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Second Sight
Blind until an operation enables her to see, Grayson is shocked when she also develops the ability to see into the future, and when she becomes involved in a deadly mystery, she foresees her own death.
166 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 11, 2019
The best thing about revisiting all the Point Horror books is discovering the ones that I missed first time around!
Prior to reading them all again, I’d always assumed that the series mostly had a supernatural element to them.
They must be the ones that I can distinctly remember the most...
Grayson is delighted to finally see having undergone an operation to restore her sight, but now she’s seeing strange visions.
She is convinced she is witnessing a murder being committed...
Okay the idea isn’t completely original and most of the Point Horrors that I’ve enjoyed on a revisit do ‘borrow’ from some famous films, but I really liked the fact that Smith kept with the abilities plot line!
My rating is reflected against other PH’s, I would have loved this one as a teen!
Prior to reading them all again, I’d always assumed that the series mostly had a supernatural element to them.
They must be the ones that I can distinctly remember the most...
Grayson is delighted to finally see having undergone an operation to restore her sight, but now she’s seeing strange visions.
She is convinced she is witnessing a murder being committed...
Okay the idea isn’t completely original and most of the Point Horrors that I’ve enjoyed on a revisit do ‘borrow’ from some famous films, but I really liked the fact that Smith kept with the abilities plot line!
My rating is reflected against other PH’s, I would have loved this one as a teen!
July 18, 2023
3.5 stars
This one was a fun time, I liked the authors writing style and the protagonist was likeable and fleshed out. I would say the reveal is it a little from left field, as the character responsible is barely in the book at all leaving me to say " who's that again?" But I would recommend this one as its well paced and the mystery up until the reveal is twisty and intriguing.
Blind from birth, Grayson is given a new lease on life when she has an eye transplant allowing her to see. But her new eyes are showing her grisly visions of people's deaths before they happen. Can she work out where these messages are coming from and who is responsibe for her friends being murdered?
This one was a fun time, I liked the authors writing style and the protagonist was likeable and fleshed out. I would say the reveal is it a little from left field, as the character responsible is barely in the book at all leaving me to say " who's that again?" But I would recommend this one as its well paced and the mystery up until the reveal is twisty and intriguing.
Blind from birth, Grayson is given a new lease on life when she has an eye transplant allowing her to see. But her new eyes are showing her grisly visions of people's deaths before they happen. Can she work out where these messages are coming from and who is responsibe for her friends being murdered?
February 3, 2023
3.5 stars
April 2, 2024
imagine getting a cornea transplant and being given the gift of sight but also psychic visions where you're ~seeing multiple murders and now the cops expect you to work for them for free no thank u
Cool concept but veryyy thin story and very little action
Cool concept but veryyy thin story and very little action
May 9, 2019
Enjoyably batty, if completely ludicrous. Also a rip off of a certain 1978 movie with Faye Dunaway—down to almost every detail.
I read this for our podcast Teenage Scream, which dissects the best (and worst) of 90s Teen Horror.
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
I read this for our podcast Teenage Scream, which dissects the best (and worst) of 90s Teen Horror.
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
September 9, 2021
One-Line Review: Psychics are fallible, just like everyone else.
Full Review:
I read this once when I was a kid, and remembered it vaguely. This week, after seeing it on a list of Point Horror books and thinking, "I kinda liked that one, I think," I ordered it from eBay. Devoured it in an afternoon. I'm not sure if it's just because I've only read it twice, but I really did enjoy this book.
When we meet Grayson, she's just got her sight back after a restorative operation, having been blind for several years. She's a little unsteady on her feet, but she's getting better. Unfortunately her vision doesn't come free. She's started having visions of people being pushed to their death. She reads about a celebrity who died falling off his balcony, and assumes that he was the one in her visions - but the location doesn't quite match up. And then she realises that there's to be more than one murder, and that each vision incorporates pieces from the next one. Her doctor doesn't believe her, but she manages to enlist the help of a police detective, and is shocked to find out that the cornea transplant that restored her sight came from a psychic who worked with the police. The murderer somehow knows that she's seeing things, though, and will do anything to stop her.
There are holes in the plot. Of course there are. Firstly, I don't know a lot of police detectives that are happy to work with psychics, particularly untested teenage ones. (I do know quite a few psychics.) Secondly, the motivations for the killer are very thin, and never properly explained. What explanation there is seems quite random. The name of the killer is the same as the name of her friend's boyfriend - who we never meet - but it's never explained whether this is coincidence, or whether the friend's actually been dating the killer.
That said, I enjoyed the book a lot. Grayson is a pleasant heroine who I would like as a friend. Her love interest is sexy and intriguing. The neighbor girl that she makes friends with early in the book is fun and light, and the parties that she gives provide a background to see a different side to Grayson from the serious recent-invalid that she is during the rest of the book. The New York City setting provides a nice respite from the usual small towns that you usually find in Point Horror. The suspense was good, and I didn't have a clue who the killer might be - I had three or four people who I suspected heavily, but didn't know which, if any, it was.
What I liked most about the book, though, is the way Sinclair Smith treated Grayson's psychic ability. This next sentence may completely rob me of any credibility that I've had thus far, but here goes: I am a psychic. Sort-of-kind-of-a-bit. I'm an empath with some very limited psychometric and future-telling abilities. And I cannot tell you how tired I get of programs like Medium (which I find annoying as hell) and Ghost Whisperer (which I do actually like) and myriad books where the psychic hero or heroine is reliable, even infallible. Because it just doesn't work like that, ya know? I've never met a psychic yet who was totally reliable in their visions and / or predictions, although I've certainly met some who are better at it than I am. Mostly we muddle around, and if it helps at all with things, it's only a bit. But books and movies and television shows treat it as this great Powerful Supernatural Gift (you can almost hear the capital letters when people say it) that makes it easy to get any answers that you're looking for.
Second Sight didn't do that. Grayson made mistakes. It took her a while to realise that her visions were getting mixed up, and that the locations of the murders and attempted murders weren't exactly the way she saw them. And she mucked up when it came to identifying the killer. For a reason that was later explained, but still. And I really liked that. It made it a story about an ordinary girl with some psychic ability instead of a story about a psychic, if that makes any sense.
Verdict: A plot full of holes, but enough charm to more than make up for it.
Full Review:
I read this once when I was a kid, and remembered it vaguely. This week, after seeing it on a list of Point Horror books and thinking, "I kinda liked that one, I think," I ordered it from eBay. Devoured it in an afternoon. I'm not sure if it's just because I've only read it twice, but I really did enjoy this book.
When we meet Grayson, she's just got her sight back after a restorative operation, having been blind for several years. She's a little unsteady on her feet, but she's getting better. Unfortunately her vision doesn't come free. She's started having visions of people being pushed to their death. She reads about a celebrity who died falling off his balcony, and assumes that he was the one in her visions - but the location doesn't quite match up. And then she realises that there's to be more than one murder, and that each vision incorporates pieces from the next one. Her doctor doesn't believe her, but she manages to enlist the help of a police detective, and is shocked to find out that the cornea transplant that restored her sight came from a psychic who worked with the police. The murderer somehow knows that she's seeing things, though, and will do anything to stop her.
There are holes in the plot. Of course there are. Firstly, I don't know a lot of police detectives that are happy to work with psychics, particularly untested teenage ones. (I do know quite a few psychics.) Secondly, the motivations for the killer are very thin, and never properly explained. What explanation there is seems quite random. The name of the killer is the same as the name of her friend's boyfriend - who we never meet - but it's never explained whether this is coincidence, or whether the friend's actually been dating the killer.
That said, I enjoyed the book a lot. Grayson is a pleasant heroine who I would like as a friend. Her love interest is sexy and intriguing. The neighbor girl that she makes friends with early in the book is fun and light, and the parties that she gives provide a background to see a different side to Grayson from the serious recent-invalid that she is during the rest of the book. The New York City setting provides a nice respite from the usual small towns that you usually find in Point Horror. The suspense was good, and I didn't have a clue who the killer might be - I had three or four people who I suspected heavily, but didn't know which, if any, it was.
What I liked most about the book, though, is the way Sinclair Smith treated Grayson's psychic ability. This next sentence may completely rob me of any credibility that I've had thus far, but here goes: I am a psychic. Sort-of-kind-of-a-bit. I'm an empath with some very limited psychometric and future-telling abilities. And I cannot tell you how tired I get of programs like Medium (which I find annoying as hell) and Ghost Whisperer (which I do actually like) and myriad books where the psychic hero or heroine is reliable, even infallible. Because it just doesn't work like that, ya know? I've never met a psychic yet who was totally reliable in their visions and / or predictions, although I've certainly met some who are better at it than I am. Mostly we muddle around, and if it helps at all with things, it's only a bit. But books and movies and television shows treat it as this great Powerful Supernatural Gift (you can almost hear the capital letters when people say it) that makes it easy to get any answers that you're looking for.
Second Sight didn't do that. Grayson made mistakes. It took her a while to realise that her visions were getting mixed up, and that the locations of the murders and attempted murders weren't exactly the way she saw them. And she mucked up when it came to identifying the killer. For a reason that was later explained, but still. And I really liked that. It made it a story about an ordinary girl with some psychic ability instead of a story about a psychic, if that makes any sense.
Verdict: A plot full of holes, but enough charm to more than make up for it.
December 15, 2016
One of the better late Point Horrors. Too many of the Point Horror books tried to deliver supernatural red herrings when it was obvious it was not a supernatural story. That really annoyed me, even as a kid! Even today, although I don't believe in the supernatural, I happily read supernatural stories, as long as they're firmly set in that world. For example, I can't stand it in romantic suspense where one of the main characters has a psychic relative (usually a grandma) who can seemingly foresee everything, except who the killer is! (Trust me, it happens an awful lot!) Either make your story supernatural or don't!
Anyway, Second Sight firmly establishes that Grayson has psychic abilities and runs with it, setting up a neat little mystery. I even suspected her sister at one point! It also avoids the all-too-common trope of the adult not believing the teenager. The identity of the villain was disappointing, but this was still a sharp, to-the-point mystery thriller that was well above average!
Anyway, Second Sight firmly establishes that Grayson has psychic abilities and runs with it, setting up a neat little mystery. I even suspected her sister at one point! It also avoids the all-too-common trope of the adult not believing the teenager. The identity of the villain was disappointing, but this was still a sharp, to-the-point mystery thriller that was well above average!
October 13, 2021
كانت لتكون أفضل .الحبكة كانت لتكون أقوى لو كتبت بتمهل أكثر. هناك هفوات صغيرة في الحبكة . حقيقة شوهت القصة
اما انه خلل في فرنسيتي وهو امر مستبعد تماما إما خلل في الترجمة من الإنقليزية للفرنسية وهو أمر غير بديهي أو معقول إما أنها كتبت كقصة تجارية أي لم تأخذ وقتها لتنضج
عشرون سنة للوراء كانت لتبهرني وأقول كتابة حسنة
لكن اليوم ...صرت نيقة أكثر
ما أود قوله لو أخذ الكاتب وقته لكانت حقا تحفة
كقصة فيها شيء لذيذ
كطريقة سرد ووصف وكله جميل
لكن الحبكة!
اما انه خلل في فرنسيتي وهو امر مستبعد تماما إما خلل في الترجمة من الإنقليزية للفرنسية وهو أمر غير بديهي أو معقول إما أنها كتبت كقصة تجارية أي لم تأخذ وقتها لتنضج
عشرون سنة للوراء كانت لتبهرني وأقول كتابة حسنة
لكن اليوم ...صرت نيقة أكثر
ما أود قوله لو أخذ الكاتب وقته لكانت حقا تحفة
كقصة فيها شيء لذيذ
كطريقة سرد ووصف وكله جميل
لكن الحبكة!
May 20, 2019
Just re-read this for Teenage Scream podcast (lovingly dissecting the best and worst of 90s teen horror):
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
November 11, 2021
This was surprisingly good!
April 10, 2023
The final Sinclair Smith book that I needed to complete my collection of her works for my Point Horror books.
Is it a hit or a miss? Is it a high or a mess?
The plot does have promise I can give you that at the moment...
Grayson Dean has been blind for almost her whole seventeen years but she has been having operations to finally let her see. The cornea of one eye replaced by a donor and since it seems to be successful, Dr. Leeds will now work on Grayson's other cornea.
Grayson expected it to be strange being able to see for the first time out of one eye and then both...but she got more than expected.
Since the second operation, Grayson has been having visions. Not just dreams because they happen when she is awake and they all happen to be about murder.
At first it feels so real that Grayson believes it is happening to her but soon, it becomes clear she is seeing someone else's death. Her first conclusion is the donor for her operations was the unfortunate victim but when her doctor won't break confidentiality of his records, Grayson ties it to the murder all over the news.
A movie producer was killed in his home and Grayson connects an expensive mirror shown in his penthouse from which he fell to one in her visions. She tells this to Doctor Leeds and he thinks it's more psychosomatic than a psychic flash. Looking at her own files when the doctor steps out to consult with another doctor, Grayson finds out the name of her donor as Aileen Mills.
Ordinary name that rings no bells for Grayson. With her sister Kara working day and night at her big job in the city of Brooklyn, her parents far away back home, Grayson doesn't have anyone to share this information with to find advice on what she should do.
Doctor Leeds is not happy about her snooping so he's sort of out of the question, new acquaintance Mina isn't that close of a friend yet to confide in though she lives next door to Kara and takes her to her appointments.
Grayson also certainly doesn't want to ask handsome and hunky Jared Moore about what she should do even though he walks past her sister's apartment every day. Even if he is friends with Mina's boyfriend Rob and even if she can feel what a wonderful person he is when he shakes her hand the first time they actually meet face to face.
That leaves Grayson to turn to the police. The first detective blows her off with this nonsense but then directs her to another detective, younger and more open-minded, named Frank Soames. As Grayson tells him everything and drops Aileen Mills' name, Frank tells her that he knows she died in an auto accident...because he he knew her.
Aileen was a psychic who helped out on the investigation of movie producer Zeke Stuart's death before her own. If that isn't a coincidence enough, Grayson has another vision of a different man being murdered when she is with Frank.
They are connected by images of a medallion with a lion flashing in the darkness like a knife as the body falls to its death. Now that Grayson has Aileen's eye, is the spirit of the woman sending her these horrifyingly, intense visions to catch the killer?
All of that sounds like very good plotting and we get different characters set-up to be maybe the villain but of course, a bunch of red herrings. The reveal to the identity of the killer is nothing shocking, the motive banal but we get a good little twist that is a Hail Mary to keep it from being completely awful.
A wrap-up of threads and an almost fake-out ending lead to an actual ending that is kind of sweet and mysterious and hopeful.
Grayson is a pretty gutsy young lady and at times she feels like she might break down but that changes quickly. She and Detective Frank Soames get most of the focus in the book and the others are there for suspects or they don't really contribute anything really.
I would recommend Second Sight if you have never read it. It's not amazing but the first part of the book is really good and then it just kind of fizzles out. A big firework you think will be massive but it's just really pretty but at least not a complete dud.
Rating Sinclair Smith's work I would say that Second Sight, Amnesia, her short story Hacker in the Thirteen compilation and Double Date would be middle tier.
Dream Date is her best work without doubt.
The Boy Next Door and The Waitress are all the way at the bottom. Ups and downs like a roller-coaster at Coney Island with a few twists and some scares but most of it is fun.
Is it a hit or a miss? Is it a high or a mess?
The plot does have promise I can give you that at the moment...
Grayson Dean has been blind for almost her whole seventeen years but she has been having operations to finally let her see. The cornea of one eye replaced by a donor and since it seems to be successful, Dr. Leeds will now work on Grayson's other cornea.
Grayson expected it to be strange being able to see for the first time out of one eye and then both...but she got more than expected.
Since the second operation, Grayson has been having visions. Not just dreams because they happen when she is awake and they all happen to be about murder.
At first it feels so real that Grayson believes it is happening to her but soon, it becomes clear she is seeing someone else's death. Her first conclusion is the donor for her operations was the unfortunate victim but when her doctor won't break confidentiality of his records, Grayson ties it to the murder all over the news.
A movie producer was killed in his home and Grayson connects an expensive mirror shown in his penthouse from which he fell to one in her visions. She tells this to Doctor Leeds and he thinks it's more psychosomatic than a psychic flash. Looking at her own files when the doctor steps out to consult with another doctor, Grayson finds out the name of her donor as Aileen Mills.
Ordinary name that rings no bells for Grayson. With her sister Kara working day and night at her big job in the city of Brooklyn, her parents far away back home, Grayson doesn't have anyone to share this information with to find advice on what she should do.
Doctor Leeds is not happy about her snooping so he's sort of out of the question, new acquaintance Mina isn't that close of a friend yet to confide in though she lives next door to Kara and takes her to her appointments.
Grayson also certainly doesn't want to ask handsome and hunky Jared Moore about what she should do even though he walks past her sister's apartment every day. Even if he is friends with Mina's boyfriend Rob and even if she can feel what a wonderful person he is when he shakes her hand the first time they actually meet face to face.
That leaves Grayson to turn to the police. The first detective blows her off with this nonsense but then directs her to another detective, younger and more open-minded, named Frank Soames. As Grayson tells him everything and drops Aileen Mills' name, Frank tells her that he knows she died in an auto accident...because he he knew her.
Aileen was a psychic who helped out on the investigation of movie producer Zeke Stuart's death before her own. If that isn't a coincidence enough, Grayson has another vision of a different man being murdered when she is with Frank.
They are connected by images of a medallion with a lion flashing in the darkness like a knife as the body falls to its death. Now that Grayson has Aileen's eye, is the spirit of the woman sending her these horrifyingly, intense visions to catch the killer?
All of that sounds like very good plotting and we get different characters set-up to be maybe the villain but of course, a bunch of red herrings. The reveal to the identity of the killer is nothing shocking, the motive banal but we get a good little twist that is a Hail Mary to keep it from being completely awful.
A wrap-up of threads and an almost fake-out ending lead to an actual ending that is kind of sweet and mysterious and hopeful.
Grayson is a pretty gutsy young lady and at times she feels like she might break down but that changes quickly. She and Detective Frank Soames get most of the focus in the book and the others are there for suspects or they don't really contribute anything really.
I would recommend Second Sight if you have never read it. It's not amazing but the first part of the book is really good and then it just kind of fizzles out. A big firework you think will be massive but it's just really pretty but at least not a complete dud.
Rating Sinclair Smith's work I would say that Second Sight, Amnesia, her short story Hacker in the Thirteen compilation and Double Date would be middle tier.
Dream Date is her best work without doubt.
The Boy Next Door and The Waitress are all the way at the bottom. Ups and downs like a roller-coaster at Coney Island with a few twists and some scares but most of it is fun.
November 30, 2022
I came across this book that was the last in a pile of free items in my apartment complex. Thought why not. Read chapter one and thought…oh. This book is definitely for 12-14 year olds. But felt the need to find out who the killer was
I’m rating this book as a early teen/tween me would. This would have been a great way to enter into the crime stories I am into today. Tween me would have enjoyed the book a lot.
I’m rating this book as a early teen/tween me would. This would have been a great way to enter into the crime stories I am into today. Tween me would have enjoyed the book a lot.
October 1, 2022
I read this book in one sitting. it's the kind of mystery that has you constantly trying to figure out who the killer is and usually you are wrong. It was fast paced and felt a little rushed in parts however as it is only 266 pages that isn't suprising. Overall it was a good story that succeeded in pulling me in but I feel it would have benefitted from a little more lead up.
October 25, 2021
Enjoyed this! A good read 📚
It's great to revisit the Point Horrors that I read as a teen. Missed this one though, I think the cover would have put me off (not the one pictured here) I know that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover & this is exactly why. Glad I picked it up 👍
It's great to revisit the Point Horrors that I read as a teen. Missed this one though, I think the cover would have put me off (not the one pictured here) I know that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover & this is exactly why. Glad I picked it up 👍
July 26, 2018
This is a unique read as a blind woman not only finds sight but a bit more as she sees into the future as well. Intriguing mystery.
August 26, 2021
I need to get through some of my Point Horrors to clear some shelf space.
This was one of my least favourites, so far.
This was one of my least favourites, so far.
January 21, 2025
Eh, it was okay. I feel like it was rushed and could have been more detailed and had more twists.
October 6, 2016
This book reminds me of the movie "Deadly Visions" made in 2003:
A woman (Nicolette Sheridan) who underwent an eye transplant is haunted by visions of her donor's last moments of life, and she is convinced that the woman was murdered.
Anyway maybe the movie copied this book. It's about a girl who is blind and needs an eye transplant to see. she ended up getting her transplants from a psychic and now she can see murders before they happen. The ending was dumb because I wanted the killer to be someone else but it ended up being a twisted ending.
A woman (Nicolette Sheridan) who underwent an eye transplant is haunted by visions of her donor's last moments of life, and she is convinced that the woman was murdered.
Anyway maybe the movie copied this book. It's about a girl who is blind and needs an eye transplant to see. she ended up getting her transplants from a psychic and now she can see murders before they happen. The ending was dumb because I wanted the killer to be someone else but it ended up being a twisted ending.
February 26, 2015
Quickly paced and some nice twists.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews