"The Devil's Eye" by Jack McDevitt... another Alex Benedict novel that is really a Chase Kolpath novel... Alex's beautiful assistant. Good story. I'd read it again.Story: After a vacation on Earth, touring with telepathic aliens, Alex receives a desperate message from a famous horror novelist Vicki Greene but the information she gives is not specific "They are all dead!" When Alex returns to his business on Rimway he finds that the famous author has deposited an enormous sum of money into his account and when he tries to contact her, finds that she has had her mind wiped...voluntarily. The memory of whatever happened was so disturbing that she could not go on living her life... a Cassandra Curse. So Alex retraces her footsteps to figure out what memory she had that was so terrible that she felt compelled to wipe her mind and become someone else.This was a great mystery because they must visit a planet famous for horror stories.. a real tourist trap for horror. But as Alex and Chase follow Vicki Greene's footsteps, someone is trying to kill them.Is this for kids? No. Not really. Young adults, sure. They talk about sex but in a vague way like... "Chase let him take her home... The next day..." like that. Also... apparently this vacation spot allows nudity so Chase goes topless but they don't go into any more detail than I just did.In this novel Chase is terrific... hands down. Great ending. The Devil’s EyeI’m really enjoying these Jack McDevitt novels, regardless of the somewhat familiar formula of these stories. This is the fourth book I’ve read in the Alex Benedict stories.Alex and his assistant (and sometimes lover) Chase, run Rainbow Enterprises, a company that specializes in buying and selling (and acquiring at archeological sites) special items of historic significance for sale and profit. But Devil’s Eye diverges from this and has Alex trying to solve a mystery. A mystery that leads to the lives of a planet. That’s all I can say without ruining the plot! Story and Plot:Vickie Greene, horror novelist 9,000 years in our future, a contemporary of Alex and Chase, sends a cryptic message when Alex is returning from an adventure on the Belle Marie, a ship run by an AI (artificial intelligence). Vickie says “they’re all dead.” What’s it mean? Is Vickie on the verge of mental collapse? Or something more?Our heroes discover Vickie had her personality replaced – contact with her brother reveals no information as to why, but that is pretty serious, as a mind wipe is usually reserved for criminals and malcontents. Why would Vickie do this? Perhaps the answer lies on the planet Salud Afar, a planet that is at the far reaches of the galaxy, with no moon and not a lot of stars except for one particularly bright one that Vickie called “The Devil’s Eye.”The story has humor, as when Chase goes topless at a swimming pool and the men applaud. Hilarious. And her usual string of boyfriends who lament that she’s gone so long piloting through the galaxy with her employer.As in other novels, they have their lives threatened more than once and are urged to abandon their investigation but that makes them even more determined to find out who is trying to kill them and solve the mystery of Vickie Greene.Bottom Line: The story does not end at its natural conclusion but tries to wrap up all its points at once near the end – a method that makes the story seemed rushed. However, the story runs well overall, not too many slow points as in earlier McDevitt novels, and it’s always a pleasure to imagine another Chase/Alex adventure. Recommended.
What do You think about The Devil's Eye (2008)?
The book went on a bit too long for me, but I was intrigued by the mystery and enjoyed the read.
—Priscilla
Not my favorite book in the series, but one with a moral dilemma that was very interesting.
—Caitlin
A terrible, terrible conclusion to, what had been up to this volume, an interesting series.
—darianmarie897
Great series. This wasn't my favorite so far, but it was still enjoyable.
—Bekkida
