Review by Greenacre Writer Carol Sampson
Although an early riser Nora Watts is still uneasy when the phone rings at 5am.
“I am immediately on guard because everyone knows that nothing good ever happens this early. Not with a phone call, anyway. You never get word that a wealthy relative has passed and is leaving you his inheritance before 9 a.m. It’s fortunate, then, that I’m already awake and on my second cup of coffee, so I’m at least moderately prepared.”
The call is from Everett Walsh, who wants to meet with her about a missing girl she may know something about. She has never heard of him and is unsure whether she wishes to meet with him, despite that being part of her job: finding missing people. Unable to fathom what she could possibly know about this missing girl she decides to meet with him.
“His desperation is so fresh and raw I can almost taste it.”
On meeting with Everett and Lynn Walsh, Nora discovers the missing girl is the one she gave up for adoption fifteen years ago. The Walsh’s have named her Bronwyn. Bonnie. Bonnie has been missing for two weeks and they hoped she had contacted Nora, her birth mother, whose details Bonnie discovered when she saw her original birth certificate along with the amended one issued on adoption.
The police are not seriously looking for Bonnie as she has a recent history of running away. She also stole $1,000 from her parents before she left. Despite this, Everett Walsh does not believe Bonnie has disappeared voluntarily. Nora knows from personal experience the treatment given to those who are deemed troublesome or, like her and Bonnie, of mixed race - “my skin is not light or dark, just something muddy and in between”. She is very aware that the plights of these young women are often overlooked.
As Nora begins to investigate the disappearance of her daughter she learns that it is not just her and the Everetts looking for Bonnie and Nora becomes embroiled in a dangerous web of lies and violence as she begins to uncover the truth. As memories surface she is forced to face events of her harrowing past; events she spent a long time coming to terms with.
The story begins in the seedier side of Vancouver – a place where those who have never visited cannot imagine – and the reader is then taken on a journey through the snow-capped mountains of Kelowna to ski resorts where the wealthy holiday and have their every needs met. The contrast between Nora’s life and those she is involved with could not be starker.
Eyes Like Mine is a gritty and addictive thriller told in first person narrative by Nora Watts. The story is as much about Nora as it is the mystery. Her character is fully developed and engaging and the story explores how Nora deals with life after the fallout of a terrible experience. She is quirky, unconventional, extremely flawed and not always likeable. That said, she is compulsive.
Sheena Kamal’s experiences as a journalist have provided the background for the book and the formation of Nora’s character, resulting in this feisty and compelling thriller. Kamal observed that the crimes against women, such as rape and abuse, were often dismissed by police – sometimes pushing the blame on the victims - and the story raises the moral question of how society treats people who are disadvantaged, different or just do not conform.
As Nora so aptly explains:
“There’s a whole highway in the north of the province stained by the tears of indigenous girls and women who aren’t blond enough to matter.”
Eyes Like Mine is the first novel in a proposed trilogy and I very much look forward to reading the next book.
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