Behind Open Eyes

Reece Cannon Thriller #2

by Paul Knox

Detective Reece Cannon stumbles upon the unsettling murder of a young woman shot at the edge of the desert.

But when a mysterious picture leads Reece face to face with an old family secret, the revelations suddenly hit too close to home.

After years of trying to bury the past, new rumors around town threaten Reece and everything she now stands for.

Is she next on the list to disappear?

Can Reece unravel the lies and put the pieces of the puzzle together before it’s too late? Who is responsible? Nothing is as it seems. The chances are slim. Will Reece recognize the charade…behind open eyes?

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Amazon

361 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 6, 2020

About the author

Paul Knox is the bestselling author of the Reece Cannon Thrillers, centered around the resilient Reece Cannon and her astute partner, Tommy Shanahan. Knox's singular objective? To captivate readers with every spellbinding page.

Reviews

[Linda Strong]

Meet Detective Reece Cannon in this new series (there is also a prequel available). She's fairly new on the job, feisty, and will do what it takes to find justice for victims.

Cannon literally takes a header over the body of a young woman who appears to have been shot. What she discovers is an old family secret ....

Cannon has persistently put her past on a back-burner, but now rumors are threatening her new life.

And how does this all connect with the murdered woman? Has the killer put his eyes on Cannon? Is she the next targeted victim? Danger may be closer than she thinks ..and she needs to keep her eyes open.

This is a nicely paced murder mystery with an intriguing female lead detective. There are several twists and turns that keep the reader looking in this direction, then backtracking and looking in another direction. Some things are not what they seem. I look forward to seeing more of this detective and following her new adventures in her chosen profession.

As I live in the desert area of Arizona, I really enjoy seeing references to places I personal know .... brings credibility to the story.

NOTE: There is a cliffhanger ... to be continued

Many thanks to the author / Mystery Moguls (FB) for the digital copy of this mystery/crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Teresa]

A truly awful read. Police procedures are unheard of and the lead character is a moron.

[Steve Latta]

Not very good

Language is stilted at times. Police procedures are awful. Can’t arrest him without evidence, then they turn around and arrest him on the flimsiest of “evidence”. Everything is overly modified. It couldn’t be a cookie, it had to be an absolutely delicious cookie.
One character lied to detectives saying how he’d broken up with his girlfriend. He’s nervous about it. Then when they’re all invited to the same party he breaks down and admits to looking into joining a medical marijuana business. No hint that was coming.
And if I heard about the green Jeep one more time I was going to scream. It couldn’t be just a Jeep or a car, it had to be a green Jeep.
I didn’t even finish it.

[Coco.V]

🎁 Books 1 & 2 in the Series are FREE on Amazon today (9/14/2020)! 🎁

[Alycia]

A little slow

Compared to Book 1 I found this story slow moving and really hard to get into. As the sort moved on the pace picked up but not enough to give it more stars. There needed to be more action, more suspense. I picked the murderer out quite early on and I love being kept guessing. Oh well you can’t have it the way you like it all the time.

I will continue to read this series as I do enjoy the writers style and I’ve become invested in Reece’s story.

[Angelica]

The writing reminded me of high school English class. Used words like “doofusy,” is that even a word? Described jeans “ripped jeans that might be considered fashionable. Or they might’ve been ripped from bomb shrapnel.” Weird. Nobody says that. Needed major editing. Poor character development. I won’t be reading any other books from this author. Well, it was free on BookBub.

[Margaret]

Behind Open Eyes is a thriller that had me on the edge of my seat and guessing incorrectly most of the time with all the apparently convincing evidence uncovered. It reminded me of Harry Bosch stories that I've read. Great first book.

[Antigone Walsh]

a woman is forced into the desert and murdered. Deputy Reece Cannon stumbles upon the body and leads the investigation with some dubious support from her drunken partner. It was convoluted but not in a good way. You just have to work through layers of unnecessary intrigue, strippers, sister drama, a sleazy strip club with the return of daddy dearest. apparently the rules of evidence are flexible in Reece land and the concept of conflict of interest non-existence. weak as police procedural and lacking as a mystery. Not the worst I've3 read this year but solidly in meh category.

[Thomas]

This was a mostly good story that I did enjoy reading.
Even though I had a strong suspicion about the killer's identity. It was confirmed in the last few chapters.
My only complaint about the story was once in the beginning, and once close to the end. The author had so many characters involved he was jumping around between the characters so much it got a little distracting. At one point I even thought he had forgot about where he left off to get to another perspective.

The story had a strong plot, mostly developed characters, and a good sense of timing.
I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

[Laura]

Checkmate!!

This is the second book from the Reece Cannon Thriller series. I would recommend that you read the books in order although it’s not necessary but you learn more about who Reece is if you do.

This book was a great psychological thriller. I wasn’t sure who the murderer was and just when I thought it was one character, some new evidence or twist was thrown that had me questioning everything. As always Reece is smart detective who figures it out and comes to the rescue!!

If you enjoy mystery thrillers I highly recommend this series. I listened to the audiobook and I thoroughly enjoyed it and hearing all the characters come to life as well.

[Marlys Van Dorston]

My First Paul Knox Read

But it certainly won't be the last. After reading a sample of the next book, I as m excited to add bbc.co it to my collection.
Just a couple of negative points. First, I was confused about what exactly was Reese's job? Was she a detective, a sheriff's deputy, or the sheriff? It mentioned she was the boss of the 3 others that worked with her.
And also, what made Shanahan drink so much? You don't do that without a reason.
Otherwise, it was a good story.

[Sandi]

3.5 stars. This is a good detective mystery, moving along at a decent clip once things got going and throwing some interesting little twists and misdirections. It was a little choppy in the story telling at times, but once it found its footing it was solid enough. While it wasn’t overly compelling, it was enjoyable, and not too predictable in the end.

I received this audiobook free in exchange for my fair and honest review.

[Alexis Kennedy]

I’m used to reading James Patterson and Karin Slaughter books, so I found Paul Knox’s story a refreshing look at crime and mystery fiction. Right away, I liked how he describes his settings to where you are practically there with the characters. He draws you into the story so you are constantly peeking ahead to see who the killer is.

[Dana Fernandez]

This is the second book for me by this author. If you enjoy thrillers this is the book for you. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and second guessing yourself until the end. Can’t wait for the next one in the series. Highly recommend this book and author.

I requested a copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Cathy Spelker]

Ok read

Nothing that great. Just ok story and characters. I actually fell asleep when I was reading this book. Couldn't have been all that interesting it I couldn't stay awake long enough

[Susan Lichtfuss]

Twists and turns

I love, love , love twists and there were plenty in this story. Engaging characters and I couldn’t be sure who the bad guys were half the time! I did love the good guys though. Definitely gripping!

[Dee Cash]

Mysterious

Paul Knox tells the story of Detective Reece Cannon's investigation of two murdered women who were friends and had a lot in common. The story is told without a lot of grizzly details. If you like mysteries without all the blood and gore this writer is for you.

[Anne Speck]

Detective Cannon on the case

This quick reading mystery features a young female detective, Reece, and her hard-drinking partner Shanahan. Several characters are developed nicely, throwing suspicion their way, throughout the book. The murders are neatly solved in the end in a twist I was expecting.

[Dawn]

Solid mystery. Great characters. I'm definitely interested in reading more about them! I will say that the book would benefit from some editing. If you can overlook some bad grammar & the like, it is a decent book.

[Robbie]

This was a very fast-paced and hard to put down book. I found Reece and her team likeable and intelligent; the "Insight" section at the end of the book - not so much. I do plan to read more books in this series and I rate this one 4.8 stars.

[Renee]

This book was SO plot crazy! Reece turns even more badass detective than I thought she could! Shanahan played a major role again. A little espionage and some mafia with human trafficking thrown in A must read

[Deedra]

audible:For as much as I liked the first book,I found this one mediocre.I also found the narration either over the top or just lacking.The story was good.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'

[Simone]

Oh, I love twists!! This was a great book with some great characters, some more nuts than others lol. This book didn't drag out either. So no long-winded world or character building

[Anne Glouner]

Good one!

At first I wasn't too sure about this one....then I got into the characters and couldn't stop reading! Start reading...I dare you!!

[Diane E]

Perhaps not my type of book

I saw this as a bunch of unconnected stories , somewhat related but not making sense . Multiple typos did not help .

[Donna Kaczynski]

Great

I chose this rating because this was a very good book and very entertaining if you get a chance to read it you should.

[Alex Halverson]

Well written on the whole. Good balance between the series story arc and the book story arc. The murderer was a little obvious to me at least.

[Melissa]

Clever mystery plot

I just didn't care for the author's writing style. Also, I think you would need to read all the books in the series in order for them to make sense.

[Jenny Coyne]

Better than book 1 which was a novella/prequel type book.

[Micky Parise]

First time reading Paul Knox. Plot was decent, characters top notch and the story flowed nicely. Recommend.