A mysterious private investigator known only as the Eye falls for a woman he is hired to follow in the Eye of the Beholder.

Unfortunately, the woman is a serial killer. The Eye ignores this single flaw and even helps the woman by hiding a few bodies deeper so she won’t get caught.

Written in 1990 by an American living in France, this is a strange little book. There is no character development or even motives. There also is no plot other than what I mentioned above. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend Eye of the Beholder. 1 star.

Thanks to Dover Publications for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read this even though the 1981 release caused me to have reservations. I was told it was a classic and it was. True to it's time and yet and unconventional odyssey of a 25 year stalk. Step back in time and enjoy.

3/5

The book follows a private investigator, The Eye, who through an assignment he stumbles into a woman who is a serial killer. The Eye leaves his job and follows the woman throughout her many killings, change of identity and moving from city to city.

I requested this book because the premise sounded interesting and intriguing. I love thrillers and mysteries, so I had high hopes for this book. However, I was not entirely pleased with it. I couldn't develop a connection to any of the characters, despite being very complex characters. The story moved too slow and the events weren't very believable.

I really wanted to like this book and I kept trying but ultimately I was a bit disappointed.

This book was given to me as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This is a kind of quirky book written around 20 years ago. When I say quirky, I mean unconventional or unusual.

It has all the things that I look for in a good read .... death, sex, crime, cops or private investigator. What I didn't find was an ounce of credibility or a solid story premise.

This particular investigator is known as The Eye. He's a bit on the strange side. His daughter has been missing for many years ...taken away by her mother. He has spent a lot of time and a lot of money but hasn't been able to locate her. He fantasizes about her ... is she a good person ... a hooker .... married with children ... his head is all over the place.

When hired to locate a wealthy family's son's girlfriend he tracks the son and the girlfriend to a justice of the peace and they get married. Continuing with tailing them, he watches in the dead of night as she kills him and gets rid of the body. He does nothing. Still following her, he sees her with another man, another trip to a chapel and then on to their honeymoon cabin. Yes ..she kills him and buries his body outside.

The Eye is so taken with this mysterious woman, he digs up the body and re-buries it in the woods. He doesn't want her caught. He knows she isn't his daughter ... but what if? And catching her is the last thing he wants.. he likes to watch. The closer he gets, the more dangerous his fantasy becomes.

I didn't particularly like any of the characters. The story didn't make any sense to me. And the ending was just plain strange. If you're looking for something different, you might like this ... or not.

(WIKIPEDIA) Marc Behm was an American novelist, actor and screenwriter, who lived as an expatriate in France. Behm wrote the script for The Beatles' Help! and the film Charade. His best and most well-known literary work is the surreal love story cum hard-boiled crime novel Eye of the Beholder. He died in 2007.

Many thanks to Dover Publications and Netgalley for the digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.