Rating: 
Summary: A compelling read
Review: A real-life crime serves as the foundation for Guests' powerful novel, set in northern Michigan where a grieving sheriff obsessed with the past finds unusual attraction to the case of a family's murder. His investigations into the murders will change his own life and faltering family situation, making Tarnished Eye a compelling read.
Rating:
Summary: Far above standard genre fare...
Review: Guest's book transcends the standard thriller/whodunit...thankfully it did not have a some stupid action scene or the usual scene where the cops explain the entire "whys" of the crime. One of the cool things about this book is that Guest never fully explains the whys of the murders. The whodunit is not completely impossible to figure, but as you read it, you might well be surprised along the way. The characters are people you are care about (however Karen might be a bit too perfect) and Hugh is wonderful. It reads fast, but not because it lightweight. It is welcome addition to the genre and well worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: I remember the event
Review: Having lived through the time of the Robison murders in Good Hart, Michigan, this telling of the story of the Norbois (clever) brings back a frightening time for all of us who lived in the area. It's amazing to me that this crime has never been solved.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: I liked the story but found the way it was put together a little odd. I'm speaking of the chapters about each member of the Norbois family that the author describes. I just could never quite get into them. I didn't feel a lot of sympathy for them. I did like the fact that it was an easy, quick read and have found the horror of the event, which supposedly was based on a real story, has stuck with with me. For this reason alone, I give the book high marks.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I read the reviews online and picked this up assuming it would be a gread whodunnit. I was disappointed. I have read much better, more puzzling mysteries. I didn't find this especially gripping or surprising. I think it's a real gift to write a good mystery, and I don't think this author has it. It's not a bad book, by any stretch, but it's not a book that grabs and doesn't let go.
Rating:
Summary: Murder amongst Ordinary People
Review: Judith Guest, author of "Ordinary People" which was picked up by Bobby Redford and made into a movie of Upper Middle Class Edinite angst, has again penned a novel of Ordinary People grieving the loss of a son/brother. This time the Dad is the Sheriff, who also must track a multiple and serial murderer through Michigan's Lower Peninsula (think Charlevoix where JonBenet's carpet- bagging Daddy is currently running for the Michigan House of Representatives. Is it any wonder that natives of the Upper Peninsula sometimes think of liberating themselves from the asylum?)There is murky characterization here in Guest's meandering, and it took this reader a long way in to clarify which son was which, as Guest intentionally, on some stylistic artsy whim, refuses to identify them by name - only: "He thought..." and "He did..." and nothing more. /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer
Rating:
Summary: Carnage in Michigan.
Review: Judith Guest, most celebrated for her classic novel, "Ordinary People," has written a new suspense novel. The protagonist of "The Tarnished Eye" is Sheriff Hugh DeWitt, who lives in Blessed, Michigan, with his wife and young daughter. He is grief-stricken over the sudden death of his infant son, and he and his wife are trying to keep their shaky marriage going. Two other people struggling with marital problems are a wealthy couple, Paige and Edward Norbois, who have an elaborate summer home in Blessed. Edward is a stern and inflexible husband and father. Family disharmony mars what should be an idyllic vacation for Paige, Edward, and their four children. Suddenly, a gruesome multiple homicide shocks the citizens of Blessed, and Sheriff DeWitt is under pressure to make a quick arrest. With few resources at his disposal, Dewitt has to secure the crime scene, interview witnesses, and keep the media frenzy under control. One of his prime objectives is to find out if the murderer is a random psychopath or someone who had a reason to target these particular victims. Judith Guest has written a compelling whodunit with wonderful Michigan ambiance, engrossing characters, and plenty of suspense and red herrings to keep the reader off balance. Sheriff DeWitt is an intelligent and compassionate man who is anxious to bring justice to the victims. Unfortunately, he is too tied to the past to pay close attention to his wife's and even his own pressing emotional needs. "The Tarnished Eye" is an exciting and involving murder mystery in which Judith Guest astutely explores the dark and complex recesses of the human mind.
Rating:
Summary: Carnage in Michigan.
Review: Judith Guest, most celebrated for her classic novel, "Ordinary People," has written a new suspense novel. The protagonist of "The Tarnished Eye" is Sheriff Hugh DeWitt, who lives in Blessed, Michigan, with his wife and young daughter. He is grief-stricken over the sudden death of his infant son, and he and his wife are trying to keep their shaky marriage going. Two other people struggling with marital problems are a wealthy couple, Paige and Edward Norbois, who have an elaborate summer home in Blessed. Edward is a stern and inflexible husband and father. Family disharmony mars what should be an idyllic vacation for Paige, Edward, and their four children. Suddenly, a gruesome multiple homicide shocks the citizens of Blessed, and Sheriff DeWitt is under pressure to make a quick arrest. With few resources at his disposal, Dewitt has to secure the crime scene, interview witnesses, and keep the media frenzy under control. One of his prime objectives is to find out if the murderer is a random psychopath or someone who had a reason to target these particular victims. Judith Guest has written a compelling whodunit with wonderful Michigan ambiance, engrossing characters, and plenty of suspense and red herrings to keep the reader off balance. Sheriff DeWitt is an intelligent and compassionate man who is anxious to bring justice to the victims. Unfortunately, he is too tied to the past to pay close attention to his wife's and even his own pressing emotional needs. "The Tarnished Eye" is an exciting and involving murder mystery in which Judith Guest astutely explores the dark and complex recesses of the human mind.
Rating:
Summary: enjoyable psychological suspense thriller
Review: The small town of Blessed, located in Northern Michigan, is divided into two groups, full time residents and the summer people who live in their "McMansions". Edward and Paige Norbois and their four children don't even bother with the summer residents because the father is a loner who come up to Blessed to get away from people. Except for the youngest children, all the members of the family have a problem or secret they wish to hide. The family is getting ready to fly on their new plane when someone executes everyone except for the little girl who dies from a blow to the head. Sheriff Hugh De Witt takes charge of the investigation but he is very short of help and the Ann Arbor Chief of Police can't help him because he has his own big investigation to cover. Someone is killing female co-eds and the college town is in an uproar wanting the perpetrator found yesterday. As Hugh investigates the killings, he finds a link between the massacre at Norbois' summer home and the Ann Arbor murders. Now he has to do is find out where that link will take him. While working the investigation, the sheriff is learning to let go of the intense pain he has felt ever since his eleven month old died from SIDS. It is fascinating reading about the investigation as the author takes us through it step by step. THE TARNISHED EYE is a very visual book that would make a good movie because the readers come to know and care about the DeWitt family inside a powerful police procedural. Judith Guest has written a very exciting and enjoyable psychological suspense thriller. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Read in one sitting...
Review: Though simply written, this was a novel I couldn't put down. The slower character development in the beginning pays off when the pace picks up mid-novel and never stops. There are plenty of small twists to the plot and every character gets their due. I think the strength of this novel set in Northern Michigan is that it is underwritten. You read on to get more...more sense of the victims, more sense of the community, more sense of the killer. The characters were so real I still find myself thinking about them. Reading this story makes me want to go into the archives and read about the true murders that this story was based on. A VERY intriguing read.
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