#Bookreview of THE EYES OF THE ACCUSED by Mark Tilbury
BLURB:
Book two in the Ben Whittle Investigation series. The Eyes of the Accused is a psychological mystery thriller written with occasional flashes of dark humour. Best enjoyed after reading The Revelation Room.
Fresh from the horrors of the Revelation Room, private investigators Ben and Maddie are plunged into a disturbing world of terror as they search for missing pregnant girl, Hannah Heath. Drawn to Frank Crowley, an original suspect in Hannah’s disappearance, Maddie is about to learn the true meaning of evil. But all is not what it seems. Crowley is just a small part of something unimaginable. Something so terrible and deranged it defies reason. After Maddie disappears, Ben is left in a desperate race against time to find her and uncover the truth.
MY REVIEW:
After reading and enjoying The Revelation Room, I just had to see what happened to Ben & Maddie next. The second book jumps right into the action, as we follow Hannah Heath through her kidnapping. Who nabbed her, and what do they want with her baby?
With his father paralyzed after their ordeal with the crazy cult, Ben tries taking up the reins of the Whittle PI business, but his father fights him at every turn. Just as Ben’s ready to throw up his hands in defeat, they pick up a case. A young, pregnant woman has disappeared, and the coppers have no leads. As Ben and Maddie follow Hanna’s cold trail, they run across a handy-man named Crowley. Just reading about him makes you want to wash your hands. He is such a creep. But, at the same time, Tilbury gets into his head so much, that we understand, to a certain degree, why he is what he is. We should all have mothers like his. NOT!. Makes me really appreciate my eccentric family.
Anyway, as the case moves along, Maddie finds herself, once again, in mortal danger. Will Ben find her in time? I always thought Maddie was the stronger person, and she is. But, Ben does some growing in this story, even facing up to his overbearing father. I have to admit, I chuckled a few times over some of the words of wisdom that spouted from Geoffrey’s mouth. Kinda reminded me of my own father.
The Eyes of the Accused isn’t quite as dark as the first book, but it still delves into the sinister, sick mind of the antagonist. Mark Tilbury does an excellent job as we jump from suspect to suspect, trying to figure out who the kidnapper is, and for what nefarious reason they want Hannah’s baby.
The story moves along at a good pace, but there were places with unnecessary info dumps about Crowley’s past that slowed down the reading. I didn’t feel they advanced the story at all, and some of it was repetitive to boot. Also, everyone seemed to have voices talking to them. Internal dialogue is expected, but these seemed like disembodied voices. Most people don’t have ‘voices’ talking to them all the time. Or, do they?
This is a well-written story that kept me on the edge of my seat, especially the end. If you enjoyed the first book, you got to try this one. I give it 4 feathers.
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