Blind Eye

by Martha Burns

"This bruising story is less a murder mystery than an unflinching look at a culture and community." - Kirkus Reviews

“What does a boy do when things go bad at home? Who does he tell when things grow worse? Leeland didn't tell anyone--or did he? BLIND EYE tells the story of Leeland's life on a remote ranch in New Mexico. No one paid attention to what he couldn't say. Would you have listened?” — Candace Simar, Spur Award-winning author of The Abercrombie Trail Series

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At the Bounty Canyon Ranch in Southeastern New Mexico, the bodies of Luke and Deona Pruitt are buried in a manure pit and their 14-year-old son Leeland Pruitt is missing.

Deputy Sheriff Greenwood is called out to investigate the missing Pruitt family and discovers the grim scene. Leeland’s brutal upbringing was an open secret overlooked by neighbors and teachers for years. The community turned a blind eye as Leeland was moved by his cruel father from one remote ranch to another. And so, Deputy Greenwood begins a twenty-four-hour hunt to find and save the boy suspected of murdering his parents.

Blind Eye is both a tragedy and a dilemma of moral conscience. In this tale of cultural complicity, the community, at best, looked the other way and, at worst, enabled abuse, leaving us all to ask, ‘What is too much to ask of a boy?’

306 pages, Paperback

Published May 20, 2022

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My university advisor at Missouri State, Dr. Closser, always drilled into our heads that “POV is a moral decision”, and other than “A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner I had never seen an author aware of this principle and so completely deft at executing it like this author. Is the narrative in third person? Plural second person? Yes to both…and that is the point. What we witness is what we account for. I will not give away spoilers, but even if you see what’s coming as a reader, you don’t. This book answers the question, instead, of what we do in a tragedy…and what we do with what we see.
And I’m still crying thinking about it…powerful in every absolute way.

[Kelly {SpaceOnTheBookcase] · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you knew a child was being abused, would you step in? The Blind Eye takes a hard look at what a community is willing to brush aside and the consequences of that indifference.

I appreciate that the author gives the reader just enough to understand the motives of the abuser, the horror of the abused but not in such graphic detail that it can’t be read.

This is a great novel that will make you cry and make you think. Thanks to the author for providing me a copy to review.

[Roseann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blind Eye, by Martha Burns, is a powerful, cannot-put-down reading experience. I was totally engrossed throughout, and upon completing realized the author effectively had me joining the observers in this western town. As expected, the witnessing of the abuser's actions angered, horrified and saddened me as it did many of the characters in this tragic story. I was left contemplating how or if I would have been able to use this knowledge to change the outcome. The reader, of course, has first-hand knowledge of the abuse while others in the story have their suspicions, or are unable to stop it for various reasons. This novel gives us a lot to think about.

The author tells us just enough to be outraged with the abuser and sympathetic with the abused, but does not dwell on the gruesome details.

[Krista Rolfzen Soukup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!~ I am recommending this to my book club. Based on a true story, it offers the reader a perspective you can't turn away from.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled a bit with this book. I’m not sure if it was how it uploaded into my kindle library or if it was the writing style. The book is broken down into different perspectives and mostly they’re clearly labeled. But there were parts of those perspectives that were written from the townspeople perspective and they blended in.

That being said, the story is powerful and very tragic. It shows how the system can fail a child. A heart wrenching story.

[PJ Rolfzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written, very disturbing story that needed to be told! Martha Burns does an amazing job of portraying to her readers the tragedy of turning a “blind eye” to abuse.

[Carlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a difficult book to read emotionally. I have so many thoughts twisted up about it, but the first I can distinguish is that it made me think of a phenomenon known as the bystander effect.

As the review on the front cover of this book indicates, this story isn't so much a murder mystery where you're trying to piece together who's the killer so much as it is a commentary on a community's lack of action and the consequences that follow. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, the bystander effect is essentially a theory that discusses how, when people witness something wrong happening, they are unlikely to intervene because they believe someone else will step up to handle the situation. For instance, there's the famous case of Kitty Genovese, a woman who was murdered with nearly forty people having witnessed her murder but did nothing because they believed that someone else would call the police or step in to save her.

Reading this story was getting to witness the bystander effect from the direct voice of the bystanders Burns calls a collective "We." What a stroke of sheer genius to write from such a point of view. My heart was in my throat as I read this story. Reading as a bystander, as one of the "We," was . . . I cannot even find the words to describe it. It was jarring. Not only did I feel the shame of the community, but I was a part of it. It was brutal, especially in Burns' final chapter.

That in itself takes an incredible amount of talent to write about and do the topic justice. And not only does Burns hit the hammer on the nail of that topic, but she also does a phenomenal job of discussing several other difficult topics such as the faults of our justice system. She highlights the gray area between what is the law and how we as a society can blur those lines with what we believe and know to be morally just. She also looks into child abuse, as well as domestic abuse, both verbal and physical, and the different ways people of that abuse respond to it both the good and the bad.

Any one of those topics is difficult to write about and write about well, but here's Burns taking them all on and writing about them seamlessly. I'm just blown away at the precision and accuracy. Every aspect of the book, down to the title referencing the phrase "turning a blind eye," was deliberate and impactful in delivering Burns' message.

This is one of those books that keeps you up for the rest of the night as you mull over its every word, scene, ending, and meaning. I still cannot get over the point of view of the "We." It is an absolute masterpiece; I cannot praise Burns' enough for this book. Is it possible to give a book six stars? If so, this one has more than earned it.

[Sue Ready · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martha Burns's latest novel “Blind Eye” is a well-executed story that prompts reflection on how a community could turn a blind eye to years of mental and verbal abuse of a child at the hands of his father, who was the product of similar abuse. The story is engaging and inspired by a real event. It's told with a compassionate voice. As the story unfolds you begin to care deeply about the safety and well-being of characters whose lives are endangered. You will be hooked right from the start.

“Blind Eye” looks at the culture within a close-knit ranching community in rural New Mexico in the late 1990 and into the early 2020s. On the surface the community seems neighborly, helping each other but a fine line is drawn to interfering in other family's personal spaces. With the discovery of the bodies of Luke and Deona Pruitt buried in a manure pit, and their 14-year-old son Leeland missing, Deputy Sheriff Greenwood is called in to investigate the grim scene.

This must have been a difficult story for the author to tell but she wisely used multiple viewpoints which gave the reader different perspectives offering an in-depth look into the characters’ motivations, mannerisms, behaviors, and traits. This direction added more depth to each of the characters. While the majority of the chapters focused on Luke's point of view, some chapters were narrated by other family members and Deputy Greenwood who was investigating the murder scene. But the lack of collective voices represented within the community was missing as blind eyes turned away. Even towards the end of the story when many members in the community began to realize their actions were complicit, they still did not step forward to help right the wrongs. Notable points to the storyline include the ineffective social safety system that should have been in place to help Leeland. But more appalling was the lack of community responses, whose flawed actions failed to help and advocate for Leeland's well-being. One chapter toward the end of the book was devoted to Leeland's point of view. It showed how his compliant behavior bordering on despair and resentment truly pushed him over the edge.

Burns's crisp and well-crafted sentences are visual gems. Details of the New Mexico landscape and ranch life bring the story to life. Many thought-provoking issues are raised. It's a chilling novel whose voices will haunt you long after the last page.

[Kelly Mikolich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounded up to 3.5 stars. This is a heavy read, but also thought provoking.

What is striking is that this book is based on true events. While it is not so much focused on the murders, this book is about the reactions of a community and the consequences of inaction.

This book will make you think and ask yourself, “what would I do?”

[Mary]

“There is this boy, just started the sixth grade. He’s bright as daylight but lives in fear of his own folks. Look out for him and spread the word.”

I was gifted this book in exchange for a fair review.

When Luke Pruitt and his wife are found dead, suspicions immediately rest on his teenage son, Leeland. Everyone in their small, Western town knew Leeland was being abused, yet no one interceded. Following the Pruitt family through 3 generations, Blind Eye explores what happens when we ignore abuse and allow people to suffer at the hands of others.

What a heartbreaking read. With strong messages about the cycle of abuse and the bystander effect, this book was heavy but powerful. Perhaps my favorite part of this book was the use of “we” in the narration. Including the reader in the book was such an effective way to incorporate the themes of the bystander effect in situations of abuse.

I also loved how meaningfully the author choose which perspectives to feature and when. Sometimes books that switch perspectives feel disjointed, but it was obvious that the author pointedly chose whose story to feature and when, and (without giving too much away) withholding certain perspectives for extended periods of time really built the tension.

If you’re an interactive reader like me, you might want to try drawing up a timeline as you read this! I love the nonlinear format, and I think that would have really added to my experience reading this.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book.

cw: graphic depictions of child abuse (physical, sexual, and psychological) and domestic violence; homophobia, racism

[Alana White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the latter 1990s and early 2000s in Southeastern New Mexico, “Blind Eye” is an unflinching, masterly look at a culture within a “mind-your-own business” ranching community where almost everyone turns a blind eye to the wickedness perpetrated by the Pruitt family over the course of at least two generations. The story is expertly told from multiple viewpoints, including a chorus of locals that cannot quite explain away how everyone knew about the terrible physical and emotional abuse suffered by Leeland, a fourteen-year-old neighbor boy, at the hands of his monstrously cruel father and his most recent stepmother. When that pair are murdered and Leeland disappears, Deputy Rob Greenwood investigates, making keen, sensitive observations and connecting the trail of evidence that eventually leads to the couples’ killer. Did Leeland kill his parents? If he did not, who did? Told with compassion and integrity, “Blind Eye” points an unflinching finger straight at people who turn away from those they know are in trouble, asking at the same time many questions of us, the reader. Excellently told and highly recommended.

[Teddy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blind Eye by Martha Burns explores the effects on a small, closely knit, ranching community of two competing values; neighborliness and not interfering in families' personal lives. The result of good neighbors helping and sharing in their community yet turning a blind eye to years of mental and physical abuse endured by a young boy at the hands of his father who is himself a product of similar abuse is murder. But this story is less about the details of murder and subsequent trial than about individuals in the community becoming aware of how their inaction, based on long-held values makes them complicit. This book prods the thoughtful reader to reflect.

[Thomas Clagett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired by true events, author Marsha Burns tells the story of a grisly murder, a family destroyed, a community shamed, and the question of how and why this happened.

“Blind Eye” is a haunting and stunning first novel from a new and significant voice of the contemporary American West.

[Regina Griego · Rating 5 out of 5]

The systems and community failed! Martha Burns writes a compelling story of generational trauma, including an angry father with a warped sense of fatherhood and manhood. Leeland a boy, both killer and victim with no way out. Ineffective responses from social safety systems and circumstances that conspire and he does the unthinkable. The difference in this story versus the personal story I lived, was that Leeland went to public school and was befriended by concerned adults. How much will a young man taught by a rageful father to use guns endure? In the end no one is surprised, but still the juvenile justice system is quick to seek retribution. Blind Eye, drawn from the headlines, is a scathing incitement of our irresponsibility as adults. It’s an inditement of New Mexico, where frontier justice turns a blind eye on abuse but is quick to punish. Shame on us for betraying our children in this way!

[Kari Veicht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told from the perspective of various viewpoints, the mystery of a double murder and missing teenager, Leeland Pruitt, unfolds against the backdrop of a closed-off community in Southeastern New Mexico. This ranching community cares for its own, but turns a blind eye to the abuse passed down by the Pruitt family. In a town where everyone knows everyone and each person has their ideas on who did it, and why, Deputy Rob Greenwood investigates the clues that lead to the murderer and motive. Based off a true story, Blind Eye will keep the reader questioning what happens next and whether the murders are morally excusable.

[Janell Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you read Blind Eye by Martha Burns it is hard to believe it is her debut novel. Written from a unique perspective, Burns draws the reader in right away to what is happening, in plain sight, in a community in New Mexico.

Many people in town know what is happening, it has even been reported to authorities, but the events continue. Can anyone stop this brutality before it is too late?

How much can a boy endure? Burns's well-researched book will make you think about things we all want to avoid in our minds. Who is responsible for children in a community if their parents are not? Should bystanders remain as bystanders?

A great book! 5 STARS!! Highly recommended.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blind Eye very deservedly is a finalist for the Spur Award which honors writers for distinguished writing about the American West. Reading this book, you can see, hear, smell and taste Southeastern New Mexico. But this novel (based on a true story) is also a book about everywhere in this country where child abuse is taking place and "good" people are forced to make choices. The story and characters will stay with you a long time and certainly this would be an excellent book club selection.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. You know the story without having to read it. Each chapter was written from a different perspective, yet had the townspeople viewpoint at the end of every chapter which was confusing to switch voices. There is a moral here not to turn a blind eye, yet, it's a scary world we live in and speaking out is uncertainty for your own well-being.