Thursday 13 April 2017

Don't Close Your Eyes - Holly Seddon



Robin and Sarah weren't the closest of twins. They weren't even that similar. But they loved each other dearly. Until, in the cruellest of domestic twists, they were taken from one another.

Now, in her early 30s, Robin lives alone. Agoraphobic and suffering from panic attacks, she spends her days pacing the rooms of her house. The rest of the time she watches - watches the street, the houses, the neighbours. Until one day, she sees something she shouldn't...

And Sarah? Sarah got what she wanted - the good-looking man, the beautiful baby, the perfect home. But she's just been accused of the most terrible thing of all. She can't be around her new family until she has come to terms with something that happened a long time ago. And to do that, she needs to track down her twin sister.

But Sarah isn't the only person looking for Robin. As their paths intersect, something dangerous is set in motion, leading Robin and Sarah to fight for much more than their relationship...

What did I think?

Having loved Holly Seddon's amazing debut, Try Not To Breathe, I could not contain my excitement when I picked up a copy of Don't Close Your Eyes.  You really can't put Holly's books down; they immediately draw you in to an intriguing storyline, making it quite possible to finish Don't Close Your Eyes in one sitting.  I didn't quite manage it as my brain ignored the instruction and my eyes unfortunately started to close as it was way past my bedtime.

Robin and Sarah are twins, although they are like chalk and cheese, and we meet them as they are growing up in the late 80's/early 90's.  There is no doubt as to the era with references to Jordan Knight from NKOTB (although I was a Donnie Wahlberg fan) and Opal Fruits (not the yellow ones).  Robin becomes close friends with her neighbour, Callum, as the two neighbouring families begin to socialise together, but she could never have expected her life to intertwine so intricately with Callum's.  In a cruel turn of fate, Robin and Sarah are separated by the Atlantic Ocean as Sarah goes to live in America.

Fast forward to present day and if you think the 'past' was full of drama, you ain't seen nothin' yet!  Robin is agoraphobic and spends her time looking out of her window at her neighbours' lives.  She is clearly very damaged and you wonder what on earth happened to her, this girl who was once confident enough to be in a band.  Sarah meanwhile, is equally lost after her husband, Jim, stages what appears to be an intervention which separates her from her beautiful daughter, Violet.  Jim has a list of misdemeanours, but surely Sarah can explain them?

I can't really say too much more without giving away some of the story, but what an amazing book this is.  Don't Close Your Eyes is filled with so much drama that it makes Eastenders look like an episode of Songs of Praise.  Holly Seddon really knows how to get under your skin, creating characters that are as multi-faceted as the rarest diamond.  It's not only a book that I will continually recommended, but a book that I will definitely read-again.

Seriously good, you won't want to blink, never mind close your eyes, until you have finished it.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:




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