Doll's Eyes

by Bari Wood

Eve Klein was born wtih a "gift" she doesn't want. It drove her husband away and her mother to suicide. It forces her to see things...to know things.

In her mind, she can see the pain, the terror, the blood. and the eyes-- cold and merciless, alive...yet dead.

Destiny has brought her to a remote and mountainous place, with no avenue of escape. For the killer's glassy doll eyes are now focused solely on Eve Klein. And he's coming for her now.

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Adult, Novels, Paranormal

375 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1993

Reviews

[*•MJ•* · Rating 2 out of 5]

If only the author didn’t try to gain sympathy for a serial killer. I understand having a f*cked up childhood & I pity the killer (his younger self) but killing to try and make yourself feel “something… anything” is just plain evil, cruel, ruthless. I can’t & won’t sympathize. Story was entertaining and anxiety-ridden. 👏👏

[Metodi Markov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Добра кримка, макар и наивна на моменти - писана е през вече далечната 1993 година.

Моята оценка - 3,5*.

[Alex (The Bookubus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid horror-thriller. Part police procedural, part psychic game of cat and mouse.

Eve's psychic powers provide her with the vision of a woman being killed in the woods. She gives the information she has to the initially skeptical Detective Dave Latovsky and the hunt for the killer begins. But the killer knows someone has been watching him and now he is on the hunt for Eve.

I thought the character of Eve was really well written and the description of the effects her psychic powers have on her personal life made it feel realistic and believable. The story has a hard edge that I find lacking in some thrillers, and it's a pretty bleak and brutal story. We find out who the killer is really early on so it's less a case of whodunit and more a case of why. It brings up the nature versus nurture conversation which is really interesting. Definitely a page-turner, great characters and really well written.

[Heather ~*dread mushrooms*~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

UPDATE 9/25/14: I just watched the movie and it is BAD. But it looks so nice. So maybe the book is better? I don't know. They should remake it and do a good job this time. Although nobody could portray Vivian Thompson like RDJ.

REVIEW:
I read this book because of the movie based off it, In Dreams. In reality, the book and the movie have literally NOTHING in common besides a psychic woman. Not the names, not the crimes, not the settings, not ANYTHING. I'd actually known they were different before going in, but I didn't expect the differences to be so vast.

The pacing in this book sucked. The cops were so incompetent it was insane. They started suspecting the killer in the first half of the book but it took them until the last few pages to get him. There was a bunch of boring dialogue that added nothing to the story. I skimmed a lot of it in the last quarter. The killer was the only sympathetic character in the book. His backstory was suitably sick, but it also felt really random.

Okay, now here's why the movie is better. (It's been a while since I've watched it, so bear with me.) Robert Downey Jr. plays a guy named Vivian Thompson who escapes from a mental institution and cross dresses to fool a taxi driver and kills people or something? And he and Annette Bening's character Claire share a psychic connection and it starts to drive her a little crazy.





Some cool stuff in the movie includes an underwater town, a reservoir, an abandoned hotel, and a shit ton of apples.



So there you go. I'm not even sure why the movie bothers to credit this novel. The two are entirely different stories.

[Cassandra Glissadevil · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 stars! Good enough for second helpings
Just finished Doll's Eyes for the 2nd time in 20 years. Wood keeps the tension nerve-wracking high the entire duration. She's a one of kind writer. Although her characters seem a tiny bit unlikely to me, She kept me riveted with the way she constructs male female relationships, unearthing memories and corpses of relationships past. Although Doll's Eyes may not be considered literary it's just one zip code over. The prose, plot, and tension fueled my rapt attention.

If you like scary horror novel's, I've read a thousand. So check out my other novel reviews. If I rated it 5 stars you can't go wrong. If you want to read epic horror in the vein of Doll's Eyes check out a copy of Robert McCammon's novel "Mine" or "Carrion Comfort" by Dan Simmons.

[Book Vamp Jade Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellently written. keeps you constantly on the edge of your seat as you imagine seeing horrors through another's eyes. this book also illustrates the damage that a parent/s can do to a child.

horrifying!

[Scotty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cat-and-mouse game between a serial killer and a psychic with whom he has a telepathic connection. It's as standard and generic a setup as you can imagine. But, because it's Bari Wood, it's just ever-so-much better than what the plot synopsis might suggest.

As a character study of both the psychic, Eve Klein, and the killer (I won't name him, although it's hardly a spoiler since his POV is introduced very early in the novel), Doll's Eyes works great. Wood imbues both with a matter-of-fact richness and specificity that makes them utterly believable, and their "relationship" evolves in some interesting and unexpected ways. The book is also a solid exploration of the fallout caused by trauma and abuse. Where the book falls down a little is in the police procedural aspect. The third major character is Lieutenant Dave Latovsky, who is both searching for "The Wolfman" and falling in love with the psychic whose help he's trying to enlist. Latovsky is an engaging enough character in his own right, but he makes a few choices of appalling stupidity and fails to connect some of the most obvious deductive dots. There are a few moments where his general numbskullery nearly derails the entire momentum of the plot.

Still, I'd highly recommend this book. I enjoyed it when I first read it back in the 90s, and I enjoyed it just as much on this reread. It's fun and pulpy and also manages to be fairly exacting and nuanced in its execution. Bari Wood is an underrated author in the horror/suspense space, and while I wouldn't call Doll's Eyes a masterpiece, it's a strong piece of work. Just avoid the "adaptation" (In Dreams, starring Annette Benning and Robert Downey Jr.). Not only is it terrible, it has virtually nothing to do with the source material.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Psychic Eve Tilden Dodd Klein did not ask for her powers, but she has them all the same. For a time she was hopeful that they'd disappeared, vanishing as quickly as they had come upon her, but when she touched the swing and suddenly found herself witnessing a murder happening miles away, she knew that they hadn't gone anywhere. Instead, they were saving up for this moment in time - not so that she could save someone, but so that she could witness losing them. All Eve wanted was to save her marriage, but this terrible vision puts the lives of many other women in her hands instead. Now she hopes to at least disguise her identity from the killer, though the small town atmosphere doesn't promise any anonymity or any discretion. As reporters, police, and doctors betray Eve's confidence, the killer is closing in on her. The closer he gets, though, he begins to see Eve as more than another victim, and she dreads his new purpose even more.

A chilling thriller, Doll's Eyes keeps you on the edge of your seat. Eve is a very likable character, and its easy to sympathize with her and the role she's forced to play. There is a lot of suspense, and enough details to keep it interesting without ever bogging down the pace. The ending fit well, and left me satisfied that everything that needed to be wrapped up had been.

[Catherine Vera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buen thriller, la trama es bastante rápida y van pasando los hechos a toda velocidad, lamentablemente el hecho de saber tan temprano quién es el asesino me desilusionó, además de que el "juego" del gato y el ladrón es predecible.

Las descripciones de las escenas están bien realizadas, llega a ser clínico el detalle de lo que ocurre con las víctimas y eso sorprende y le da un buen toque a la obra, pero por otro lado, la identificación con los personajes se hace débil, incluso de manera sorprende uno se conecta más con la historia del asesino que con los "buenos".

Sumando y restando, una buena historia para pasar el rato.

[Mercedes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good start with a very 90s premise and also very 90s problematic parts. I liked the cat & mouse structure of the second half, but it wasn't well done enough and required the main detective to suddenly become an idiot just to further the plot. Using the brutal murders of NINE women as a plot device and then making us sympathize with the murderer is peak 90s thriller.

[Jacob Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think despite my high star rating of this book (which it definitely deserves) I have mixed thoughts about a couple of the twists and turns this story took.

I wouldn’t describe this book as a straight up horror novel. It’s much more of a horror/thriller combination, not truly settling in either camp but relying heavily on tropes and plot beats from both. Because of this, I struggled to latch onto it at first as I was expecting one thing, and then very quickly got another. Then, once I had settled into the story we had, it would take another turn and I would have to get reacclimated.

Because of this constant push and pull, I never fully settled into the story the way I like to. However…I almost feel like that was the point. This book kept me on my toes, and kept me turning pages to see where we would be going next. I didn’t always love where we ended up (there were so many little scenes that I felt popped up randomly to block me from the main action I wanted to follow up with after each scene) but I kept on going. This book’s pace was incredible and its ability to draw you in and hold you hostage was spellbinding.

I did have questions remaining by the end, which I don’t typically mind. Unanswered questions keep stories alive in the minds of the readers. That’s what I’ve always thought. But the final pages and especially the final paragraph of the book left me wondering…what did the author mean by that. I like that. I like still having to think on a book once I put it down. It makes what could’ve been a just-for-fun type of story into something deeper with a meaning to dwell on long after the final page is turned.

[Zion . · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eve Tilden Leigh Klein comes from a long line of extraordinary women. All it takes is just a touch for them to see your past or your future. In Doll’s Eyes, Eve witnesses a murder at Raven Lake from the other side of the lake in a failed attempt at repairing her marriage. After having to convince the local detective and psychiatrist of her abilities, Eve’s life becomes a little more dangerous when the killer starts hunting for her.
It was a bright Wednesday afternoon when I went to the bookstore in the Fairfield Shopping center on Providence and asked the owner and his wife to help me find a book by a not so well known author. After asking a few probing questions, she helped me find Doll’s Eyes by Bari Wood.
I happily paid for my new novels and proceeded to my hair appointment.
For the next 4-5 hours while two women with heavy accents braided my hair in Senegalese Twists, I was drawn in by the intense story Wood presented. I feel as though, the authors text adequately reached the intended audience. Her text and tone gave me chills as I became afraid when Eve first touched the swing and saw the murder. I cried when Latovsky broke down in Dr. Bunner’s office. With each descriptive word, I had a vivid movie playing in my mind.
The way in which Wood executed this literary work, it is not too hard or easy to read. Her use of descriptive language effectively has you forgetting you’re even reading at all.
I believe one of the biggest issues in the novel was whether Eve would help Detective Dave Latovsky with his case or not. There was a constant battle between Eve and her aunt Frances Tilden. Frances can see how using her power effects Eve physically and emotionally. There was also a battle between Eve and Latovsky. Latovsky needed her to find the killer but she feared he would find her and kill her. Personally, I agreed with everyone’s argument. All points were equally valid.
What I love about Wood is her ability to captivate my mind and direct my imagination in her fictional world. Although Steven King is one of my favorite authors, when I read his work, I spend the entire time comparing his writing style to my own. Wood was able to captivate me so deeply that my mind was free of anything that she did not want in her world.

[Diana Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doll's Eyes is a psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The movie In Dreams is based very loosely on this book.

Eve Tilden Klein has visions that have ruined her marriage and caused her problems all her life. The "gift" is genetic. Her mother, and grandmother also had visions and their lives were also ruined.

Eve believes she's lost this gift and attempts to reconcile with her husband when the visions come rushing back. From there the book is a rollercoaster searching for a serial killer in the Adirondacks who is being hunted by a small town detective struggling to understand Eve's visions and stay ahead of the killer.

I loved the way you are drawn into Eve's struggle with her "gift" and how it affects everyone in her life. The way she grows during the case mirrors the struggles the other characters go through.

I was not expecting it to be completely different from the movie. I saw the movie first and there is nothing similar other than clairvoyance and serial killers. If you haven't watched the movie don't expect them to be the same.

The book is definitely worth a second read and I wonder where Eve and the detective end up. I also felt for the killer at the end.

[Andrew Herold · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason I picked this up was because I had seen the movie In Dreams and it was supposedly based on this book. Well, I don't really understand exactly how they can say that it's based on this--they really have almost nothing in common, including the character names and most of the plot--but I would ague that this is a better story. I didn't really have high hopes for it, but in this case I was pleasantly surprised.

The characters are pretty well developed, the gore is somewhat restrained and elegant instead of splashy (which really worked in this instance), and the killer wasn't just this one dimensional embodiment of evil. Neither were the good characters for that matter. Even Eve, arguably the most blameless character in the story, was still flawed and a bit more unpredictable than you'd guess. I like Wood's style, too. More descriptive than most, which is nice to see.

The only real complaint that I have is that her hero cop (another flawed character) seems a bit slow on the uptake. Unrealistically so, which helped to craft a more suspenseful ending, but didn't ring true regardless. Other than that, well worth the time.

Call is 3.5 stars.

[StrangeAeons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bari Wood is an intriguing writer and my overall impression of her is that she's better than the sum of her parts. She uses pulpy and familiar themes throughout her novels which lend themselves (or are indebted to?) to horror cinema. She's definitely smarter than most of the pack though and can deliver one hell of a creeper both in tension and release. Doll's Eyes has the added bonus of moving along at clip. It's a page turner, if not quite a head scratcher; you know where this book is going, despite the surplus of red herrings, and especially if you're already familiar with trope of a psychic detective (Eve) journeying to a small towns who happens to chance upon the visions of a serial killer.

This isn't a languid, introspective fiction. This is a book plotted for thrills and chills. There's some cliches (a skeptical sheriff turned right hand man, a final confrontation between "Adam" and "Eve", etc) but as the killer catches up to Eve's there's an interesting twist (which I wouldn't spoil here).

[Emma Warth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luke picked up this book from a bargain table at our local bookstore. He tore through it, so I of course had to try it for myself. This is a crime thriller with a hint of the paranormal - the main character is a psychic who can see things about people - often things that end up making situations worse. She sees a scene of a recently murdered woman in the woods and ends up trying to help the police find the culprit. They've been searching for this man who had already killed 4 other women in the same way.

The POV switches between characters, and you get the killers perspective as well - once he finds out there's a psychic who almost saw his face, he begins to hunt her too, knowing she's the only one who could bring him down.

The crime scenes are definitely quite graphic, but I found myself unable to put this book down. This author certainly writes suspense well, and the multiple perspectives helped move the story along. I thought the characters were well done and the story was exciting.

I'll be on the lookout since now I know Luke enjoys crime thrillers!

[Anna Karen]

I thought it was an amazing book but the ending really shook me up. I mean the very last 2-3 pages. I´ve never been so furious over an ending since I read Iréne in the trilogy of Iréne, Alex and Camille. That was because that ending was so brutal and disgusting, but the ending of Doll´s eyes is disgusting in a completely different way. Of course it´s very, very sad when horrific child abuse leads to the making of a soul-less monster, the way it did with the killer in this book (of course I felt sorry for him), but reading about someone literally glorifying it (the monster) by making him a huge monument and by those actions showing no regard for his victims who were all good people who left behind kids who will now grow up fatherless and motherless, was the most sickening thing I have ever read (in fiction). Eve sucked!!! I know it´s a novel but it really took away the enjoyment that I usually feel after finishing a good book.

[⋆₊ ⊹☾ ♱⋆-Lillian-⋆♱ ☾ ⊹₊ ⋆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Jeanne was pretty, funny, and bright ; she had long legs, big tits, and was mad about Dave”

This man is such a horrible author not only has he used the f slur at least three times for no apparent reason he is obsessed with describing women in the most unintelligent sexist manner possible.

Randomly violently gory.

The dialogue is written so badly it’s quite literally jarring.

The characters are so flat and two dimensional that I can’t even tell them apart. The police work is unrealistically shoddy.

The entire story feels like the author went through with a thesaurus and replaced words at random.

“That fart had a liquid center” yet another disturbing quote to showcase the talents of this author.

Also for some reason we are glorifying the serial killer and are expected to sympathize with him?

Truly an awful book.

[Curtain33 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tortured psychic. A determined police officer. A relentless killer. This book has it all. Doll's Eyes is surprisingly raw and believable in spite of its sensational premise: think more the movie 'Seven' and less 'Saw'.

This is my first outing with Bari Wood and after reading it I'll surely be back to read more of her work. She really wields the genre without it coming off as trite or padded out (as opposed to say, Dean Koontz). All the characters are really well written (including the villain), which kept me invested from beginning to end. The villain is merciless and psychopathic, which makes for a harrowing read--it really feels like all bets are off, in terms of who may be killed.

For fans of the thriller, serial killer genre this book is an absolute must.

[Jason H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eve has psychic powers... she can see past tragedies, future crimes, and soon-to-be-dead people. She can also see secrets, and it is this curse that has driven her husband away to a remote, lakeside residence. But, while visiting her estranged husband, Eve suffers a vision of a woman being killed nearby.

She shares her vision with a local cop, initiating a disturbing series of events as the local killer learns of Eve's vision and abilities, doing everything in his power to find and kill her... but not before forcing her to reveal the traumatic event from his own childhood that left him with serious physical and mental scars.

If you like psychic thrillers with incredible characters then Doll's Eyes should be on your list of must reads!

[Lorena Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember when I got this book in highschool. My mom had gotten it second hand from the hospital book store. She told the bookstore volunteer I liked thrillers. That book lady supplied me with plenty of thrillers that year. This was one of my favorites. I still have my copy. I've reread it a few times when I was in a book slump. It's not really a "who done it" it's more of a entering the mind of the killer type of book. I didn't find it scary, but it could be triggering as it does deal with abuse.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5-3 stars
Kept me reading to the end to see how it turned out.
A bit wordy in places and frustrating as some of the text just didn't seem to matter or fit. Some of the characters were unnecessary and often times I'd forget who they were when mentioned again.
But, then there were segments that I wanted to keep reading and enjoyed.
A bit of a mixed review here.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rounded up because the movie version was so BAD. Poor Bari Wood. The movie could have been good if it followed the book even with the same cast. I hope she got paid a lot. The only thing from the book that made it into the movie was Claire's name. Even the psychic ability was different. Read the book. Ignore the movie.

[Rinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really, the book was good, well written and carefully developed. That being said, it was also sparse. I think the author didn’t want to overdo with the details but there was room for more backstory and more description.

[J'me Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book, I have it as a paperback and will be reading again. I found out about this novel because of the movie, there's only a few similarities but both the book and movie are excellent!! Grab a few apples and enjoy the read!!

[Aurora Dimitre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really, really liked Doll's Eyes. Pulpy 20th century horror is really usually a hit or miss kind of thing, and DE was definitely a HIT! There was FEELING there. Fun times. Fun characters. Loved it.

[Koda · Rating 4 out of 5]

While nothing like the movie In Dreams, this novel is a well written, nicely placed, smart thriller, with heart and humor delivered in the perfect moments.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters were believable and the story line was interesting I enjoyed the book.

[BOOK BOOKS]

DAMN. I JUST READ A RLY GOOD BOOK WITH A RLY ABRUPT AND AMBIGUOUS ENDING. :(

BOOK BOOKS

DOLL'S EYES BY BARI WOOD. IT'S ABOUT A LADY PSYCHIC WHO ACCIDENTALLY HAS A VISION ABOUT A SERIAL KILLER.

[Eme · Rating 5 out of 5]

#Edición 1994