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Fire Eyes
Born by chance.
Fueled by madness.
Ignited by love.
FIRE EYES blends the tightly wound tension of THE KILLER INSIDE ME with the unrelenting suspense of SHUTTER ISLAND.
"A dynamite Read"
—Andreas Schroeder, author of The Eleventh Commandment
Billy Deerborn talks to the voices in his head and the dogs that roam his psyche. When he was a baby, he was found by the side of a road in a brown paper bag. Yesterday he blew up a power station.
Fire Eyes is the story in between those two events—the making of modern madness. From that roadside ditch, we follow Billy from foster homes to institutions to the army, along the way witnessing his fractured liaisons with the opposite sex and his attempts to find solidity through friendship.
It is a story of mental illness, of the armed forces as the unwitting inheritors of those who fall through the cracks — and of the power of love to both destroy and save. It is a story of alienation, urban terrorism, and survival.
Fire Eyes is a W.H. Smith First Novel Award finalist.
***
Dear Reader,
If you're like me then you love reading novels by Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, Lee Child, Patricia Highsmith, Stieg Larsson, Dennis Lehane and Jo Nesbo. Among many others.
And if you like those writers, then I invite you to have a look at my stand-alone psychological thrillers. Be warned: these books step into the dark side. You can buy them all on Amazon.
Writing psychological thrillers isn't always easy, but it's always a rush. When you read my novels I hope you'll share the buzz, the excitement and the adrenaline high with me.
Like all writers, I love readers who enjoy my books, especially those who are kind enough to leave a review. Perhaps you will, too.
Happy reading,
D. F. (Don) Bailey
Fueled by madness.
Ignited by love.
FIRE EYES blends the tightly wound tension of THE KILLER INSIDE ME with the unrelenting suspense of SHUTTER ISLAND.
"A dynamite Read"
—Andreas Schroeder, author of The Eleventh Commandment
Billy Deerborn talks to the voices in his head and the dogs that roam his psyche. When he was a baby, he was found by the side of a road in a brown paper bag. Yesterday he blew up a power station.
Fire Eyes is the story in between those two events—the making of modern madness. From that roadside ditch, we follow Billy from foster homes to institutions to the army, along the way witnessing his fractured liaisons with the opposite sex and his attempts to find solidity through friendship.
It is a story of mental illness, of the armed forces as the unwitting inheritors of those who fall through the cracks — and of the power of love to both destroy and save. It is a story of alienation, urban terrorism, and survival.
Fire Eyes is a W.H. Smith First Novel Award finalist.
***
Dear Reader,
If you're like me then you love reading novels by Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, Lee Child, Patricia Highsmith, Stieg Larsson, Dennis Lehane and Jo Nesbo. Among many others.
And if you like those writers, then I invite you to have a look at my stand-alone psychological thrillers. Be warned: these books step into the dark side. You can buy them all on Amazon.
Writing psychological thrillers isn't always easy, but it's always a rush. When you read my novels I hope you'll share the buzz, the excitement and the adrenaline high with me.
Like all writers, I love readers who enjoy my books, especially those who are kind enough to leave a review. Perhaps you will, too.
Happy reading,
D. F. (Don) Bailey
- GenresThriller
243 pages, ebook
First published December 19, 2013
140 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
D.F. Bailey
21 books116 followersD.F. Bailey is a W.H. Smith First Novel Award and a Whistler Independent Book Award finalist.
His first novel, Fire Eyes was optioned for film. His second novel, Healing the Dead, was translated into German as Todliche Ahnungen. The Good Lie, another psychological thriller, was recorded as a talking book. A fourth novel, Exit from America, made its debut as an e-book in 2013.
In 2015 D.F. Bailey published The Finch Trilogy — Bone Maker, Stone Eater, and Lone Hunter — novels narrated from the point-of-view of a crime reporter in San Francisco. He is now extending the trilogy in a series of stand-alone novels.
Following his birth in Montreal, D.F. Bailey's family moved around North America from rural Ontario to New York City to McComb, Mississippi to Cape May, New Jersey. He finally "landed on his feet" on Vancouver Island — where he lives next to the Salish Sea in the city of Victoria.
For twenty-two years D.F. Bailey worked at the University of Victoria where he taught creative writing and journalism and coordinated the Professional Writing Cooperative Education Program — which he co-founded. From time to time he also freelanced as a business writer and journalist. In the fall of 2010 he left the university so that he could turn "his pre-occupation with writing into a full-blown obsession."
For more information about D.F. Bailey's books and his free newsletter visit: www.dfbailey.com
His first novel, Fire Eyes was optioned for film. His second novel, Healing the Dead, was translated into German as Todliche Ahnungen. The Good Lie, another psychological thriller, was recorded as a talking book. A fourth novel, Exit from America, made its debut as an e-book in 2013.
In 2015 D.F. Bailey published The Finch Trilogy — Bone Maker, Stone Eater, and Lone Hunter — novels narrated from the point-of-view of a crime reporter in San Francisco. He is now extending the trilogy in a series of stand-alone novels.
Following his birth in Montreal, D.F. Bailey's family moved around North America from rural Ontario to New York City to McComb, Mississippi to Cape May, New Jersey. He finally "landed on his feet" on Vancouver Island — where he lives next to the Salish Sea in the city of Victoria.
For twenty-two years D.F. Bailey worked at the University of Victoria where he taught creative writing and journalism and coordinated the Professional Writing Cooperative Education Program — which he co-founded. From time to time he also freelanced as a business writer and journalist. In the fall of 2010 he left the university so that he could turn "his pre-occupation with writing into a full-blown obsession."
For more information about D.F. Bailey's books and his free newsletter visit: www.dfbailey.com
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 28, 2016
I received this book for free and voluntarily reviewed it.
Billy Deerborn has not had an easy life. As a baby, he was found in a paper bag by the side of the road. Billy is put in the care of Carol and Nick. He is locked up in a kennel as a punishment, and inflicts an injury on Carol. From there he is put in a Children's Institute, and then into foster homes and finally a group home.
Billy joins the army, thinking that he will find a brotherhood connection. Something that he's missed his entire life. He finds himself in a special section of combat. The group is known as Fire Eyes. What Billy isn't prepared for is, that not everyone in this group, is friendly. Although, Billy makes some friends, he also gets involved with some bad ones, that he can't seem to break away from. He is being used, and he knows it.
Interesting read!
Billy Deerborn has not had an easy life. As a baby, he was found in a paper bag by the side of the road. Billy is put in the care of Carol and Nick. He is locked up in a kennel as a punishment, and inflicts an injury on Carol. From there he is put in a Children's Institute, and then into foster homes and finally a group home.
Billy joins the army, thinking that he will find a brotherhood connection. Something that he's missed his entire life. He finds himself in a special section of combat. The group is known as Fire Eyes. What Billy isn't prepared for is, that not everyone in this group, is friendly. Although, Billy makes some friends, he also gets involved with some bad ones, that he can't seem to break away from. He is being used, and he knows it.
Interesting read!
July 1, 2018
Corps of Army Engineers and Eco-terrorism
I purchased Fire Eyes as part of a boxed set called First Four.
Previously I had read the four Will Finch novels by D. F. Bailey, and loved each one. As a result, I also got used to the consistent style D. F. Baily used in his narrative.
With Fire Eyes, the first line, and the engrossing writing that followed for the rest of the first chapter – in the first person, unlike the Will Finch ones – had me hooked, and I couldn’t help wondering if this was the same D. F. Bailey. Appears to be…
This is a tighter, tougher story than the Will Finch ones, which does not devalue the Will Finch ones one iota. There are fewer characters, and each one gets full treatment as to background and from then onward. And there is suspense, and a kind of tension that won’t give up.
Very frequently, the prose transitions to a kind of poetry; sparse in words, rich in what is communicated to the reader.
Best way to get this novel is to purchase First Four (four novels) at less than half of the price of purchasing them separately.
I purchased Fire Eyes as part of a boxed set called First Four.
Previously I had read the four Will Finch novels by D. F. Bailey, and loved each one. As a result, I also got used to the consistent style D. F. Baily used in his narrative.
With Fire Eyes, the first line, and the engrossing writing that followed for the rest of the first chapter – in the first person, unlike the Will Finch ones – had me hooked, and I couldn’t help wondering if this was the same D. F. Bailey. Appears to be…
This is a tighter, tougher story than the Will Finch ones, which does not devalue the Will Finch ones one iota. There are fewer characters, and each one gets full treatment as to background and from then onward. And there is suspense, and a kind of tension that won’t give up.
Very frequently, the prose transitions to a kind of poetry; sparse in words, rich in what is communicated to the reader.
Best way to get this novel is to purchase First Four (four novels) at less than half of the price of purchasing them separately.
January 24, 2020
I had read some of the author's newer books. They were not bad, but quite "normal" crime thrillers. This one is totally different. It is disturbing. It's a glimpse into the mind of somebody who is literally insane, who is the product of his past as an abandoned child and his service in a special military unit doesn't help his condition at all.
What s real? When is his mind playing tricks? Billy is not in control of his live and never was. He's easy to manipulate, longing for love and affection.
What s real? When is his mind playing tricks? Billy is not in control of his live and never was. He's easy to manipulate, longing for love and affection.
October 14, 2020
The first chapter shows the world through the eyes of the antagonist. I'm not sure if the author simply didn't follow normal conventions or intended to subvert my expectations to build sympathy for the antagonist. Neither option encourages me to read more of their works.
I stopped reading just after the character blowns up a close friend with a home made bomb. His reaction is "Ohhh, pretty fire!"
There's already enough ugly and depressing in the world.
I stopped reading just after the character blowns up a close friend with a home made bomb. His reaction is "Ohhh, pretty fire!"
There's already enough ugly and depressing in the world.
May 3, 2020
WOW!! A TOTALLY AWESOME READ!!!
This book, is one of those, that are so hard to put down, until the very end. A group of soldiers, known as Fire Eyes, made up, from a very strange group of men. One especially with his tragic life. He winds up, with an equally strange woman. Things go so out of wack for him, making things weirder than the already are!!
A MUST READ!!
This book, is one of those, that are so hard to put down, until the very end. A group of soldiers, known as Fire Eyes, made up, from a very strange group of men. One especially with his tragic life. He winds up, with an equally strange woman. Things go so out of wack for him, making things weirder than the already are!!
A MUST READ!!
October 18, 2021
Different and intense.
An interesting read that takes you right into the soul of the main character, Billy.
Not giving any spoilers except to say that Billy becomes an expert in explosives during his time with the Army. The troop are known as Fire Eyes and we follow his exploits in and away from his work.
An interesting read that takes you right into the soul of the main character, Billy.
Not giving any spoilers except to say that Billy becomes an expert in explosives during his time with the Army. The troop are known as Fire Eyes and we follow his exploits in and away from his work.
June 17, 2019
Kaleidoscopic tumble down the fractured rabbit hole of a societal misfit
Unlikeable protagonist getting by in life day by day in some baffling and horrific situations encompassing military service, domestic terrorism, some self delusion and big explosions.
Unlikeable protagonist getting by in life day by day in some baffling and horrific situations encompassing military service, domestic terrorism, some self delusion and big explosions.
February 25, 2020
Quite a mix
Lots of action, lots of introspection, a glimpse into schizophrenia and domestic terrorism. Not my genre, but I finished it.
Lots of action, lots of introspection, a glimpse into schizophrenia and domestic terrorism. Not my genre, but I finished it.
December 15, 2020
I gave this 5 stars because it made me realise how depressing a life can be. The hero (if that's what he is) does well to keep his head above water when everything round him crumbles to dust.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews