Book Review: Diamond Eyes By A A Bell

ISBN: 9780732291365;

ISBN10: 0732291364;

On Sale: 1/11/2010;

Format: Paperback;

Trimsize: 111 x 181 x 34 mm;

Pages: 544;

RRP: $22.99

Book Description

Mira Chambers has an unusual gift for solving mysteries ...

Blind, institutionalised and frustrated by her loss of independence, Mira has been driven to the brink of insanity by medications that make her life unbearable. When she astounds two medical scientists by ′seeing′ the impossible, they begin an exploration of Mira′s strange perspectives.

Together with Bennet Chiron, an enigmatic ex-con, Mira becomes entangled in a dangerous adventure of self-discovery that leads them to a killer -- and exposed to a manipulative sociopath whose own unique talent is more than a match for Mira′s.

Layers of secrets are about to be peeled away ... and no one will be safe from what is revealed.

Review

This book is not bad for the first novel produced by writer, AA Bell. While it sounded a bit like the film, The Eye, (based on the 2002 Chinese film Gin Gwai), from the blurb on the cover, it did come through as a well written piece of literature. The manuscript for Diamond Eyes won the Highly Commended as an unpublished manuscript in 2008, so it's taken a few years to get this book published.

There were a few areas in the book that could have been strengthened and a twist or two added to make it less clichéd in spots. Overall, it is easy to overlook these minor faults when you know that it is the first book the author has published.

The main character, Mira, was well created and easy to sympathize with through her trial and tribulations. I liked the descriptive narratives of her visions and how they played out the subplots of the novel.

While not the strongest book I’ve ever read, I did enjoy it and can see the potential for AA Bell to become a great writer in the near future.