Review: Third Eye by Rick R. Reed

Title: Third Eye

Author: Rick R. Reed

Publisher: DSP Publications

Pages/Word Count: 264 Pages

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb: Who knew that a summer thunderstorm and his lost little boy would conspire to change single dad Cayce D’Amico’s life in an instant? With Luke missing, Cayce ventures into the woods near their house to find his son, only to have lightning strike a tree near him, sending a branch down on his head. When he awakens the next day in the hospital, he discovers he has been blessed or cursed—he isn’t sure which—with psychic ability. Along with unfathomable glimpses into the lives of those around him, he’s getting visions of a missing teenage girl. When a second girl disappears soon after the first, Cayce realizes his visions are leading him to their grisly fates. Cayce wants to help, but no one believes him. The police are suspicious. The press wants to exploit him. And the girls’ parents have mixed feelings about the young man with the “third eye.” Cayce turns to local reporter Dave Newton and, while searching for clues to the string of disappearances and possible murders, a spark ignites between the two. Little do they know that nearby, another couple—dark and murderous—are plotting more crimes and wondering how to silence the man who knows too much about them.

Review: This book is a thriller in the true sense of the word. The book itself – a return to a genre that I believe Rick excels in, and also a debut in a new marketing niche that I feel has been needed in the world of m/m books for a long time. I am delighted to be able to review this book, and I hope it is the first of many voices to be heard in this new and exciting branch of m/m.

I have looked forward to getting my hands on this book since I first glimpsed the cover – great work Aaron Anderson, and Third Eye does not disappoint.

I was drawn into the book at the first page, and my heart rate was elevated at the second one. Rick R. Reed’s skill with words is proven by the way he layers descriptions of the environment and the emotions of his characters. Cayce is a struggling single Dad in a sleepy little town beside a big ole lazy river. But the weather is changing, and he can’t see his son, and he is worried. That quickly, I was worried too. The pace of the story is fast and directly influences the breathless aspect that a real thriller needs. I turned pages quickly, my coffee got cold beside me, and although I could anticipate trouble coming, I was never quite right. The guessing and being shocked and surprised are such a big part of a thriller, and Rick mastered this. The cast of characters is broad and vivid, and they are revealed and exposed with each page you turn, with each glimpse through Cayce and his visions, or his personal interactions. They are built and fleshed and are made real. I have a mental picture of Janet McKenna that is near photo quality, and that is due to Rick’s skill with painting a character with colors, and smells as well as a physical description.

The tension in the story builds steadily, without pause, against the very bland, menial backdrop of the town Cayce lives in, which worsens the horror of it all.

Third Eye was a very satisfying read, colorful and full of rich detail, with many layers both between and within its characters. I appreciated the full length of this novel and Rick’s ability to sustain the emotional hold he had on the reader for the whole story, the intensity never dropped. The final resolution was brilliantly graphic and still sweetly hopeful. This is hands down the best work I have read by Rick R. Reed in two years. It is a showcase to his skills and left me in awe of his ability to create emotions with words. I sincerely hope there are more books coming from Rick in this genre.

You can buy Third Eye here: