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Title: Close Your Eyes and Count to 10
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Park Row (February 25, 2025)
I’m changing my reading and writing habits these days.
While cozy mysteries warm my heart like cookies by the fire, I felt I needed something more adrenaline-pumping.
Book shopping now means looking for stories packed with suspense, intrigue, and mystery.
Dangerous island? Perfect.
Fear, foreshadowing, and layered plots? Absolutely!
I’d be remiss if I didn’t share and recommend Lisa Unger’s Close Your Eyes and Count to 10.
Lisa Unger presents a premise so thrilling that I almost have to cover my eyes in some parts of the story.
I won’t do that, however, because if I did, how could I turn the page and keep reading?
The main character, single-mother Adele, is suffering in multiple ways.
Her family’s reflection of perfection fractures in the community where her former husband’s business once employed most of the city.
Adele’s former husband, Miller, disregards federal law and prefers to live a privileged life funded by money he stole from his business.
He uses an alias and is sometimes seen near vacation spots like Florida and beautiful beaches.
FBI agents are monitoring Adele, suspecting that Miller will eventually contact her.
They keep searching for him, but with five years gone by, it feels like a cold case.
Resourceful Adele is forced to pursue a new career to support her family.
Her husband’s crimes disrupted countless families–especially their own—and she vowed to do whatever it takes to help their two children.
Wealth and the ease of opportunities that come with it are replaced by frugality, downsizing, and learning new ways to earn income.
She’s returning to old methods of making do, but doing so in a modern-day style.
Adele considers leaving the city for a fresh start after her husband’s actions are revealed.
She chooses to sacrifice that possibility to avoid disrupting her children’s lives in a new school.
A caring mother, Adele wants her children to be anchored in a place with familiar joys, natural support systems, and the comforts of familiarity.
Grief shapes the lives of those in mourning differently.
Adele’s teen daughter’s personality is energetic, fiery, with a trigger fuse that should come with a warning—a siren, cherries, and blue flashing lights.
She considers her son, Blake, an old soul who was born with a furrowed brow.
She knows her children suffer because of their father’s abandonment.
She feels the same way, but unlike their passive journey, hers is active.
She becomes a social influencer with a channel focused on ‘Reclaiming yourself and overcoming adversity.’
Her mantra is, ‘Don’t get even, get in shape.’
When Blake spots an opportunity for his mother to gain more followers on her social media page, he persuades her to give it a shot.
Like mothers everywhere, Blake has the knack for influencing his mother’s heart.
He chooses to use this ability, and eventually she agrees.
EXTREME HIDE + SEEK
All Adele needs to do is participate in an extreme hide-and-seek reality show streaming live.
The island’s crown is an abandoned luxury hotel.
The prize, $1 million and credibility, hooks Adele.
She knows the more followers she gains, the more money she can earn for her family.
Sometimes, the setting becomes a character in the story, and this is one of those times. “
Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 invites exploration, just like Lisa Unger’s thriller, which lives up to its genre.
