Blind Spot

From Barnes & Noble

For her fourth effort, Judy Mercer presents the mesmerizing Blind Spot, a novel brimming with the same intensity, wit, and spiritual disarray that readers have come to expect from the bestselling author. An emotional story full of clever prose, Blind Spot is a boiling brew of outrage and ruin -- a hard-hitting drama as well as a piercing examination of the ties that bind us to friends and enemies alike.

After a mysterious and horrific attack left her scarred and with total amnesia, Ariel Gold fought to build herself a new life within the context of her old identity. Very few know that she can no longer remember anything from more than a year before as she bluffs her way through the demands of her job and personal life. As the on-air news correspondent for the investigative journal "Open File," Ariel must keep up a constant front of complete control and authority, a deception that is taking its toll.

Then her friend Laya, a spiritual guru gifted with the power of second sight, is blinded when someone replaces her eyedrops with acid, and her quiet life of yoga instruction and mystical study is abruptly turned inside out. In an effort to give her own life definition, Ariel takes Laya in and cares for her as she attempts to track down the vicious wrongdoer. <;> At first, Ariel's friend, LAPD detective Max Neely, suspects that this is just another random case of a psychopath tampering with everyday products, but Ariel disagrees and soon uncovers a motive. Laya was once a witness to a crime and assumes that the perpetrator believes she can identify him. Laya's "gift" allows her to see that the perp will return to try to finish the job, placing Ariel's life in danger as well. Though Ariel tries to remain grounded, she accepts her friend's convictions and believes in her gift. With the help of her lively millionaire grandfather, Ariel begins to investigate, stirring up troublesome dark secrets in the lives of all involved.

Mercer's fourth Ariel Gold novel continues to sharpen Ariel's persona, bringing an even greater depth to the protagonist. Ariel's characterization comes into a more meaningful focus through the reflection of her traumas seen in the lives of her own friends and family. As biting and wisecracking as Ariel and her grandfather can be, each of these characters balances out the other as sorrows and fears spill over. Mercer creates realistic circumstances that underscore Ariel's own hardships and grief, showing us both her indomitable will and constant vulnerability. The complexities and nuances of the plot throw action, excitement, and the occasional paranormal touch into the story line, broadening Mercer's already brilliant range. The author's writing is so pointed and precise that we are moved smoothly, sometimes even serenely, through physical and spiritual trauma, all in an effort to find redemption at the other end of hell. Blind Spot is a powerful addition to what has already become a formidable array of suspenseful, highly enjoyable thrillers.

--Tom Piccirilli

Barnes & Noble Guide to New Fiction

Mercer takes readers on another "enjoyably gripping" thrill ride with heroine Ariel Gold, who can't sit still when a friend is suddenly blinded by contaminated eye drops. Refusing to believe her friend was merely a victim of random product tampering, Ariel sets out to find the answer. "Exciting, suspenseful, and interesting," said some reviewers. "Disappointing and rambling," said others. The author's "constant reference to her heroine's past made me wish I was reading that book instead."

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

How people react to sudden, personal tragedy is the question at the center of Mercer's latest Ariel Gold page-turner, which opens when Ariel's friend and yoga teacher, Laya, is blinded by a bottle of eyedrops that contains a corrosive chemical. The incident sends Laya on a soul-searching mission and prompts Ariel, an L.A. television news correspondent, to search for answers about why Laya was maimed. What the police are treating as a product-tampering incident is actually tied to the beating death of a man later identified as James Price, a crime that Laya witnessed and did not report. She was seen by one of the killers, however. Meanwhile, Ariel has her own identity questions. An amnesiac with only a few years of memory, she is confused when a San Rafael woman named Dorothy writes her letters referring to old conversations and dropping ominous hints about a murderer. Is Dorothy a forgotten old friend or a piece of the Price murder puzzle? The plot lines converge when another witness to the Price murder is beaten to death, and Laya enrolls in the Marin Guide Dog Academy in San Rafael. Until this point in the story, the suspense is undercut by the leisurely pace, but once the tale tightens up, it moves swiftly to a tense and satisfying conclusion. Even so, the plot takes a back seat to Ariel, the book's winning element, who is desperate for memories of her dead twin sister, Jane, and slowly comes to terms with her lost past. In her, Mercer (Split Image; Double Take) has created a modern and believable heroine who finds herself in a strange world where every incident may reveal the secrets of her unknown personal history. When Ariel's vulnerability takes center stage, the novel acquires complexity and resonance, but when her amnesia becomes irrelevant, the novel's title could well refer to Mercer's lack of vision about what makes her main character unique and fascinating. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

Back in her fourth outing, Ariel Gold is reconstructing her life, cleaned from her memory by a brutal attack. Then a friend is blinded by contaminated eye drops, and Ariel swings into action. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.