.
All the way through this excellent story there is a brooding intensity and feelings of menace. You don’t know what is going to happen or when, but you definitely know it is going to be something bad. Jane feels threatened even in her own home. She worries about the safety of her children as well. I loved that edgy feeling and kept turning the pages eager to find out who had attacked Leon and why. I admired Jane’s tenacity and loyalty, but I felt as though I had never really got to know much about Leon. His motives were shrouded in secrecy which made him even more interesting. It was a compelling read. The suspense and tension of the superb storytelling never once waned and I never once guessed the reason why Leon was attacked. I thought the story development was very cleverly managed to achieve and maintain maximum interest. I think also this novel is her best yet and I have read them all. It’s a 4.5* review from me and a recommendation that this is a wonderful read.

WOW, having not read anything by Paula Daly before I had no idea what to expect going into this.

This story kept me riveted from the very first page right to the end. It shows you how much you never really know somebody no matter how much you love them and how close you are to them. The mystery as to who would hurt Leon and why kept me guessing leading up to a surprising ending.

Aquired brain injury is a serious thing and this story shows just how serious and how much it can change lives.

Totally entertaining read

4+ enthusiastic stars

Ok, this book definitely kept my attention. I've been in a bit of a reading slump, but fortunately have found a few decent mysteries recently to keep me interested in reading. Open Your Eyes is definitely one of them. It's the second book I've read by Paula Daly and by far my favourite. Jane lives in Liverpool with her husband and two young children. One day, her life is turned upside down when an attempt on her husband's life leaves him brain damaged. Jane then has to deal with a husband who doesn't recognize her and doesn't remember what happened to him, the fear of not knowing why someone tried to kill her husband and all of the other ordinary life stresses of family, work and small children. I liked Jane as a character. She comes across as a normal person dealing with extraordinary circumstances. I also liked that both Jane and her husband are writers. This fact plays an interesting role as the story unfolds, and especially at the end. Low on violence and high on interesting smart human interaction. My kind of mystery! I now want to go back and read some of Daly's other books. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Jane’s husband Leon is attacked with a nail gun while he waits for her in the car on the driveway of their house with the children in the back seat. This is part mystery novel, as the police and Jane try to work out who might have done such a thing, and part novel about what it is like to live with some one with a brain injury.

I enjoyed the beginning, but the middle dragged a little. The brain injury parts read as if the author had researched the situation thoroughly, but I was in it for the crime elements really. As Jane discovered that Leon had been keeping things from her the plot thickened a little, but the resolution left Jane with a husband only recovered to an extent and who had done some morally unacceptable things. Given his current inability to remember doing them, there seemed no way for her to gain “closure”. The very ending - Jane has written her own novel! - struck a false note for me.

A woman enjoys her life, her husband and children, without looking too deeply into reality, gets a dose of it when her husband is attacked and left for dead in their driveway. While he lies in a coma, she has to wonder what brought the attack on and what it means about her perfect life