Anyone who knows me will know that romantic suspense is my first love. Don't Close Your Eyes was the perfect sexy and mysterious romantic suspense story filled with adrenaline pumping moments and heart pounding swoony instances. It was the perfect balance and I loved every second of it. Without giving away any spoilers just know that this story is filled with nerve wracking suspense. Mark and Annie were so sexy and addicting. I was lost in the story from the getgo and could not get enough of the family secrets, revelations and intrnse moments. All in all this was fantastic!

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.

Don’t Close Your Eyes by Christie Craig is the first book in the romantic suspense Texas Justice series. This opening book of the Texas Justice series features Annie Lakes who finds herself seeking help from Mark Sutton.

Annie has grown up battling reoccurring nightmares that always seem to mean something that she just can’t quite remember. When her uncle passes away from her mother’s side of the family Annie reluctantly agrees to attend the funeral even though she barely knows any of those relatives. While at the funeral however Annie meets a cousin that sheds some light onto Annie’s nightmares and after all this time things begin coming back.

The memories flooding Annie don’t quite make sense but what she does know is that she needs to contact the police and have them look into a cousin that Annie barely remembers. Mark Sutton is the detective that Annie pleads her case to try to get answers to what happened all those years before. Mark may have only been moved to the cold case division as a punishment but he still seeks justice for those that need it.

Don’t Close Your Eyes had some interesting things going on in it as far as the mystery and suspense were concerned. You have old buried family secrets that come to the surface and an air of danger happening in the present. What I would have liked though is more to the romance side of things, instead it felt rushed into. Annie and Mark have barely been introduced before they end up “together” so I never felt connected to their relationship or invested in them as a couple and just waited for the answers to the mystery instead leaving me with a feeling of this was alright but could have been better.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

In DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES (Texas Justice #1) by Christie Craig (due out August 28th 2018 by Forever), Annie Lakes reconnects with her mother's side of the family only to realize that they are hiding a major secret. Annie has been plagued by the same nightmare ever since she was a little girl. Reconnecting with her mother's family causes her to realize that this nightmare is more than just a dream - everything in the nightmare really happened. When Annie was a little girl, her cousin, Jenny, died under mysterious circumstances and Annie and another cousin witnessed her body being disposed of. Annie has no way of proving any of this. And her family sure isn't talking. Enlisting the help of Detective Mark Sutton of the cold case squad, the two work together to find out what happened to Annie's cousin.

I found DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES to be a an interesting read, but I just couldn't get into it like I wanted to. I think that had to do with the two main characters - I didn't like either of them and couldn't bring myself to really care about what happened to them. Annie comes off as crazy and immature. And Sutton was just annoying. Other than not liking any of the characters, I did find the main mystery to be compelling. I did want to know what happened to Annie's cousin just because the family seemed so intent on keeping it covered up. The secondary mysteries - what is going on with Annie's mother's family, who is threatening Annie's life, where is cousin Fran, and Sutton's investigation into a little girl who was murdered years earlier - all provide extra storylines that help enhance the main story. There is also a romantic storyline between Annie and Sutton that might keep certain readers engaged - personally, I didn't care. While all of the storylines were interesting, I felt that the mysteries all wrapped up a little too neatly and quickly. I also found some of the outcomes to be a little bit of a let down and anticlimactic. Aside from that, it was an all right novel.

From first to last page Christie Craig will have readers up late into the night trying to understand what happened to Annie Lakes as a child and what secret her family will kill to keep hidden.

Don't Close Your Eyes starts off with Mark Sutton lusting after Annie Lakes which quickly turns the story into sexy time. Don't give up and just bypass all the romance because the mystery in the romance will have readers hooked and needing to finish before they go to bed.

Annie is a likable character while the relationship starts off as sex so yes this mystery has sex, guns, interesting family members and a dream that will not let go.



While the story seems to be mainly forced on the romance mystery readers will enjoy it as well. Not to mention the kind moments the characters are able to do that might just have readers wanting to try in their lives.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Forever advance copy of Christie Craig Don't Close your Eyes.

I DNFd Don't Close Your Eyes at 16% and will not be writing an official review on my blog. I did not enjoy Mark and his bro conversations with the other guys at the police department. Too cocky and superficial. Actually, I wanted less of the police department all together. It was reading morel like crime fiction than romantic suspense for me, which I didn't like. I was struggling with Annie's voice as well, but then this quote popped up that was the final straw for me: “She’d reached down and snatched up her big-girl panties. Pulled them up so tight, she got mental camel toes.” Aside from the fact that that is a super unappealing pair of sentences for multiple reasons, I feel bad for a woman who can have TWO camel toes at the same time. That's some seriously unfortunate anatomy there. I didn't love the sentence structure and writing throughout, and nothing else about the book was working for me either.

This book is one of those you can't put down and I can't wait to read more in this series. Christie Craig has mastered that skill.

The characters in this book are so lifelike. You feel the pain and fear they are experiencing. Annie keeps having this reoccurring nightmare and soon discovers it might not be just a nightmare at all but what does it mean? She decides to talk with a Detective Sutton whom she sees everyday at a local coffee shop but has yet to actually meet. What she doesn't know is that the detective is battling an inner nightmare of his own.

This book is a little different for this author. There is more mystery and drama in this story and less humor than you normally read in her books. Fantastic book though and I am excited to read more!

This was my first experience with Christie Craig and I was not let down. Thanks to #Netgalley for the DRC

Anna Lakes has experienced the same nightmare for years. Five years old, dark woods, running, scared, tripping, hands grabbing her, blood-curdling scream. Annie’s mother denies the source of the dreams as being anything more nefarious than some misplaced anxiety over a scary movie Annie watched as a teen. Annie isn’t quite convinced. The nightmares have always left Annie with a haunting feeling. After attending a funeral for an uncle that she barely knew, Annie starts to remember a cousin she had long forgotten. A cousin that is related to those nightmares and is missing. With limited information, she attempts to elicit the help of Detective Mark Sutton, a man that she has idolized from afar at the coffee shop they both frequent. Annie realizes she may have made a mistake when the initial meeting with Mark does not go as planned and the detective treats her like she’ may be crazy. Annie doe not do well with that mind set. She has lost too much to people who did not believe her. She has lost everything to that. Her job, her fiancé, her friends. Detective Sutton's mind may think she’s a little off but he cannot let her go, he feels drawn to her and his gut is telling him that she is on to something. As they begin to work to uncover the limited evidence there is of a girl that may or may not have existed, Mark and Annie become closer. Both have personal demons to overcome and Annie has the harsh reality of her life, as she knows it, becoming undone. Who can she trust when she can't trust her own memories?

There was a lot going on in this book regarding the plot. I, myself, appreciate a tight plot without
cursory events occurring that don’t contribute to the story. The other cold case in the book that was happening concurrently was interesting but I when it did not tie into Annie’s story, it felt anticlimactic. I do understand the insight it gave into Sutton and the undertone of his character but it felt like that could have been its own book in and of itself if expounded upon a bit more. In addition, there were a few loose ends that were just left hanging. However, overall, this was a good book. I give 4 stars. The characters were relatable with hints of light humor. The suspense factor kept us guessing up until the end.

Annie Lakes is a college professor with what seems to be a normal life. She has one recurring dream that she doesn’t know has truth to it. Until she has to go to a funeral with her mother. Some of the truth comes out when her cousin talks to her.

Mark is a detective of a cold case unit with is own baggage. He has been working on missing kid cases for awhile now. Each case has been taking a piece of his soul.

Don’t close your eyes has everything a book needs to keep you reading. Suspense that keeps you guessing. sexy moments that make you melt like the hottest day in Texas. Romance that makes you wish you the one in the book.
Dysfunctional family that makes you glad they are not your own.
I have given this book five stars. Excellent read
Annie goes to Mark for help to find out what happened to her little cousin those many years ago.

What would you do if everything you thought was true about your family turned out to be a lie?
THAT QUESTION plaques English professor Annie Lakes in Christie Craig's new book DOn't CLose your eyes.
lifelong recurrent nightmare has made Annie's like unbearable. She's never known her mother's side of the family but when her uncle dies, her mom forces her to go to the funereal with her. There, Annie reconnects with a family she has vague memories of and a cousin who's played a starring role in her nightmares. When she starts to think the nightmares aren't really dreams, but memories that have surfaced, Annie engages the help of Cold Case Detective Mark Sutton to help her solve the mystery of a little girl's death.
This was a reallly good story. Craig is more well known to me as a comedic/romantic writer, so this was a nice change. The characters were well constructed and the plot line was good.
Thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book. 4 STARS FROM ME.

I have read Christie Craig books in the past, but, this is the first romantic suspense book that I have read by her. I really enjoyed this book, This is the first book in this series and I will definitely be watching for more books in this series and hope they are about the other two detectives in the cold case unit. There is lots of emotion and drama in this book

Don’t Close Your Eyes is the first book in the new Texas Justice series. Annie has dreams about an event in her past that she’s looking for answers to. Mark is the sexy detective she thinks will help find those. I found myself turning the pages quickly to find out who did it. It kept me guessing all the way to the end. Great start to this new series. I’ll be looking for more!

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Mysteries abound in this new series based in a small town in Texas. Its centered around 3 police detectives who after being put on probation are demoted to the Cold Case Unit.

Detective Mark Sutton lives with many demons and he tends to drown them in a bottle on his off hours. Even though the cold cases are supposed to be a punishment he does everything possible to get justice for the victims many of whom are children.

Annie Lakes has suffered from nightmares since she was a little girl. She saw something traumatic as a young girl and her mind has since blocked it out. In trying to bridge a relationship with her estranged mother, she agrees to go to her uncle funeral with her mom (her moms family being one her father when he was alive forbid her mother from every bringing Annie around). Seeing relatives she hasn't seen since she was little triggers her memory to that night long along when her cousin disappeared. Annie takes her suspicions to the police which lands in Mark's lap and he has to decide whether she is crazy like the family she from or if she is telling the truth – all while fighting an intense attraction to her.

The investigations into both cases keeps your attention and the two flawed leads have you rooting for them to face the demons of their past so they can get together. I am hoping that the next books will be about the other two detectives that were put on probation with Mark. Overall a good start to a new series.

I was sent this book from the publisher. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

If you love mystery/suspense with steamy romance, then Don’t Close Your Eyes is the book for you. This is a detective story following cold cases and sexy Mark Sutton. This does involve murders and deaths around children as several of the cases being investigated involved children. Annie Lakes enters the story, and Mark has to decide if he believes that she seen her cousin being buried when they were children or if she is crazy. As they begin to unfold a family old mystery, they also have to navigate their attraction for one another.

There was so much going on in this story to keep my interest. As soon as this started, we had family secrets involving Mark, Annie, and the cold cases. I was not sure if this was actually the first book in the series, but it is. Do not worry though as everything will be unraveled the more you read. We learn about the dark pasts involving Mark and his childhood, we meet Annie’s crazy mean family, and learn what happened to a missing/murdered child. You will also get to see what others will do to keep these secrets buried for good. Along the way, you will read about addiction, murder, child abuse (both physical and sexual), and more. It is a wild ride and will keep your heart pounding until the end.

The ending was rushed a little bit, and it does lead into possible cases for book two in the series. I think this could have been about fifty pages less with some parts less dragged out. I was not a huge fan of how everything wrapped up with Annie and her family. I wanted a little more around this mystery/murder and a little more towards the end. I know this is the first book in the Texas Justice series, so we may get more later though.

In the beginning, the men do come off pretty sexist, but I am not too critical around those things as long as you can identify them as problematic. It did not take away from the story for me personally, but worth mentioning.

Overall, this was a very captivating mystery that kept my interest until the end. I ended up really enjoying it and can’t wait to see what the next cold case/homicide will bring.

I have read a couple of Ms. Craig's romantic comedies in the past and really enjoyed them, and since I'm a big fan of romantic suspense, I was excited to have the opportunity to read this new title. The main characters, Mark and Annie, are likeable and easy to connect with. Their connection with each other is strong as well. The suspense element kept me interested throughout, and I didn't know who was behind the murder until it was revealed by the author. All of these things made for a pretty enjoyable read. What detracted considerably from that enjoyment, however, was the fact that I felt like I was reading a rough draft. I realize that this is an ARC, but the copy I read was not ready for distribution; it contained plot inconsistencies, distractions such as names being spelled differently in places, and then of course numerous grammatical errors. I can get past the grammatical errors in an ARC because most ARCs have not yet been through the final proofread stage, but this copy appears to have not even been through the editing stage. I hope this is remedied because these issues make what could be a 4-5 star book more like a 2-3 star book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing an ARC for review.