Eye of the Beholder

by Jayne Ann Krentz

Best of the Best. J.L. Trask, a hard-nosed hotelier trying to unearth the truth about his father's murder 12 years before, believes his father's business partner Lloyd Kenyon committed the crime. When it turns out that Alexa Chambers, the beautiful art expert he hires to decorate Avalon, his new Arizona resort hotel, is Kenyon's stepdaughter all grown up, passions flare. Together, they search for a killer among the Avalon clientele and find love along the way.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Mystery, Suspense, Fiction

390 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

The author of over 50 consecutive New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 30 million copies of her books in print.

She earned a B.A. in History from the University of California at Santa Cruz and went on to obtain a Masters degree in Library Science from San Jose State University in California. Before she began writing full time she worked as a librarian in both academic and corporate libraries.

Reviews

[Kat valentine ( Katsbookcornerreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this book about 10 years ago, but i found it again. i love this book.jayne ann krentz books are so good, and this is a good book, the heat between alexa and trash is hot, and the mystery of what happened long ago made this book a must read!

[Lark of The Bookwyrm's Hoard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jayne Ann Krentz may not be great literature, but she knows how to tell a story and how to keep me turning the pages—and when I'm stressed out, that's exactly what I want. Eye of the Beholder (1999) is classic Krentz: a powerful, driven, and somewhat wounded hero, a feisty and intelligent heroine, snappy dialog, plenty of romantic/sexual tension, and a mystery that puts one or both characters in danger.

In this case, Trask's arrival in town to discover the truth behind his father's death thirteen years earlier stirs up a series of dangerous events in the present, from threats to both Trask and Alexa, to several deaths and near-fatal accidents involving other people. Trask is the owner and CEO of a hotel conglomerate which has just opened a new resort in Aurora. Alexa's involvement stems from two things: she is the stepdaughter of one of the two men Trask believes were behind his father's death, and she's the art expert who put together the Art Deco collection that graces the resort. She had to work anonymously through another dealer, because her reputation was shredded two years ago when she blew the whistle on an art fraud and was erroneously thought to be involved. Their conflicting goals—Alexa believes her stepfather is innocent, and wants to restore her professional reputation, while Trask wants the truth and probably revenge—put them at odds more than once, but it becomes clear they'll have to work together to get what they both want.

One thing that often bothers me about the relationships in Krentz's novels is how quickly the main characters progress from attraction to sex, usually before they've worked out the problems in their relationship (let alone truly committed to each other.) In this case, neither fully trusts the other initially, which would seem to me a recipe for disaster. That it doesn't end up being a disaster is largely thanks to the fact that it's fiction; you know things will work out all right because it's romantic suspense, rather than because the characters are deeply in love at that point.

That complaint apart, Trask and Alexa are an interesting pair, and their relationship, while prickly at times, evolves into one of partnership and trust.

There are fewer interesting or well-developed secondary characters in Eye of the Beholder than in some of Krentz's other books. Most are there purely for the plot, or to highlight some characteristic of one of the main characters. Alexa seems particularly alone: she has business acquaintances and her art-dealer friend, but her mother and stepfather are out of town and she has no close friends. Krentz's heroes are often loners, so I wasn't surprised that Trask's brother wasn't much in evidence, but I missed the variety offered by the more interesting and eclectic (often eccentric) secondary characters from other books.

Krentz describes Aurora as "the next Sedona", and the fictional town is clearly modeled on the real one, from its geography to its New Age mystique. Krentz has written other books set in similar towns, but I had fun reading this one having spent some time in Sedona last summer. I was easily able to picture the red rock formations, the heat, the darkness of the desert night, the dryness that makes water in the desert "seductive" (in Krentz's phrase.)

All in all, Eye of the Beholder isn't my favorite of Krentz's novels, but it kept me entertained and involved in the story—a welcome distraction from real-life stresses.

Edited to add: I reread Eye of the Beholder in 2025. It holds up remarkably well, and I'm bumping my rating from 3.5 to 4 stars.


Review originally published on The Bookwyrm's Hoard.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narration on this unabridged audiobook by Jen Taylor brings an average, fun read up a notch to a better-than-average one. While Ms. Taylor's male voices didn't always work, her delivery was excellent. She gave the heroine real personality, infusing her dialog with nuance, changing speed and pitch more like an actress than a narrator.

I like Jayne Ann Krentz. I know what I'm getting when I pick up one of her books, and while I'm rarely surprised, I'm also rarely disappointed. (Occasionally, I am very pleasantly surprised, like with Sweet Starfire.) The story in Eye of the Beholder is classic JAK, enjoyable but nothing new. The narration made a good book better.

[Cruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
First published: 1999
Length: 399 pages (Large Print)
Setting: Contemporary. Avalon, Arizona.
Sex: Reasonably frequent and excerpt.
Hero: Co-owner of hotel group.
Heroine: Expert in early-twentieth-century art and owner of gift shop.

Krentz/Castle/Quick’s heroines have a tendency to be joyful, intelligent, slightly ditzy characters. In Eye of the Beholder Krentz has toned the ditz down, making Alexa intelligent and normal. A watered-down but possibly more appealing heroine.

With Trask we have a young, moody, questioning hero-with-a-cause. Again, a moderate version of Krentz/Castle/Quick’s oft-used older, stoic hero but with the standard respect for the heroine. Quick often has the hero guiding her natural exuberance; in a bit of a twist, Alexa is the one directing Trask’s desire to jump to conclusions.

Overall, Eye of the Beholder is a good, enjoyable contemporary romantic-mystery/suspense with a BadGuy that’s not completely obvious but part of the story from the beginning and a hero and heroine with believable HEA.

References:
Author's website: http://jayneannkrentz.com/eye-of-the-...

(ISBN 1-56895-760-2)

-CR-

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable? Yes. Engrossing? very.
I didn’t particularly like Trask or Alexa when I started the book, but I really liked them together.

[Kaitlyn Dunnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one.

[Tyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragostea de oarbă de Amanda Quick ne încântă cu o acțiune plină de suspans și mister, condimentată cu mult umor, personaje pitorești, decoruri exotice și o fermecătoare poveste de dragoste.

Recenzia mea:

https://www.delicateseliterare.ro/dra...

[Farah · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a little boring .. Alexa and Trask seemed to lack something that would have brought them more to life and the connection between them was really weak as for the murder mystery .. the conclusion was very anti climatic .. it was a MEH no more .. no less.

[Debra McEathron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The mystery was great it left you guessing til the end. The paranormal stuff was okay which was not the focus of the story anyway. The main characters were great together and the ending was very funny.

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite off all her books that I have read. Plot? Dialogue? Characters? None of it engaged me.

[Ada Iaboni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, I have to forgive Jayne Ann. This is one of her early works.
It was simple and not very interesting, but a fast read without too much mental involvement from the reader.

[Shirlene]

John Laird Trask entered the home of one of his father's business partners, Lloyd Kenyon and accused him of having something to do with the accident that had killed his father. He was in town to bury his father and told Lloyd that he would return one day and find out the truth of what happened. Trask was convinced that either Lloyd or his father's other partner, Dean Guthrie had something do with his father dying. Lloyd told him that it was just a horrible accident.
Alexa Chambers and her mother had moved in with Lloyd just 18 months ago after her parents had divorced. Her father had been dead almost a year. He was a journalist who had been killed by a sniper's bullet. She was in the house the night that Trask came by. She snuck downstairs and told him to leave or she was going to call the police. Trask left.
12 years later...Trask was now the CEO of Avalon Resorts, Inc. and his brother, Nathan, also worked with him. Their mother had died shortly after Nathan was born and his father died in a car accident. They were based in Seattle, WA and had purchased a mansion in Avalon, Arizona and converted it into a Resort & Spa. Edward Vale had been hired to arrange the artwork but he was using the expertise of Alexa Chambers to purchase and place the artwork in the hotel. Alexa had lost her position in the art world after having been betrayed by her best friend and employer, McClelland three years previous. McClelland had arranged for Edward to purchase one of her pieces, a replicated art piece as an original but Alexa caught the forgery and asked that Edward not display in during the opening. Edward hesitated but agreed to wait on displaying it rather than dispose of it outright. She was helping Edward without telling anyone until the hotel grand opening was pronounced a success and then Edward would let everyone know that she had done the work and she would re-establish herself as an art critic. She would get her reputation and her career back.
Trask came to town for the grand opening with revenge also on his mind. He recognized Alexa and found out that she was on the guest list for the opening. He also noticed that she was attractive and not yet married. He asked his PR rep, Glenda Blaine, to find out what connection she had to the hotel and to find out why she was coming to the opening. He had invited Guthrie and Lloyd but both refused his invitation. Guthrie just said 'no' and the Kenyon's were in Hawaii for the month, on purpose.
Alexa was working with Foster Radstone, the number two man at Dimensions Institute, a metaphysical retreat in town. Webster Bell was the leader. She was working with Foster, planning events for the Avalon Spring Festival. Her parents had suggested she get involved in the hopes of meeting someone to date. Alexa had dated Foster but felt like she was being patronized by him. She didn't like him much and was glad that their committee meetings were coming to a close with the festival getting ready to begin.
Trask came to town and saw Alexa at the grand opening as she was trying to hide the replicated piece. Trask calmly accused her of trying to hide it in order to take it later when Alexa had to explain to him that it was a replication. Trask believed her and told her that he wanted to take her home to talk to her. Alexa left on her own but Trask still came by later. He told her that he was in town to stir things up a little to see if he could gather more information on his father's death. Even after 12 years, he still thought it wasn't an accident. Alexa agreed to go along with him even if she didn't necessarily agree with him. She told him that she wanted any evidence he found that incriminated either her stepfather or Guthrie run by her first. Trask agreed. Alexa knew that they were attracted to each other and agreed to have dinner with him the next evening.
They went out to eat and someone smashed in the windshield of his jeep and attacked the two of them. Guthrie drove up drunk as the attackers ran off. No one saw anything other than Guthrie and Trask arguing so the police chief pretty much blew off the incident. He said with the festival going on it would be difficult to spot someone who supposedly attacked them. No one got hurt and nothing was stolen. They had no names, no description, no license plate and no witness.
Trask took Alexa back to his hotel and they had sex in the room with pools and fountains. Alexa went home and got a call warning her to stay away from Trask about 2:30 am.
Dylan Fenn owned a bookstore next door to Alexa's gift shop. Webster was having a book signing for his new book there. Edward came by to tell Alexa by and Dylan stopped Alexa as she was on her way to Café Solstice for a cup of tea. They all warned her to not get involved with Trask. Trask was dealing with the same type of thing with his brother and Joanna Bell, brother of Webster and the girlfriend of Harry Trask when he died. She was the financial backer for Dimensions Institute and Webster was against their relationship because he was afraid of Harry using her money to finance his dreams and taking money away that Webster needed to expand Dimensions.
Trask came by the shop to see if Alexa wanted to go to dinner with him again. Alexa told him to come to her place. He did and they heard a noise as they were finishing their meal. It was the sound of a car going up in flames. It was at the same location as Harry's accident, only this time it was Guthrie's vehicle.
Alexa went to see his ex-wife, Liz, the next morning after calling and speaking to her. She was no where to be found when Alexa arrived. She went inside through the back door and saw a hooded man with a knife and ran out. She ran up a hill out back and caused rocks to fall on the person who ran off. Alexa called the police about Liz being missing and was taken as hallucinating. The police obviously didn't believe her story.
Trask that he needed to stay with Alexa because she wasn't safe alone. Alexa got another phone call around 2 am. It was her third such call warning her to stop looking into the past. She went to work a town meeting in the morning and heard that Joanna Bell wasn't feeling well. She called and talked to her. Joanna asked for some tea from Café Solstice. Alexa went to pick it up from the owner, Steward Lutton, and tried to call Joanna again, this time she didn't answer. Alexa went around back and found her passed out on the floor. Alexa found a spare key and went inside. She smelled gas and call 911. She took Joanna outside and Joanna kept apologizing and telling her that she saw monsters. Alexa noticed that she had found some tea after all. She was taken to the hospital and Trask arrived and called her brother. He had found out that morning that Radstone had changed his name from Fletcher Richards and that he had been a financial planner that had ripped off a bunch of seniors. Radstone answered the phone and Trask told him to get Webster. Radstone did but he also stayed on the line listening. Webster told Radstone to take him to the hospital. The two of them came to see Alexa later that night and told her and Trask that they were going to admit Joanna into a mental hospital until she was better. They were doing this because they believed that Joanna had tried to kill herself.
Trask told Joanna that he wanted to break into the Institute to look into their files. Trask had worked with a private investigator and found out that 12 years ago his father was threatening to withdraw his funding from Institute to fund another project. The Institute got their funding with the death of Harry. Guthrie was also considering withdrawing some funding from the Institute when he had died. Trask felt like this was too much of a coincidence.
Alexa and Trask decided to break into the Institute the night of the festival fireworks display. They got into the building and Trask hid in the bathroom when he heard somebody walking in the hallway. He saw Radstone going into his office and heard him arguing with someone. Trask threw a computer that he was carrying into the room as the other person was aiming a gun at Radstone. Radstone was hit but not dead. He kept mumbling something about 'the Guardian' then he was taken to the hospital. The shooter escaped through a window in the office. Trask picked up a file labeled after Alexa Chambers on his way out when he noticed several files scattered around the desk.
Alexa and Trask were now in his office at the hotel and Trask showed Alexa the file that he had taken. The file was a dossier on Alexa. It had personal information on her. It was proof that Radstone had dated Alexa in order for the Institute to acquire her money.
Room service arrived with tea and it reminded her of Joanna asking for tea and then finding it with Joanna. Alexa had found an old magazine in Joanna's place that told about her relationship with McClellan and felt like Joanna might have been the person making the late night calls to warn her off of looking into Harry's death. Alexa then thought that maybe Stewart had taken tea to Joanna and rigged the gas to leak after she had taken a couple of tranquilizers because she wasn't feeling well. Stewart lived in an old RV and knew his way around gas lines since his RV used propane for fuel. They decided they had another suspect now and called to talk to Chief Strood about their suspicions. Strood was unavailable because he had been called to the scene of an accident. He called a short time later and Trask told him of his suspicions. Strood told him that the accident he had been called to was due to Stewart having driven his motorcycle off a cliff. They had found a note in his RV stating that the Guardian's work was finished. He had only been in Avalon for five years so Trask's father's death had to have been an accident. Stewart admitted to having killed Guthrie and he had attempted to kill Joanna Bell and Foster Radstone.
Alexa was back at work and was unpacking some of the gargoyles that she sold in her store when she remembered something that Joanna had said about it being with the monsters. Alexa went into the supply room of her store and began going through the boxes of gargoyles. She then heard a familiar voice from the front of her store. It was Harriett McClelland.
She continued looking through the boxes and asked McClelland why she was there and was told by Mac that she needed Alexa's help. Alexa soon found Joanna's meditation journal between the boxes of gargoyles and then she paused. She remembered that she had seen Dylan Fenn and he didn't have his Dimension bracelet on. She realized that he lost it when he had shot Radstone. He was the killer. She turned around to see Dylan in the doorway with a gun. He told Alexa that he had sacrificed the others to maintain the funding for the Institute. He had been told in a dream that he was the Guardian. Harriett pretended to be having a heart attack to distract him. Webster and Trask soon arrived and Webster told him to put the gun down. Trask picked up a gargoyle and threw it. It hit Dylan in the temple and he went down.
Three weeks later, Alexa asked Lloyd to give her away when she married Trask. He agreed.
Two months later, Alexa and Trask were married. Harriet presented Alexa with an advance copy of the magazine that had destroyed her career. It stated that she had set up the exhibit for the Avalon hotel. It also said that the owner was now collecting replications of artifacts for his private collections. Trask took offense to being called eccentric but Alexa told him that some of the forgeries would soon be more valuable than the real thing. Trask was OK with that.

[L & J Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute semi spicy romantic mystery with a touch of humor. Alexa Chambers had a great career as an art consultant until she blows the whistle on her former employer for making and selling forgeries. Her career in tatters she retreats to her former hometown and becomes a shopkeeper, but a former client hires her to consult on a contract to establish an Art Deco artwork collection for a boutique hotel being built in her hometown. Unfortunately the owner is the son of a man who was a business partner with her stepfather 12 years prior. When the man died under suspicious circumstances the son vowed to return to find his father’s killer. And now he has returned.

[Missy LeDoux · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read, not amazing literature, but a good time, and what do I love if not a plot that keeps the pages turning?

[Sep · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before the book starts, Alexa's reputation as an Art Deco expert was trashed by her dishonest boss. As a child, she was scared to death by J.L. Trask when he accused her step-father of murdering his father.

Now, she has a second chance to secretly organize an Art Deco exhibit that will salvage her art career. Unfortunately, the exhibit's owner turns out to be none other than J.L. Trask.

Lovely romance set in Arizona, "Eye" deals with second and third chances, forgiveness, and murder.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gave me everything I read a Jayne Ann Krentz book for: romantic leads thrown together to solve a dangerous mystery. Set in Arizona, this one makes me want to visit the area to see the amazing scenery. Good mystery with twists I didn't figure out ahead of time.

[Ginger Mcclintick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book.

[Barbara Leuthe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the mix of mystery/romance.This book brings a lot of suspense .

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable. I liked the characters and the writer's style.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

**MINOR SPOILERS**
This book is a standalone.
JL Trask believes that Alexa’s stepfather and his partner are responsible for the death of his father. In the opening prologue he comes to Alexa’s family home and vows to find out what really happened. Years later, he has become rich (in an amazingly short period of time) and returns to the town in Arizona to open a hotel and to finally find out what happened.
Alexa had an unfortunate run in with an art forger which has resulted in her losing her career as an art expert. She now owns a shop that sells replicas of art while she tries of think of a way she can redeem her reputation. Behind the scenes and through a different friend, she looks at a piece of art that will go into Trask’s new hotel and knows it is a forgery made by her former boss. How this situation progresses is one of the storylines of the book.
In the main storyline, Trask and Alexa begin to work together to find out what happened when his father died. In doing so, they stir up trouble in the town related to both the past and the present. They persist in looking for clues even in the face of obstacles. The story is interesting.
They begin a relationship that really works for them and I think they are a good balance for each other. They are caring and supportive where needed but also they challenge each other where needed as well.
The dialogue is realistic and sometimes funny. The pace is perfect. The secondary characters are well developed.
I find the author’s early works to be rough and full of overbearing, chauvinistic males and bubbly females that put up with their attitudes or are attracted to it. In this book, there is an equality between the two main characters and mutual respect.
I will suggest that anyone who wants to give this author a try start with her later books. I liked this book.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My score: 3.5
Twelve years after his father’s suspicious (to Trask anyway) death, hotel mogul J.L. Trask returns to Avalon AZ to open his father’s dream, a magnificent resort and spa. The old-timers like Alexa Chambers assume Trask is also coming to investigate his father’s death. Alexa wants to protect her step-father, a partner of Trask’s father at the time of his death.

The hotel opening is planned to coincide with the annual spiritual festival at the Dimensions Institute. Suspicious deaths occur as well as threats making Trask’s conspiracy theories seem more likely. There is, of course, a serious attraction between Trask and Alexa. The suspense of the mysteries amplify the relationship tension. Eventually the mysteries are satisfactorily resolved. Another successful Krentz title. Recommended.

Readalikes:
Julie Garwood – Wired; Sandra Brown – Sting; Linda Howard – The Woman Left Behind; Heather Graham – Echoes of Evil; Karen Robards – Shattered; Amanda Quick – The Perfect Poison;

Pace: Fast
Characters: Well-developed w/in Krentz world; likeable
Story: Plot-driven
Writing style: Engaging; banter
Tone: Upbeat; suspenseful; steamy
Frame: Arizona, Seattle; Contemporary

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A combined murder mystery, romance novel. Not really my kind of book, but I read it on a lark to try something different. This makes my rating lower than it might be. The romance part is rather straightforward; the male love interest to just too stereotypical to bear. The sex is explicit at times, but feels passion-less. The murder mystery is part is poorly done, with way too many deaths, and an out-of-the-blue resolution.

The female lead, Alexa Chambers, is more interesting. She is a art expert who has been ousted from the art community for being involved in the sale of forgeries. As it turns out, she was completely innocent, and she was the only one who spotted and revealed the forgeries. So why she would be blamed makes no sense at all. But at any rate, she is determined to reestablish herself as an art expert in good standing with an international reputation.

[HeatherMarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took several chapters for me to get into it, but I eventually did. I noticed several reviews appreciated the “banter” between the leads, but I did not. It was very Lifetime movie/CW/low budget dialogue to me. What I did like, however, was the setting. I would definitely read more books set in this beautiful place, with the mysterious Dimensions Institute looming behind. I appreciated the little shops based on metaphysical themes, and I found the characters (although some were a tad flat) easy to envision. Plus, the storyline isn’t what you’d come across in most fluff reads. It’s definitely different in that respect. All in all, although it took a minute to engage me, it became a nice distraction I looked forward to in the evening, with a cup of tea.

[Btrflies · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t really like this. Got so monotonous with all the “theories” that seemed to go around and around in circles. Was hard to figure out if they liked each other or not, the inner dialogue was incomplete and not clear. There were WAY too many characters to keep track of. And only one love scene in the very beginning to carry the entire relationship? Definitely not my favorite book. This was my first time reading from this author. I may give her one more chance just in case this was an anomaly and maybe I just wasn’t in the right mind to enjoy it. Took me a long time to finish because I just didn’t care too much about what was happening.

[Elena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was really very underwhelming. Both on the romance and mystery fronts. The mystery started off well - but then really made no sense from middle onward. In the end , the culprit had to spell out and detail why he did what he did in order for the readers to understand what happened . Still - it made very little sense! The romance had the potential to be good, but instead fell flat.
Disappointed :(

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a JAK book regardless of the pen name she uses. Some don't, but I enjoy them. Eye of the Beholder is an earlier book (1999, I think), so I'm surprised I hadn't read it. I didn't figure out 'whodunit' until the end. But the description and background were great! It had the best opening line I've read in a long time. Not only did that opening line cause me to read the book, it delivered on its promise throughout the story.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the main characters. Trask and Alexa were a good team. It was interesting but one thing left me confused, and it was the age difference or how much time certain things lasted. At certain times when author would mention years (how long Trask was working/time passed/how old was Alexa before and after ...) it didn't add up. But nevertheless it was a good read.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually enjoy this author's books (no matter which names she is writing under) so I was confused as to why this wasn't up to her usual standard. It wasn't until I finished that I realized this was written in 2010. This might explain the use of adjectives like very and really along with the jarring placement of the word thronged. The MMC remained flat throughout.

[Dewey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Little emotion or connection between the two main characters. Several other characters in this town but nothing that grabs my attention. There's a mystery but, overall, little plot. There's an attempt at a 'noir' mystery feeling I think. The whole metaphysical vortices thing is silly. Overall, boring. DNF.

[Cindy Gilmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting throughout

This is one of the best Jayne Ann Krentz books that I have read. Kept me glued to the book from start to finish! Great characters with suspense and humor well balanced.