The Girl In His Eyes by Jennie Ensor

☆☆☆☆
Kindle Edition, 353 pages
Published September 18th 2018 by Bloodhound Books
About the Book:
Her father abused her when she was a child. For years she was too afraid to speak out. But now she suspects he’s found another victim. Laura, a young woman struggling to deal with what her father did to her a decade ago, is horrified to realise that the girl he takes swimming might be his next victim. Emma is twelve – the age Laura was when her father took away her innocence. Intimidated by her father’s rages, Laura has never told anyone the truth about her childhood. Now she must decide whether she has the courage to expose him and face the consequences. Can Laura overcome her fear and save Emma before the worst happens?

There is something wrong, Mum. There’s something I have to tell you.
This fast paced, heart thumping book sucked me in from the beginning. I loved how the chapters were from the perspective of each member of the family, this was done so smoothly there was no time to get confused. It was amazing to get inside the characters psyche, they are well developed, well-rounded and totally believable. Paul is one of the creepiest characters I've read about in a while.

Paul was a good man, he had principles. He couldn’t have done it. Could he?
There are two timelines giving insight to the key events in Laura's life. The subject matter is gritty and topical, be prepared for graphic content, but the whole plot determines this necessary and gives the book it's feeling of realism. I loved the fact that the plot wasn't predictable, there was plenty of storyline so that the reader is pretty much discovering new realizations throughout. The story itself is a complex one, pulling together many threads, including filling in a lot of Laura's backstory.

You don’t think you’re worth much, so you treat yourself as if you’re not.
This story is very timely and one that could have been ripped from the headlines. How many women suffer sexual assault every day? Too many to even begin to count. The realism is paramount and takes center stage and really makes you wonder what you would do if you were ever in this position. Would you do what Laura did? Would you be strong enough? Laura lives through this and we get to see what she goes through, through her eyes and thoughts. It is creepy….very very creepy.

Most of all, he would be forced to face himself and the things he’d done.
The novel started off strong and never wavered, it moves along at a fast pace and I found myself unable to put it down. The author got the suspense and the intrigue just right. I was reading the pages building up to the end and I was getting stressed. It. Was. Inense. This was such a difficult subject matter, yet I enjoyed reading it, that is a testament to good writing. This was the first book I have read by Jennie Ensor but it won't be the last.

Thank you NetGalley, Bloodhound Books and Jennie Ensor for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.
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