The synopsis:
On the night their mother was killed, Alex and Lauren were asleep in their backyard tree house. Their beloved father was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder. Twelve years later, Lauren is a real estate agent who can't believe in love, and Alex is still trying to understand what happened to shatter his idyllic childhood. Only one stranger, a pregnant woman on the run from her boyfriend in Colorado, holds the clues that can free Lauren and Alex.


My thoughts: Ward has a way of weaving a story in a way that, before I know it, causes me to shut out everything else around me until the last page has turned. While I find that to be true of all of her books, this has been the best yet for me. The story itself is haunting and heartbreaking, and the characters and their emotions are visceral and raw. The intricacies of the plot and subplots are quietly riveting, and it almost feels like the reach of the story hits once you've finished the book with it's unexpected ending. Close Your Eyes had elements of mystery, thriller and general fiction genres, and I think it's reach can span fans of each of those genres for many reasons.