If you saw a crime happen in your dreams before it actually occurred, would you stop it? It goes without saying you would, but what if you saw the crime from the victim’s point of view? As the victim, you don’t know where you are or even what day it is.

That’s how it is with Cora, the heroine of Jaycee Clark’s novel, Angel Eyes. She experiences the crime in a dream, but it never seems to be any help in stopping the perpetrator. Only her latest dream involves a woman with penetrating blue eyes, just like hers.

Cora is haunted by her dreams. They don’t come every night, but when they do, she literally screams the apartment house down. It is hard to explain the absolute terror she feels in her dream. She is the victim and the murderer is after her. If the dreams aren’t bad enough, the aftermath is worse—finding out the horrible crime in her dream was committed on some unsuspecting woman—or not knowing if the crime ever happened. Unfortunately, unlike television, her dreams don’t yield enough clues for her to do something about them. Then again, who would believe her? She confided once to her college friend, Kyle, and it didn’t seem like he was buying it.

Rogan Duran, former war hero, is assigned to the Army’s Criminal Investigative Unit. A secret mission gone bad put him behind a desk—a place he did not belong. Now, his private charge is to gather data on an unsolved cold case. Women with pale blue eyes vanish from colleges, military bases, even their homes, without clues. They all were nice, polite females, not known for partying or wild living. When his friend Ginger disappears it becomes personal. More so, because some people think Rogan is to blame. All Rogan knows is he has to get the maniac who grabbed Ginger before the killer goes after any more glacier-blue eyed female.

The disappearing women lead to Sedona, Arizona where Cora is working in a mystic and organic toiletries shop. Rogan is determined to solve the case, especially after he encounters Cora. Like the killer, Rogan is very fond of light blue eyes. With any luck, Cora just might be able to help solve the case. Cora struggles to extract clues from her dreams, which is especially difficult when her thoughts are so tangled up in the tough, battered Rogan. Is he simply what he seems to be or is he something more? Could he possibly be a danger to her?

Angel Eyes builds suspense by having the murderer give his viewpoint. There is also an edge to the depressed hero, Rogan, living merely to settle a debt for Ginger. There is nice detail in the story that makes it credible while still being suspenseful.

Angel Eyes is for both the mystery and thriller lover. Even the romance fan will be satisfied by this book, which seems to straddle the genres. The book is a definite recommend.

Reviewed by Morgan Wyatt
© December 2006