Eyes to See by Joseph Nassise Review with Giveaway!

Description:

In an urban fantasy that charts daring new territory in the field, Jeremiah Hunt has been broken by a malevolent force that has taken his young daughter and everything else of value in his life: his marriage, his career, his reputation. Desperate to reclaim what he has lost, Hunt finally turns to the supernatural for justice. 

Abandoning all hope for a normal life, he enters the world of ghosts and even more dangerous entities from beyond the grave. Sacrificing his normal sight so that he can see the souls of the dead and the powers that stalk his worst nightmares, Hunt embarks upon a strange new career—a pariah among the living; a scourge among the dead; doomed to walk between the light of day and the deepest darkness beyond night. 

His love for his departed daughter sustains him when all is most hopeless, but Hunt is cursed by something more evil than he can possibly imagine. As he descends into the maelstrom of his terrifying quest, he discovers that even his deepest fears are but prelude to yet darker deeds by a powerful entity from beyond the grave…that will not let him go until it has used him for its own nefarious purposes.

First line in the book:

I gave up my eyes in order to see more clearly. 

 With the cover, blurb and that line, I expect you are thinking this is just a total horror fest with lots of gore. Actually you would be wrong. I mean, there is some horror (but not in a overwhelmingly keep you up at night kind), lots of ghosts, and a little gore, but really it is more about a man's obsession into what happened to his missing daughter. And what he is willing to do to get her back. It is actually at times an emotional read and you do get involved with his search and desperation despite the fact that at times he is a jerk to other people.

Within the main story, the plot shifts back and forth to what happened in his past and his present. The shift is to allow you to gain more insight as to what brought him here to the moment and why he makes his decisions. It is not abrupt as each chapter is labeled then and now. Sometimes the shift was frustrating for me only because I wanted to know more. However, I agree with the decision in the end and was glad that not too much information was provided because it would be overload at times. I also found the way he dealt with his blindness interesting. He was not totally blind as he was gifted with a form of sight in total darkness. He also had a way of sensing things so he could often manage being independent. He also saw ghosts and "others" as well as the gifted. Those that could also do otherworldly things but were human otherwise.

Hm... I don't want to say more as this book is a good puzzle. All information is given to you and you do figure things out before the characters. However, you know they have knowledge you lack and so you aren't sure how the ending will play out. Therefore, I give this ghost mystery 4 stars. I really enjoyed this read. Oh and for those wanting a bit of romance, let me say that you do get a hint of one. It is sweetly done and could continue if this book becomes a series.

Note from the author taken from the comments below:

Just wanted to say thanks for all the kind words and enthusiasm over EYES TO SEE. I enjoyed writing it and I hope fans enjoy reading it. I'd characterize it as dark urban fantasy before I'd say horror, but there are some chilling scenes and, as has been noted, a little bit of romance. (There's a bit more of the later in KING OF THE DEAD, the sequel that's due out next year...)
-Joe

Giveaway!

Tor books has allowed me to giveaway this book to one lucky international winner! Whee! Just fill out the rafflecopter form below! Good luck!

Oh, and PS... there is even a witch in the book for those on team witch! ;)