By: Michael Robotham
Narrator: Sean Barrett
Joseph O'Loughlin Book #8
ASIN: B013CATRK8
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Publication Date: 4/12/2016
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars Top Books of 2016 Happiness comes at a price. After six years living alone, Joe O’Loughlin is invited to spend the summer with his estranged wife Julianne and their two daughters. Determined torekindle his marriage, Joe grabs this lifeline like a drowning man, but soon there are complications. A mother and her teenage daughter are found murdered in a Somerset farmhouse, one defiled by multiple stab wounds and the other left lying like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her Prince. Reluctantly Joe is drawn into the investigation because another psychologist, a former student calling himself the ‘Mindhunter’ has traded on Joe’s name and jeopardised the police inquiry by leaking details to the media and stirring up public anger. With no shortage of suspects and tempers beginning to fray, Joe calls on his old friend former detective, Vincent Ruiz, for help and soon they discover links to a series of brutal attacks where the men and women are choked unconscious and the letter ‘A’ is carved into their foreheads. Nothing is what it seems and Joe will discover that happiness comes at a price ...and not everyone he loves can be saved.
OUT NOW! Joe O'Loughlin and Vincent Ruiz are back in Michael's gripping thriller CLOSE YOUR EYES
Interviews with the Author
From Publisher’s Weekly:
All Crime Is Psychological: Michael Robotham
Feb 19, 2016
“Close Your Eyes showcases O’Loughlin’s brilliance but also his vulnerability, revealing the two blind spots in his inventory—he cannot understand the woman he loves and he cannot analyze himself. His greatest strength is his abiding weakness, because truly believable heroes need a tragic flaw.” Read More
From Kirkus Reviews April 13, 2016 Jordan Foster has done a nice profile for Kirkus Reviews in the US. Interview with Michael Robotham and Close Your Eyes.
“I think at heart I’m a reluctant crime writer,” says Michael Robotham, the Australian-born Edgar Award-nominated author of 11 such crime novels. “I love the genre and I know that crime is necessary (you can’t have a crime novel without one), but my true passion is creating compelling characters with nuanced lives and emotional entanglements.” Read More.
My Review
My favorite Australian author, Michael Robotham returns following his sensational (2015) standalone, Life or Death,landing on my Top 10 Books of 2015, with CLOSE YOUR EYES (Joseph O'Loughlin #8). A complex case, a former student, his side kick detective, brutal murders, a sinister ruthless killer threatening and stalking his own family, possible love rekindled, plus more tragedy in store for our favorite clinical psychologist, Joe and (Mr. Parkinson). His most emotional yet! First, Robotham has the best dry humor, witty and sarcastic “down and dirty” one-liners, ever! "As smooth as silk" combining wit, family, drama, love, romance, domestic suspense, crime, detective, and psychological thriller in one page-turner. The King of “psychology, crime, and human dynamics." Second, I always pre-order the audio, narrator Sean Barrett “IS” Joe O’Loughlin. The perfect voice for Joe. I have come to imagine him as the character. (Robotham, O’Loughin, Barrett) what a collaboration! (Similar to US Connelly, Bosch, Welliver). If you are not familiar with the series: Joseph O’Loughlin is a kindhearted psychologist with a flawed family life and a sense of dry humor as he struggles with “Mr. Parkinson” (early onset). He works beside Vincent Ruiz, a hard-drinking tough talking homicide detective. Lost (#2) and The Wreckage (#5) featuring Ruiz and O’Loughlin playing a minor role in each. Set in London, England. Joe is getting close to retirement, while continuing to struggle with Parkinson’s Disease, taking a toll on his physical and mental state. He is delighted his ex-wife (Julianne) has invited him to move back into the house to spend the summer with her, Charlie, and Emma (his girls), before Charlie heads off for University. Julianne is having some upcoming surgery and he is helping out with girls. He has hopes they can work on their relationship—he would love nothing more than a reconciliation. Disrupting his family time, he is called on a case. A brutal murder of a beautiful woman and daughter in a farmhouse near Bristol. Elizabeth (mother) was stabbed brutally, multiple times. The investigation leads into a sexual fetish of having sex in public. The detective wants to solve and close the case. As usual, the cops have no leads. Joe comes out of retirement to offer a psychologist viewpoint with retired side kick, detective Vincent Ruiz. Fans will enjoy catching up with the duo. More attacks and other murders, which may or may not be connected. A twist with a former student of Joe's, leaking information to the press. Lots of juicy scandal. We hear from the evil twisted killer mixed in with some poignant personal drama with Joe. As he gets closer to the truth and the identity of the killer, Charlie becomes involved and other personal tragedies take front and center. Poor Joe. In a race against time, Joe is frantic, and fears for his girl--he has to get to them before the killer. Intense, fast-action, suspense! In the past, this has proved tragic and Joe has to ensure his family is safe. Protect. Expertly plotted, gripping and unpredictable!
Readers revisit some nostalgic emotional moments and scenes, from earlier times with the couple and family, before their marriage fell apart, and Mr. Parkinson came into their lives. Quite memorable—the love is still there to the present day, as they face together some pending health issues. He wants to be a good father and husband. He wants a second chance. Is it too late? Charlie, Joe’s daughter (witty and strong), wants to become a forensic psychologist, with a strong desire to interject herself in Joe’s case (plus she is highly skilled). Joe's attempts to divert her; however, unsuccessful. She is independent and strong-willed. I enjoy Robotham’s writing (a long-time fan), his expertise of blending the darkness and light, the strong and weak. Michael Robotham, Michael Connelly (US), and Karin Slaughter (US) --these three authors excel in this area: interweaving the two sides of the coin. The author skillfully infuses crime and psychological subjects with the personal lives of his protagonists, creating a wide range of emotions from vulnerable to strong. His characters are human, flawed, relatable---in contrast to the rough exteriors and horrific crimes they face daily in their careers. Somewhat of a cliffhanger. Readers will be anxiously, awaiting the next installment. Hoping we are going to continue to see more father/daughter action, and possibly the series working into more Charlie, with dad becoming more of consultant. (the way we have seen other popular series of this nature.) Joe has evolved in his character, and coming full circle. Hoping we will see many more series to follow. (Charlie series). Will be sad to see Joe go, as his time draws The duo strongly reminds me of Michael Connelly’s father/daughter character: Bosch series: (Harry Bosh-LAPD detective, daughter-Maddie, and ex-wife Eleanor). More than you know, after you finish reading this installment. Fathers protecting their daughters.
Robotham’s Joe's Charlie, has informed her father she is going into the field of forensics psychology. Similarly, Connelly’s Maddie, wants to be involved in forensics and detective work. Both highly intuitive young women. Fans will be pleased with CLOSE YOUR EYES. With strong interweaving storylines, a book within a book.
I recently read an online interview with the author, and he mentions while writing he has three words pinned next to his writing space: “Make Them Care.” He credits his own personal relationships with his daughter. This makes his work truly genuine-- you do care about the characters—you become invested in them—and why we keep coming back for more! If you read Life or Death, sure it has to be difficult as an author to switch gears and go back to a series after such a powerful standalone. Never fear fans; a different book, powerful, moving--each unique. Fans, some major happenings here, so do not miss #8! We can only hope in the US we will get a Michael Robotham Amazon Prime Series or TV series, based on Joseph O'Loughlin. Small or Big screen—just give us something. Can you image the cast? Definite binge-watch. I am keeping my fingers crossed. BTW: I particularly liked the “going out for ice cream” analogy, instead of eating what’s in your own freezer. Those nasty cheating husbands . . .
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About the Author
Born in Australia in November 1960, Michael Robotham grew up in small country towns that had more dogs than people and more flies than dogs. He escaped in 1979 and became a cadet journalist on an afternoon newspaper in Sydney. For the next fourteen years he wrote for newspapers and magazines in Australia, Britain and America. As a senior feature writer for the UK’s Mail on Sunday he was among the first people to view the letters and diaries of Czar Nicholas II and his wife Empress Alexandra, unearthed in the Moscow State Archives in 1991. He also gained access to Stalin’s Hitler files, which had been missing for nearly fifty years until a cleaner stumbled upon a cardboard box that had been misplaced and misfiled.
His first novel, a psychological thriller called THE SUSPECT, was chosen by the world’s largest consortium of book clubs as only the fifth “International Book of the Month”, making it the top recommendation to 28 million book club members in fifteen countries. Read More
