Introduction

With haunting prose and deft psychological insight, Averil Dean spins a chilling story that explores the dark corners of obsession—love, pain and revenge. 

Ten years ago, someone ruined Alice Croft's life. Now, she has a chance to right that wrong—and she thinks she's found the perfect man to carry out her plan. 

After watching him for weeks, she breaks into Jack Calabrese's house to collect the evidence that will confirm her hopes. When Jack comes home unexpectedly, Alice hides in the closet, fearing for her life. But upon finding her, Jack is strangely calm, solicitous…and intrigued. 

That night is the start of a dark and intense attraction, and soon Alice finds herself drawn into a labyrinth of terrifying surrender to a man who is more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. As their relationship spirals toward a breaking point, Alice starts to see just how deep Jack's secrets run—and how deadly they could be. 

 

"Crisply written, wickedly suspenseful….[Alice Close Your Eyes] reads like a dark, sensual nightmare, and it is the reader who won't want to close her eyes until all of the book's tantalizing secrets are finally revealed. Don't miss it." 

—David Bell, author of Never Come Back and Cemetery Girl

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Excerpt

I am inside Jack’s house.
Rain trickles down the windowpanes, and a spring thunderstorm rumbles almost inaudibly in the distance as I drift through the blue window light, in and out of the shadows, tracing the objects in the living room with my gloved fingertips. A queen conch shell reclines on the sideboard, its frilled pale-pink lip deepening to a slick rose interior as the shell curves in on itself. I pick it up, hold it to my ear. A phantom ocean soughs inside the empty calcium walls. I imagine the bowl filling with surf, overflowing, disappearing under the sand. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Discuss the recurring theme of mistaken assumptions, the idea of each character’s tragic misreading of the people around them. How is Molly’s blindness relevant to this theme?
2. What’s the significance of the character of Lyle? Why do you think the author chose to give him a disability? Why does Molly taunt him, and what does she mean when she says to Alice, “I’m the kid.”
3. What do you think of Alice’s mother? Grandmother? What do you imagine their lives were like before Nana died? And after?
4. Upon hearing that Alice is being taunted at school, her grandmother says, “Learn to use what you have.” How did you feel about what Alice did with that advice? What did her actions reveal about her character? About the person she would grow up to be?
5. Alice spent a major part of her childhood in foster care. Have you, or anyone you’ve known, been in the foster system? Can you relate to any of the experiences or relationships that Alice had while moving from home to home?
6. What was your initial reaction to Jack’s character? Did your impression of him change as the novel progressed?
7. Discuss the intersection of pain and pleasure throughout the novel, both in the physical and emotional sense. How do these two conflicting sensations play off each other throughout the story? How do they work against each other?
8. If Jack had caught Alice before she got on the ferry, what do you think would have happened between them? What do you suppose Jack meant to do when he followed her there?
9. Where do you think Alice will go when the ferry lands in Seattle? What do you think the future holds for her? Do you think leaving silently was the right decision, or should she have stayed to confront Jack or report him?

Weblinks

»	Author Averil Dean's web site
»	Publisher's Book Info

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