Book Review: Brown-eyed Girl

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Brown-eyed Girl     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Mariah Stewart
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Romantic Suspense
Pocket, Apr 2000, 342 pp.

After an overseas assignment researching historical information on tattoos, magazine article writer Leah McDevitt returns to her Manhattan office. Among the pile of mail is a personal letter from death row inmate Raymond “The Vagabond Killer” Lambert. The notorious serial killer claims to have pertinent information pertaining to Leah’s missing sister Melissa, who vanished without trace seven years ago. Through the FBI, Leah meets the cherubic-faced Raymond. Though feeling sick, she cuts a deal with him in which she will pay him $50,000 in exchange for Melissa’s burial site. However, before Raymond reveals his information, another convict kills him.

A desperate Leah travels to Maine to meet arson expert Ethan Sanger, who wrote the definitive book on Raymond. She pleads with the reluctant Ethan to allow her to read his notes and listen to his tapes. However, Ethan remains haunted by his intimacy with the evil that forced him to barter the return of his murdered wife’s remains in exchange for writing the book. Still, he wants to help Leah with her need for closure. As they work together, they fall in love, but though Raymond is dead, another evil being stalks the duo.

BROWN-EYED GIRL is a fantastic romantic suspense novel that focuses on the need for closure when tragedy occurs to a loved one. The support cast adds dimension, especially Ethan’s relatives and the malevolent Raymond, while the lead couple is a delightful pair. Mariah Stewart proves she belongs to the sub-genre elite who knows how to entertain their audience.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner