Eye Contact [Hardcover]

'Eye Contact' is a superb crime fiction debut. The book has two main characters, as different as chalk and cheese. Robert Naysmith is to all outward appearances successful, good looking and with the ability to charm the birds off the trees. However, behind this facade lurks a deadly secret, and one which he has kept hidden for years. He is a murderer, but a murderer with a difference. He doesn't choose his victims, they choose him. It ia a game he plays - a game which is meticulously planned. On the appointed day and time the game begins the very first time someone makes direct eye contact with him, they are to all intents and purposes doomed. For they will be his next victim and they won't have long to live. The story begins with the discovery of the body of a young woman on Severn Beach in the shadow of one of the Severn Bridge crossings. The murder seems to be motiveless, that is until DI Harland is assigned to the case, and it is his persistence which leads him on to link this murder to another case. The story moves on apace from there, but the ending will come as a surprise to the reader. I said earlier that the book had two main characters - well, DI Harland is the cheese to Naysmith's cheese. He is a very sad and lonely man who has never really got over the sudden and tragic death of his wife whom he adored. As a result he suffers from deep depression and loneliness at times, and this can cloud his judgement if he is not careful. One character delights in death and the other finds it a struggle to come to terms with. The prose is crisp - not a single word is wasted. The descriptive passages are so good that, as the reader, you can vividly picture the scenes; they are so realistic that you can almost feel yourself as an invisible looker on. Great stuff. I eagerly await the next in the series.

If you misspent you youth the same way that I did then the name Fergus McNeil may be familiar from classic ZX Spectrum adventure games such as 'Bored of the Rings' and 'The Boggit'. They were gentle, humorous, tales...a far cry from the darkness of Fergus' first novel.

Eye contact gives us a well written psychological thriller based around a killer that manages to employ both randomness and pre-meditation in carrying out his deeds. The quality of the writing is first class with excellent description without being flamboyant for the sake of it. Fergus uses the pace of his writing brilliantly giving a real connection to events as they unfold.

I imagine it is particularly difficult to bring something new to the 'cop with issues' character and in Harland we are given a solid lead, with just enough background to keep him interesting. The internal politics that he comes up against as the case develops is particularly well done.

The true star of this book though is the killer, Naysmith. He is written so well that you feel that you are inside his head at times and that is a pretty uncomfortable place to be. As his background is revealed layer by layer it creates a real understanding of what drives him and his twisted view of the world.

All in, an excellent début and I'm certainly looking forward to the next offering.

Eye Contact, Fergus McNeill's debut novel has been on my wishlist ever since I first saw it on the publisher's website. What intrigued me about this story is the fact that there's no motive behind these murders. It's all just a game. And even before I started reading the book, I started wondering: how do you track down someone who has no reason to kill and whose victims have no connection to each other whatsoever? As a huge crime fan I've read many books from the same genre but never have I encountered one where the killer's only motive is the adrenalin rush, that strive for power and I was quite curious to see what would happen next and how the events would unfold. I had really high hopes for this one and I'm glad to say that McNeill didn't disappoint. McNeill's writing, unique plot and his ability to describe what's going on in both the killer's and his hunter's head are equally engaging from the very beginning and I found it very difficult to put this book down.

I loved the way McNeill dealt with narration. A third person narrator tells the story of both the murderer and the police inspector in a way that the first part of each section tells the killer's side of the events and the second half deals with the investigation process. It's interesting how, even though it's not the killer himself who tells us his side of story, we get to know what goes on in his mind before he decides to strike again and chooses his next victim. While he's a totally ordinary guy with a normal job on the outside, his thoughts are that of a madman. The character I loved the most, however, was the policeman who's working on Naysmith's case - DI Graham Harland. Harland is still trying to come to terms with the loss of his wife and he's quite a lonely, sad and depressed figure. I loved how much he's changed by the end of the story and his relationship with his colleague Mendel and I hope it's not the last we see of the two of them.

When I first saw this book I thought it would be a lot bloodier and more cruel than it actually is which was definitely a pleasant surprise. McNeill doesn't really go into details about the victims and the forensics' work like many thrillers and mysteries do - it rather focuses on how the police are trying to find a motive behind all this and find a link between these murders. Don't get me wrong, it's terrifying all the same. I had nightmares of being followed for two days straight after reading it and I'm not likely to forget this story anytime soon. But if you're looking for the next Hercule Poirot, this one's not for you. There's no snooping around examining the scene of the crime, questioning suspects and witnesses and collecting evidence - that's the point: there are no witnesses and there is no evidence. Naysmith is an incredibly clever and thorough guy whose attacks are carefully planned beforehand. He makes sure that there will be no witnesses and he doesn't leave anything behind, not even a footprint. Which makes this book all the better: you just want to know how the police would find someone who's as guarded as he is or what would be his downfall.

McNeill keeps you in the dark until the very end and you've no idea what's about to happen. Even thirty or forty pages before the end you just don't know if it's ever going to end or if Rob Naysmith is going to get away with it. I loved this book from start to finish and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who likes suspense and mysteries. Eye Contact will keep you on the edge of your seat all along and keep you guessing till the very end. It's a heart-pounding debut novel you don't want to miss!