Book Review: Cat's Eyes, Lee Jordan (1982)

Cat's Eyes is a satisfying novel from 1982 that mixes the creepy mood of a classic English ghost story with the fast pace of a modern suspense book. This novel gives you exactly what you'd expect from an old-school scary thriller: a lonely house, a vulnerable main character, a series of unsettling events, and a general feeling of danger from both people and animals.

The story is about Rachel Charter, an American woman recovering from a car crash at her isolated home in the Sussex countryside in England. The accident was caused by a feral cat, and it left her physically hurt and mentally shaken, giving her bad dreams.

When Rachel's husband has to leave for a work trip, she is left alone with her baby daughter, Sophie. Soon, her peaceful isolation turns into a nightmare. The feral cat, scarred from the crash, seems to be haunting the property, but the scary things that start happening are too sinister to be just an animal's doing.

What follows is a classic slow-burn thriller where Rachel is deliberately terrorized. Her dog is poisoned, someone tries to smother her baby, a local helper is framed for theft, and she gets chilling, anonymous phone calls. The story uses the closed-in feeling of the isolated house and the empty landscape to make Rachel's fear and paranoia grow.

The author, Lee Jordan, uses the typical ingredients of this genre very well. He makes you suspect a few different people, including a bitter woman whose husband was killed in Rachel's crash, a glamorous new neighbor, and even the baby's strict former nurse. The book cleverly makes you wonder, "Is this a scary animal or a human villain?" before revealing the truth. 

While the identity of the final villain and the stormy ending might not surprise people who read a lot of thrillers, the ride is engaging. The writing is good, and the detailed descriptions of the Sussex setting make the story better than a standard suspense novel. Rachel, the slightly naive but tough American, is a likable enough character that you genuinely care about her safety.

Cat's Eyes is a fun, well-put-together piece of vintage suspense. It's a quick, moody read that delivers the perfect amount of domestic terror and spooky isolation. If you like old-school horror or books that feel like a great, forgotten 1980s scary movie, this is a solid choice. It doesn't break new ground, but it delivers the scares with style.

Carolina Dean 
Cat Lover