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Inspector Sands #1
Muro de ojos
Since the accident that left her blind, Kelsey has become more difficult than ever. At least this is what Alice told the psychiatrist.
Languishing in a house full of servants and unloving family, Kelsey has become bitter. She was driving the car that night. Geraldine did die, and Kelsey will never see again. But that was two long years ago. Time enough to heal. So why would Kelsey now want her life to end with a grain of morphine?
Languishing in a house full of servants and unloving family, Kelsey has become bitter. She was driving the car that night. Geraldine did die, and Kelsey will never see again. But that was two long years ago. Time enough to heal. So why would Kelsey now want her life to end with a grain of morphine?
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1943
3 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Millar
122 books178 followersMargaret Ellis Millar (née Sturm) was an American-Canadian mystery and suspense writer. Born in Kitchener, Ontario, she was educated there and in Toronto. She moved to the United States after marrying Kenneth Millar (better known under the pen name Ross Macdonald). They resided for decades in the city of Santa Barbara, which was often utilized as a locale in her later novels under the pseudonyms of San Felice or Santa Felicia.
Millar's books are distinguished by sophistication of characterization. Often we are shown the rather complex interior lives of the people in her books, with issues of class, insecurity, failed ambitions, loneliness or existential isolation or paranoia often being explored with an almost literary quality that transcends the mystery genre. Unusual people, mild societal misfits or people who don't quite fit into their surroundings are given much interior detail. In some of the books we are given chilling and fascinating insight into what it feels like to be losing touch with reality and evolving into madness. In general, she is a writer of both expressive description and yet admirable economy, often ambitious in the sociological underpinnings of the stories and the quality of the writing.
Millar often delivers effective and ingenious "surprise endings," but the details that would allow the solution of the surprise have usually been subtly included, in the best genre tradition. One of the distinctions of her books, however, is that they would be interesting, even if you knew how they were going to end, because they are every bit as much about subtleties of human interaction and rich psychological detail of individual characters as they are about the plot.
Millar was a pioneer in writing intelligently about the psychology of women. Even as early as the '40s and '50s, her books have a very mature and matter-of-fact view of class distinctions, sexual freedom and frustration, and the ambivalence of moral codes depending on a character's economic circumstances. Her earliest novels seem unusually frank. Read against the backdrop of Production Code-era movies of the time, they remind us that life as lived in the '40s and '50s was not as black-and-white morally as Hollywood would have us believe.
While she was not known for any one recurring detective (unlike her husband, whose constant gumshoe was Lew Archer), she occasionally used a detective character for more than one novel. Among her occasional ongoing sleuths were Canadians Dr. Paul Prye (her first invention, in the earliest books) and Inspector Sands (a quiet, unassuming Canadian police inspector who might be the most endearing of her recurring inventions). In the California years, a few books featured either Joe Quinn, a rather down-on-his-luck private eye, or Tom Aragorn, a young, Hispanic lawyer.
Sadly, most of Millar's books are out of print in America, with the exception of the short story collection The Couple Next Door and two novels, An Air That Kills and Do Evil In Return, that have been re-issued as classics by Stark House Press in California.
In 1956 Millar won the Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Best Novel award for Beast in View. In 1965 she was awarded the Woman of the Year Award by the Los Angeles Times. In 1983 she was awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition of her lifetime achievements.
Millar's books are distinguished by sophistication of characterization. Often we are shown the rather complex interior lives of the people in her books, with issues of class, insecurity, failed ambitions, loneliness or existential isolation or paranoia often being explored with an almost literary quality that transcends the mystery genre. Unusual people, mild societal misfits or people who don't quite fit into their surroundings are given much interior detail. In some of the books we are given chilling and fascinating insight into what it feels like to be losing touch with reality and evolving into madness. In general, she is a writer of both expressive description and yet admirable economy, often ambitious in the sociological underpinnings of the stories and the quality of the writing.
Millar often delivers effective and ingenious "surprise endings," but the details that would allow the solution of the surprise have usually been subtly included, in the best genre tradition. One of the distinctions of her books, however, is that they would be interesting, even if you knew how they were going to end, because they are every bit as much about subtleties of human interaction and rich psychological detail of individual characters as they are about the plot.
Millar was a pioneer in writing intelligently about the psychology of women. Even as early as the '40s and '50s, her books have a very mature and matter-of-fact view of class distinctions, sexual freedom and frustration, and the ambivalence of moral codes depending on a character's economic circumstances. Her earliest novels seem unusually frank. Read against the backdrop of Production Code-era movies of the time, they remind us that life as lived in the '40s and '50s was not as black-and-white morally as Hollywood would have us believe.
While she was not known for any one recurring detective (unlike her husband, whose constant gumshoe was Lew Archer), she occasionally used a detective character for more than one novel. Among her occasional ongoing sleuths were Canadians Dr. Paul Prye (her first invention, in the earliest books) and Inspector Sands (a quiet, unassuming Canadian police inspector who might be the most endearing of her recurring inventions). In the California years, a few books featured either Joe Quinn, a rather down-on-his-luck private eye, or Tom Aragorn, a young, Hispanic lawyer.
Sadly, most of Millar's books are out of print in America, with the exception of the short story collection The Couple Next Door and two novels, An Air That Kills and Do Evil In Return, that have been re-issued as classics by Stark House Press in California.
In 1956 Millar won the Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Best Novel award for Beast in View. In 1965 she was awarded the Woman of the Year Award by the Los Angeles Times. In 1983 she was awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition of her lifetime achievements.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 9, 2020
Wall of Eyes is the 7th book by Margaret Millar that I've enjoyed. The more books by Millar that I read the more I discover what a great mystery writer and just plain author that she is. Wall of Eyes was her 4th book published in 1943. What an entertaining, rich story!
Basically, the Heath family, father, son John, daughters Alice live under blind daughter Kelsey's power in their home in Toronto. Also living there is Philip James, Kelsey's fiancé and the hired help. Two years ago, Kelsey caused a car accident, blinding her and killing brother John's girl friend. Since that time she has deteriorated and Alice finally goes to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Loring asking him to try and help Kelsey.
Quickly after this meeting, Kelsey tries to kill herself with morphine and then the same night is murdered. This action begins an investigation by the Toronto police, led by Inspector Sands. This investigation will also ultimately lead back to the original car crash; are they related events.
It's a simple case, so it seems but the more you delve into it, the more intricate and fascinating it becomes. The story isn't told from any one specific perspective, but like Millar's The Soft Talkers, even minor characters get to have a say. I liked these small details very much; for example when we see the female police detective at the hospital and Sands refers back to an earlier case where this detective is interested.
The story seems at times to be sparse and matter of fact but there are also lovely descriptive moments that give you a clear picture of the events and thoughts of the characters; e.g. 'Ida's breasts rode her in cross-rhythm like twin riders on a galloping horse'.
There are nice little details that made the story more interesting and help provide a picture of the time the story was written. I particularly enjoyed the beginning of Chapter 14 where there is a radio alert for one of the murder suspects. It really tickled my fancy '... in cooperation with the police department, the makers of Crispcrunch, the ideal new breakfast food that is teeming with vitamins and good flavor, are broadcasting this description of a dangerous criminal....' It had a nice surreal touch to it.
The mystery seems straight forward as you progress but more and more gets added to the story and the list of suspects grows. The final solution was a surprise but not an unrealistic one. It was deeply satisfying. I liked the setting of Toronto, having lived there for my university years. I liked the story, the characters (Inspector Sands is fantastic), everything about this story. I am so very glad that I finally discovered Margaret Millar's mystery writing. She is one of the very best. It matters not one bit that her stories were written 50+ years ago. (5 stars)
Basically, the Heath family, father, son John, daughters Alice live under blind daughter Kelsey's power in their home in Toronto. Also living there is Philip James, Kelsey's fiancé and the hired help. Two years ago, Kelsey caused a car accident, blinding her and killing brother John's girl friend. Since that time she has deteriorated and Alice finally goes to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Loring asking him to try and help Kelsey.
Quickly after this meeting, Kelsey tries to kill herself with morphine and then the same night is murdered. This action begins an investigation by the Toronto police, led by Inspector Sands. This investigation will also ultimately lead back to the original car crash; are they related events.
It's a simple case, so it seems but the more you delve into it, the more intricate and fascinating it becomes. The story isn't told from any one specific perspective, but like Millar's The Soft Talkers, even minor characters get to have a say. I liked these small details very much; for example when we see the female police detective at the hospital and Sands refers back to an earlier case where this detective is interested.
The story seems at times to be sparse and matter of fact but there are also lovely descriptive moments that give you a clear picture of the events and thoughts of the characters; e.g. 'Ida's breasts rode her in cross-rhythm like twin riders on a galloping horse'.
There are nice little details that made the story more interesting and help provide a picture of the time the story was written. I particularly enjoyed the beginning of Chapter 14 where there is a radio alert for one of the murder suspects. It really tickled my fancy '... in cooperation with the police department, the makers of Crispcrunch, the ideal new breakfast food that is teeming with vitamins and good flavor, are broadcasting this description of a dangerous criminal....' It had a nice surreal touch to it.
The mystery seems straight forward as you progress but more and more gets added to the story and the list of suspects grows. The final solution was a surprise but not an unrealistic one. It was deeply satisfying. I liked the setting of Toronto, having lived there for my university years. I liked the story, the characters (Inspector Sands is fantastic), everything about this story. I am so very glad that I finally discovered Margaret Millar's mystery writing. She is one of the very best. It matters not one bit that her stories were written 50+ years ago. (5 stars)
September 2, 2014
How could have I managed to miss this classic in over 30 years of reading crime? Like Highsmith in the intense brooding of dysfunctional family life, its movement between social classes matched by changes in tempo and dark humour, and all wrapped up in the most delicious poetry ('She tasted her pain like an epicure.''Her fat red mouth split open like a cherry wounded by a robin's beak.'). Such a treat that the totally surprising solution to the mystery seems almost superfluous, like one too many Christmas gifts.
October 18, 2025
Kenneth and Margaret Millar had a very stormy and turbulent marriage. I can see why. She wasn’t attractive, and for years (at least) she was the far better — and far more successful — writer. It drove him crazy.
This book, though it starts unsteadily, is phenomenally weird and unsettling and smart and noirish. A real knock-out.
“She stared at him and her eyes were big brown glass marbles ready to fall out and roll down the steps.”
“Their voices throbbed in the hushed room and the Walls threw back echoes of implication.”
This book, though it starts unsteadily, is phenomenally weird and unsettling and smart and noirish. A real knock-out.
“She stared at him and her eyes were big brown glass marbles ready to fall out and roll down the steps.”
“Their voices throbbed in the hushed room and the Walls threw back echoes of implication.”
December 26, 2018
Golly. Where to begin?
I read this novel as #4 in the fairly recently published five-novel omnibus The First Detectives , the opening volume of a hugely ambitious project from Soho Press, reprinting the entirety of Millar's work in a matching set of six omnibuses and a memoir. (The print's kind of small and I could have done with fewer typos, but it's a handsome volume nonetheless.) I'd intended to read the fifth novel next, but Wall of Eyes is such an intense piece that, on finishing it, I felt I had to turn to lighter fare for a couple of days. All of which is to say that Wall of Eyes is very, very good.
Two years ago Kelsey Heath was blinded in a car accident where she was the driver. The passengers were her fiance, Philip, her brother, Johnny -- both of whom escaped with only minor injuries -- and a girlfriend of Johnny's, Geraldine, who died. Since then Kelsey, heiress to the family fortune, has been playing the blindness card for all it is worth, keeping the rest of the family -- and Philip -- firmly under her thumb. The only person willing to do anything about Kelsey's tyranny is her elder sister, Alice, who recognizes that Kelsey needs help.
Kelsey nearly succeeds in committing suicide by poison. Released from the hospital to recover at home, she's stabbed to death in the night. Was it one of the family? Or did an intruder take advantage of a door that had been inadvertently left unlocked?
The solution to the mystery is an absolute humdinger, a bolt from the blue, but the odd thing is that by the time I got there it seemed only the icing on the novel's cake, so deeply had I become involved in the lives of the Heath family and those linked to them, most notably the denizens of Joey's, a semi-seedy niterie among whose performers Johnny found Geraldine and has more recently found a new girlfriend, Marcie.
Millar displays in this novel a mastery of character-driven suspense that reminded me of Elisabeth Sanxay Holding at her very peak, as did the writing style. I really cared about some of the characters and the fates that'd befall them, especially the repressed Alice and the Joey's MC, Stevie Jordan, to the point that I was loth to reach the end of the book. And Millar plays a very clever trick here: the one character to whom she doesn't seem to devote great attention is her series detective, Inspector Sands. Rather than deploy the usual practice of GAD novelists, where the quirks of the detective -- Poirot, Campion, Wimsey, Alleyn, not to mention Millar's own earlier Paul Prye -- are a major contributor to the proceedings, Millar quite deliberately leaves Sands as something of a tabula rasa, letting the other characters and the tale itself occupy center stage, so to speak. The more I think about this ruse of hers, the more I admire it: Sands has to be there, make no mistake, because you need someone to do the detecting and drive certain aspects of the plot, but he doesn't need to be the focus of our attention and in fact it allows the novel to develop far greater depth if he's not.
I can see that the coming year's reading is going to feature a fair amount of Millar. This one is just so splendid.
I read this novel as #4 in the fairly recently published five-novel omnibus The First Detectives , the opening volume of a hugely ambitious project from Soho Press, reprinting the entirety of Millar's work in a matching set of six omnibuses and a memoir. (The print's kind of small and I could have done with fewer typos, but it's a handsome volume nonetheless.) I'd intended to read the fifth novel next, but Wall of Eyes is such an intense piece that, on finishing it, I felt I had to turn to lighter fare for a couple of days. All of which is to say that Wall of Eyes is very, very good.
Two years ago Kelsey Heath was blinded in a car accident where she was the driver. The passengers were her fiance, Philip, her brother, Johnny -- both of whom escaped with only minor injuries -- and a girlfriend of Johnny's, Geraldine, who died. Since then Kelsey, heiress to the family fortune, has been playing the blindness card for all it is worth, keeping the rest of the family -- and Philip -- firmly under her thumb. The only person willing to do anything about Kelsey's tyranny is her elder sister, Alice, who recognizes that Kelsey needs help.
Kelsey nearly succeeds in committing suicide by poison. Released from the hospital to recover at home, she's stabbed to death in the night. Was it one of the family? Or did an intruder take advantage of a door that had been inadvertently left unlocked?
The solution to the mystery is an absolute humdinger, a bolt from the blue, but the odd thing is that by the time I got there it seemed only the icing on the novel's cake, so deeply had I become involved in the lives of the Heath family and those linked to them, most notably the denizens of Joey's, a semi-seedy niterie among whose performers Johnny found Geraldine and has more recently found a new girlfriend, Marcie.
Millar displays in this novel a mastery of character-driven suspense that reminded me of Elisabeth Sanxay Holding at her very peak, as did the writing style. I really cared about some of the characters and the fates that'd befall them, especially the repressed Alice and the Joey's MC, Stevie Jordan, to the point that I was loth to reach the end of the book. And Millar plays a very clever trick here: the one character to whom she doesn't seem to devote great attention is her series detective, Inspector Sands. Rather than deploy the usual practice of GAD novelists, where the quirks of the detective -- Poirot, Campion, Wimsey, Alleyn, not to mention Millar's own earlier Paul Prye -- are a major contributor to the proceedings, Millar quite deliberately leaves Sands as something of a tabula rasa, letting the other characters and the tale itself occupy center stage, so to speak. The more I think about this ruse of hers, the more I admire it: Sands has to be there, make no mistake, because you need someone to do the detecting and drive certain aspects of the plot, but he doesn't need to be the focus of our attention and in fact it allows the novel to develop far greater depth if he's not.
I can see that the coming year's reading is going to feature a fair amount of Millar. This one is just so splendid.
July 1, 2018
Superb! Millar has a way of following the action from one character's POV to another's that feels a little like camera work that leaves the viewer feeling his disconnectedness, his outside observer status. It's very effective, as it encourages the reader to see all sides of all characters, and to consider *every* character as a potential murderer. Though I guessed part of the solution, I did *not* guess all of it. I will be actively seeking out more of Millar's work because she's a joy to read.
December 4, 2024
C+:
Starts well enough but overall just not my thing. Noir-heavy and the characters and motives don't develop in a satisfying way.
Starts well enough but overall just not my thing. Noir-heavy and the characters and motives don't develop in a satisfying way.
October 31, 2016
Margaret Millar, scrittrice canadese, è tra le più famose da includere ai vertici del giallo classico. OCCHI NEL BUIO è un ottimo giallo dalla trama costruita sulla tensione narrativa che tende ad aumentare progressivamente. Oscuri presagi incombono sui componenti di una famiglia. A morire per prima è la madre, affetta da una malattia. Ad acuire il dramma degli Heath è la cecità di una delle figlie, Kelsey che perde la vista a causa di un incidente d'auto. Ad aiutare la povera Kelsey, ci sono la sorella e il fratello, Alice e Johnny. Il loro è un forte e incondizionato amore o si tratta di questioni di eredità? Anche Philip, il fidanzato, non abbandona il campo e lotta contro i cattivi presagi ed anche contro le continue scelleratezze di Kelsea che non rende la vita facile a chi le sta intorno e vorrebbe aiutarla. È profondamente stressata o c'è dell'altro?
La sorella Alice è pronta a mettere la mano sul fuoco, rivelando che, secondo lei, c'è qualcosa di più inquietante. Il marchio della strega incombe sulle loro vite ed, in particolare, sulla sorella.
La tensione, generata da contrasti umani, si fonde con il paranormale in un crescendo di suspense e mistero. Il culmine è rappresentato dall'omicidio, efferato e misterioso, sul quale l'ispettore Sands è chiamato ad indagare, mentre i sospetti si intrecciano ai segreti.
La scrittura raffinata della Millar rende questo romanzo giallo un ottimo noir, da non lasciarsi sfuggire.
July 7, 2019
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February 13, 2024
From 1942 Toronto and a detective, Sands, is brought in to solve a mysterious death. There’s an awkward family set-up to deal with; a rich household consisting of a vague, marginalised widower, his grown up feckless son and two daughters, one of them blinded in a car accident two years ago, the blinded girl’s boyfriend - a repressed pianist, and a couple of servants. Sensible daughter, Alice, is worried enough about Kelsey’s controlling instability to consult a psychiatrist who immediately absorbs the tense atmosphere of the home.
Sands has to start investigating when a sudden death happens. You can relax a bit from the fraught opening scenes; you know you’re in safe hands. “The wives of the other policemen thought Sands should have someone to look after him. They invited him frequently for meals and gave him ties for Christmas. Sands always wore the ties and in return got more ties.” At the murder scene, “Sands stood in the doorway watching the men work. They were well trained, he had trained them himself, and it was his boast that they could collect more useless information than any group their size in Canada.”
I got a bit confused between some of the characters, mainly Mamie and Marcie, and had to keep flipping back to remind myself which was which, but otherwise a great, rather hard-boiled, atmospheric mystery.
Sands has to start investigating when a sudden death happens. You can relax a bit from the fraught opening scenes; you know you’re in safe hands. “The wives of the other policemen thought Sands should have someone to look after him. They invited him frequently for meals and gave him ties for Christmas. Sands always wore the ties and in return got more ties.” At the murder scene, “Sands stood in the doorway watching the men work. They were well trained, he had trained them himself, and it was his boast that they could collect more useless information than any group their size in Canada.”
I got a bit confused between some of the characters, mainly Mamie and Marcie, and had to keep flipping back to remind myself which was which, but otherwise a great, rather hard-boiled, atmospheric mystery.
September 20, 2018
The first of two Margaret Millar novels featuring Detective-Inspector Sands, WALL OF EYES is more or a conventional murder mystery than THE IRON GATES, but is still unusual by any standards. Miss Millar's characters are well-drawn and interesting, though I found this one to be a shade less intriguing than THE IRON GATES.
June 24, 2024
2.5 stars The cover is dope.
Written in the 1940's it was pulp fictiony and then there would be some well written or witty bits.
The radio cereal commercial announcing a murder was hysterically funny. Maybe the murderer was just lacking vitamins & minerals!
Written in the 1940's it was pulp fictiony and then there would be some well written or witty bits.
The radio cereal commercial announcing a murder was hysterically funny. Maybe the murderer was just lacking vitamins & minerals!
June 8, 2025
"You don't know where there's an ashtray?"
They both looked solemnly around the room but there was no ashtray.
"I usually use my pant cuffs in moments like this," Sands said. "But I haven't any cuffs."
"I haven't either," Mr. Heath said.
They both looked solemnly around the room but there was no ashtray.
"I usually use my pant cuffs in moments like this," Sands said. "But I haven't any cuffs."
"I haven't either," Mr. Heath said.
October 8, 2023
Long before Millar relinquishes the clever deceit at the heart of this whodunit, it was already a near-perfect Mystery for other reasons. Even as plot plus tragic backstory seems always to be the priority, characters are effortlessly fleshed out with words, thoughts, and actions, making this a wonderful psychological suspense novel, not just a whodunit. And as trad Mysteries go, it makes a heck of a cynical noir nightmare.
The perfect balance of various elements. All she had to do was fit it all together without a false move, get me to smack my forehead at the reveal and start looking back at the six things I missed that she made me miss while giving them to me…and voila, a wall of bullseyes.
My favourite by the author, up to this point, even with a somewhat poetically, preciously petulant detective who pulls his own ruthless final play, at last getting my infinite respect.
4.5 stars!
The perfect balance of various elements. All she had to do was fit it all together without a false move, get me to smack my forehead at the reveal and start looking back at the six things I missed that she made me miss while giving them to me…and voila, a wall of bullseyes.
My favourite by the author, up to this point, even with a somewhat poetically, preciously petulant detective who pulls his own ruthless final play, at last getting my infinite respect.
4.5 stars!
November 21, 2015
One of the better finishes in mystery fiction that I have read. The book seems a little confused until then, it's that good. Stick with this story.
May 29, 2016
Wow, I never would have guessed who the murder was.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews