It starts with a chance sighting: a face from her past, someone Beth hasn’t thought about for years. Suddenly she feels a terrifying wave of panic – the flash of a memory, of crushing weight and pain, and the flicker of firelight and smoke.
Beth never had any reason to doubt her peaceful, happy upbringing. Then she suddenly starts getting awful flashes of an event from her past.
With no husband or boyfriend to turn to, she asks her trusted family and old friends for reassurance, only to hear that it must all be in her head.
Beth is determined to understand the meaning of these memories even if it means going it alone.
Beth starts seeing a psychologist to find out what is going on. Her sister doesn't know how to help her and her friend Gemma is going through something herself but wants to be there for Beth.
So we start out with Beth going out with her sister Laura, when she runs into 2 men from her past and this is when all of this starts. Did one of them hurt her? What is with what she smells when her memories hit.
I liked the characters in this book and how they try to all be there for each other. The other story is Gemma and her marriage.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC to review.

This was my first book by Beverley Harvey.

Beth Harding is an ordinary middle aged woman going about her ordinary life when she is suddenly struck with anxiety attacks. She is also having flashbacks that lead her to recognize that she has complete memory loss of certain parts of her past. Why? The flashbacks continue to get stronger and more revealing each time.

I do enjoy mystery/thrillers and I did enjoy this book. This was definitely a slow start book for me but it picked up near the end. I would be interested to read more books by Beverley Harvey.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Just brilliant. Thrilling. Pacy. Suspenseful. Addictive. This one ticked all the boxes for me. I could not put it down. Very highly recommended.

Really enjoyed this book , it was full of suspense all the way through . I couldn’t figure out who had done it and I loved the characters and the book ending . Look forward to reading more from this author

Close My Eyes is a gripping psychological thriller about the part your senses play in bringing back memories you have long since forgotten. 13-year-old Beth Harding had been attending her sister Laura's sixteenth birthday party, where all the guests were in fancy dress, when she had been the subject of a disturbing incident that occurred behind the family's leylandii hedge. However, she doesn't remember much of it or that entire year due to a mysterious illness that wiped out her memory. Fast forward 26 years, Beth is now 39-years-old, single and working as a public relations officer of a small mental health charity. She is a commitment-phobe, which worries both her family and friends and it is clear that Alex, the guy she has been sleeping with for the past six months, would like the relationship to go somewhere but once again this has Beth backing off despite really liking him. He wants more and she simply cannot give it to him, and eventually, they split up. Sisters Laura and Beth head out one night for drinks at the Ship Inn in Beckenham, a pub they haven't visited for twenty years, and are sitting chatting when two guys walk in. Suddenly, Beth is frozen in fear and begins to have a panic attack. The two men are The Binks Twins - Kevin and Billy - who used to live at the end of their street when they were young. Laura even dated Billy for a while. With the colour having drained from her face and the breathlessness and trembling she was displaying, Laura guides Beth out of the pub and they walk home. Beth has no idea why the twins' presence had caused such a reaction. When she reaches home and gets into bed she's still thinking about them and why she felt so unnerved by them; she decides that she must get to the bottom of it.

As she continues to have chance meetings with Kevin Binks - on the way to Benny's shop to buy some milk and while out at the Bricklayers Arms for a drink - the reactions become worse and worse and she begins to realise that they were involved in something years ago that Beth had buried deep within her mind. A repressed memory is something that happens when we try to push upsetting incidents out of our minds but bits and pieces of an incident are now flooding back into her conscious thoughts and she's getting flashbacks to a time, and past trauma, she doesn't remember. Whenever she is around her father's leylandii hedge she wonders why she gets in such a state - paralysed by fear. She eventually decides to see a regression therapist to try to reach more of the memories of that incident but why are some of her family and friends not supportive? 34-year-old Gemma Ward is Beth's best friend and her husband, Guy, was one of Beth's old childhood mates. She seemingly has it all: a beautiful daughter, a loving and successful husband and a comfortable existence, but behind closed doors, Guy is jealous, possessive and extremely controlling, and Gemma wants out. Can Beth find out what happened to her and will she discover and confront the perpetrator? This is a riveting and enthralling thriller right from the start with an original premise and a prologue that entices you into the drama. I loved the easy breezy writing style that means you fly through the pages like nobodies business. Told from Beth and Gemma's perspectives, the alternating chapters helped to build the suspense and the twists, red herrings, intense drama and action aplenty keep you fully engaged throughout. Highly recommended.

This is a great read.
The book has alternating chapters from Beth and Gemma, who are friends.
Beth starts to suffer anxiety attacks after she sees someone from her past but can’t work out why.
Her sister Laura and her friend Beth persuade her to seek help so she starts having counselling.
After a while she gives up as it’s not helping but an incident in the family garden makes her go back to counselling again.
Her therapist carries out hypnosis and soon Beth is starting to remember more from her past.
When it is revealed what happened, her sister is horrified that she didn’t know and there’s one other person she needs to tell for their own safety.
I did guess what had happened but it didn’t spoil the story for me.
This is a great read that well and truly had me hooked.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was a quick read, I finished it in a day. It captured my attention from the beginning and I kept reading to see if I was right about what happened! I loved the different storytellers and the way the stories went back and forth and intertwined. This was a solid read.

Beth suddenly starts having panic attacks after a chance sighting of someone she grew up with. As she has no memories of an entire year during her teenage years, she starts seeing a therapist in order to discover why these panic attacks have started. Meanwhile, her best friend, Gemma, has the perfect life, or so it seems. However, Gemma's husband is gradually showing more erratic behaviour and becoming more aggressive and violent. With twists and turns throughout the book, the two main characters stories begin to intertwine. An easy, page turning and gripping read.

Beth randomly sees someone from her past which sends her into a panic attack. She starts to get flashbacks and doesn't understand what they mean. Her sister Laura is concerned as is her best friend Gemma.

Gemma is married to Beth's old school friend Guy and they seem to have the perfect life with their little daughter and magazine perfect home. What Beth doesn't realise is that things are not all they seem.

Her sister Laura wants to help Beth and suggests she sees a Counsellor, which starts off badly but over time Beth feels she can really find out what happened to her. I did guess half way through but found the story kept me interested regardless.

Why does her father suggest things are best left in the past.....does he know what happened to her? Why does Gemma not believe her and why does her sister suggest she needs to move on? With difficult storylines, you could really feel Beth's terror and her need to resolve the past.

I found this to be an OK, easy to read drama about a woman with commitment issues, who starts to have flashbacks - or, are they all in her mind?

The chapters alternate between her married friends; Gemma and Guy and the lead character, Beth and it flows along at a decent pace. I'm afraid it just didn't really engage me and so, for me it's an OK 2* read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

I really enjoyed Close My Eyes. For me it was a little slow at the start but once I got into the story it gripped me right up to the end.
It is my first book by this author but it will not be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

Alternating tales from Beth and Gemma. Beth has a meeting that triggers painful flashbacks from her past. Quick and fast paced, two women in situations that demand them to show courage and be strong heroines. Overall pretty good.

Beth's life changes with a random chance sighting: a face from her past, someone Beth hasn’t thought about for years. She suddenly starts getting awful flashes of an event from her past – a vicious attack from an unknown person. And she thinks it could be more than just a nightmare. But how could she forget something this big?

Gemma, one of Beth's closest friends, is married to another childhood friend of Beth, Guy. What had promised to be a happy married life has soon turned into a nightmare for Gemma. Guy is a downright bully and Gemma has no one to turn to for help.

More details start to come back to Beth – details she knows she couldn’t have invented. But these are people who have known her all her life and have her best interests at heart. Who should she believe? And is she prepared for what she will find? Because the truth will ruin someone’s life – and they will stop at nothing to keep the past forgotten.

This was a very intriguing read!

I enjoyed the way the plot was narrated in alternating chapters between Gemma and Beth, it helped to build up the suspense and thrill in the air. Excellent character development as the plot progressed. The main issues of domestic violence and trauma have been dealt with such care and importance.

In terms of the main characters, I was glad when Beth and Gemma decided to stand up for themselves. Guy was one horrible and obnoxious character.

Even though there were no major twists in the plot and the ending is on expected lines, it still makes for an engaging read!

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

A more than acceptable tale that kept me interested and intrigued
Our main character, Beth, starts to suffer panic attacks when she see’s someone from her past and then with her Sister and best friend Gemma is on a ( sometimes half hearted ) mission to find out why.....Gemma is married to a bully and all round nasty bloke called Guy who has gone from passive aggressive to downright aggressive...the 2 stories run well alongside each other
I am not sure if deliberate by the author but there were small parts of almost oasis and breathing space in the story ie food, work, house decor descriptions that for me worked really well interspliced with the actual bones of the story that was starting to cover topics such as rape, suicide, parental favouring and work bullying amongst others, for me it was really good to have these light and airy paragraphs amongst all the darkness
So yes a good but difficult story, well written, brought out emotions especially the wonderfully ( and scarily ) accurate descriptions of panic/ptsd and a unique telling of how the past catches people up

9/10
5 Stars

This is a good suspense story which moves smoothly, has very good character development and is very focused on the storyline and central characters.

Beth sees two people from her childhood which immediately triggers panic reactions. It is not clear if these are based on paranoia & fears or based on real suppressed experiences. Her sister Laura and her dad Tim are a source of support. Gemma is a friend and is married to Guy, who Beth & Laura have known since they were children. Gemma has problems of her own with Guy being very career focused and ambitious. Beth seek medical help and it looks like some repressed pains from the past will surface.

The strong characters of - Beth, Laura and Gemma are a delight to follow and the book is very well written. Around half way through the book, I did sense an inkling of where this was heading. I liked the fact that the story was very honest without introducing unrealistic twists. The book is a slow burner with revelations turning up gradually, but yet is easy to read.

My rating: 4.25 / 5.

This was a good, quick read. I love the shorter chapters as they make you feel less guilty for staying up til 3am to read one more chapter! I found myself really liking the characters and being surprised and mislead throughout the book by who I trusted / doubted. Looking forward to reading the authors next book.

Synopsis:

Beth lives a pretty normal life and had a pretty happy, peaceful childhood. One day, she beings having awful flashes of a past attack by some unknown assailant. She has no recollection of such an attack ever happening, and all her friends tell her it must be her imagination. However, she continues to have these flashes, and starts to remember more details – that she could not have made up. She doesn’t know what to believe. She’s adamant about wanting to figure out what these memories mean, but she may not be prepared for what she finds out.

My review:

Once again, Bookouture does not disappoint. This is my first Beverley Harvey novel. The story started off a bit slow, but the pace quickly picks up. It’s told from two different perspectives – those of Beth and Gemma. I’ve not read a book like this before – the two different perspectives kept me glued to the pages. I couldn’t put the book down and devoured it in a few hours. It was an exciting thriller and I would highly recommend it. I look forward to more of Ms. Harvey’s stories.

Thanks to Net Galley, Beverley Harvey, and Bookouture for the opportunity to review the ARC. This review and all opinions are my own.

This story was fantastic. This book got a hold of me from beginning to the end. I was desperate to know how it ended and at the same time, I did not want to finish reading because I was enjoying it so much. I will be thinking of this book for a long time. I have a few comments about it. For a short time, I thought that DS Holbrook was not who she said she was but rather, a friend of Guy’s, and therefore, she would harm Gemma. I was glad she was one of the good guys. My favorite part of the story was the whole time Gemma stayed at her aunt Marina’s place on the beach. There were just a few things that I found confusing, even though I loved the book. I was surprised that Guy did not intercept Beth’s message to Gemma’s phone – confirming Guy’s guilt - after Beth talked to her dad about the attack and Tim revealed he had suspicions about what happened. Also, I found hard to believe that Guy would feel so embarrassed by the outcome of things at the end, that, he would finally leave Gemma alone and not be a violent threat to her and decide to do all this on his own. A monster would not do this. Overall, this was immensely enjoyable and full of thrills.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy!

Unfortunately I couldn’t get into this book at all. 40% in and I couldn’t go any further. I thought the dialog was very corny and amateur and I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. Sorry this was a pass for me.

This was a decent read, centered on close friends Beth and Gemma, with chapters alternating between them. Gemma seemingly has it all, but there are cracks in her marriage; and Beth is a commitment-phobe who is happy having Gemma, her sister Laura, and her dad in her life. When Gemma randomly runs into a boy she knew in childhood, bringing on panic attacks, we find that none of this is what it seems.

I liked reading about Gemma and Beth and felt that they were well-developed and believable characters. That being said, I figured out what was going on in the first few chapters of the book and was proven correct. I did finish this book in less than a day because I wanted to see if there was a twist I hadn’t figured out. There was not, but the book held my interest and the characters were easy to connect with.

Overall, a quick read with characters about which I enjoyed reading, but I wish I had been surprised more by the outcome. I think I would check out other books by this author. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.