Eye Spy by C.M. Ewan (pub date: 26 March 2026)

Mark is on the way back to London from Paris, about to board the Eurostar. He’s already stressed out as it is and this feeling intensifies even more when his little daughter, Molly spots a Bad Man in the queue to the train. Is she just being silly, or is he really a Bad Man?

I haven’t read a closed-doors mystery in a long time, and this one was done extremely well! As I was reading the chapters, I was wondering: ‘Surely, nothing worse than that can happen anymore?’. But something worse did happen. And then something else. And then something else! I was on edge the whole time and the plot twist I did not see coming at all! Characters were created well and the idea was plausible, which made me enjoy reading it even more! Kudos to C.M. Ewan for creating a gripping thriller!

My favourite aspect of the book was the execution of the closed-doors mystery. I’m always sceptical about those books as I feel like they ca get boring because there isn’t a lot to play with. This was not the case here. Despite the vast majority of the book taking place on the Eurostar, the events were running smoothly and kept me intrigued. The flashbacks from Mark’s past and his wife perspective certainly helped but even without those, the story would have been quite interesting. C.M. Ewan made great use out of other carriages, passengers and staff to avoid being repetitive and mundane.

While there weren’t many characters in the book, I feel like that was a good thing. That allowed all of them to have enough page time and be fully developed. First of all, Mark and his paranoia. I’m not an expert in PTSD but it seems to have been shown perfectly, triggered by something as simple as his daughter calling another passenger a Bad Man. Following that, it was further developed by him constantly staring at the suitcase above him in the carriage. The internal monologues were a great addition that intensified the reading experience for me. I also liked how other characters were created. Molly, despite her age, had an important role to play - she was the one that spotted the Bad Man, and later on, her drawings gave us an insight into his backstory. Freya and her relationship with Mark were a great addition to the story as well and I loved the progression - without spoiling too much - from ‘just a stepdad’ to someone that played a big role in her life. And of course, the Bad Man. Keeping his identity hidden for so long into the book kept me on edge, I was desperate to find out his name and what his role on that train was. The author made a great selection of characters that were well developed and likeable.

The first person POV was the perfect choice for this story. Mark internal thoughts and observations really let the reader sympathise with him and feel for him. It gave us an insight into his head and truly let us see the desperation that escalated as the plot progressed. This POV was well written, without unnecessary train of thought which kept the story flowing. On the other hand, the chapters giving us other perspectives, written from the third person POV, added layers to the story and introduced to the eventual plot twist, which by the way still was a surprise for me (as a plot twist shopped be!). Overall, really good mixture of voices and perspectives.

As to the plot itself,  I really enjoyed how it was intertwined towards the end. While I did not gasp at this specific plot twist as I had done in the past while reading other books, it was executed well and it still surprised me. I tried to guess throughout the book what would happen and what the relevance of the third person chapters was but I didn’t expect what actually happened. I do find it a little bit far-fetched but it did not stop me from enjoying this book a lot!

I definitely recommend Eye Spy if you’re looking for a fast-pace thriller that keeps you on edge with a solid plot twist!

Rating: 4/5