Breakaway Books

Authored by Lisa Unger; Published February 2025; Thriller

⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️

If you’re looking for a treatise on the corroding effects of social media, Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 will definitely prove the point. But, as a thriller, it left something to be desired.

In Close Your Eyes and Count to 10, Adele, a mother of two, is struggling to make ends meet after her highly successful husband runs away from charges of embezzlement at his company. Her social-media savvy son convinces her to sign up for a game of extreme hide and seek on a deserted Brazilian island to make some extra cash to support the family. When Adele arrives, she finds that she has walked into a storm of conflict between the members of the company that is hosting the challenge, Extreme, as well as a literal storm. To survive, she’ll have to delve more into Extreme’s history than she bargained for.

Overall, there were just too many characters to focus on in this story and too many plot lines to invest in fulsomely. At times, I thought the story was anchored by Adele’s perspective and her desire to protect her two kids; at other times, it seemed clear that the novel was really about Extreme and how its founder Maverick had brought it down and disappointed all his friends. It felt like none of the characters really got their due, and I didn’t find myself particularly invested in the lives (or deaths) of any of them. The perspective constantly jumped back and forth between characters and time periods, adding to the confusion without contributing quite enough to the development of any of the characters to make me care.

The beginning of the novel was promising, with a radical shaman greeting the employees Extreme with vague warnings of doom and earth upon their arrival at the island. Pair that with an abandoned island hotel that is falling apart, and the creepy vibes were completely on point. But, the haunting atmosphere didn’t quite carry through to the climax, and, without spoiling anything, it felt like the final confrontation was a bit of a letdown. The villains came off far too one-dimensional, even maniacal, when to me, it seemed they could have been complex and compelling—if more time and attention had been spent developing their motives, or really, anyone’s motives. 

If you’re hoping to live out a fantasy of a massive adult game of hide and seek, don’t pick this one—the game is not the focus. Better to go out and enjoy the game yourself!