The Naked Eye

A Nebraska Mystery #5

by William J. Reynolds

Forced to take on false indentities and going undercover to find out who is trying to kill him, Nebraska unearths a world of real estate scams and drug dealing

316 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Omaha native WILLIAM J REYNOLDS graduated from Creighton University and is the author of a very popular mystery series based on the exploits of a part-time detective and part-time writer named "Nebraska" who refuses to tell anyone his first name. Reynolds' six mysteries include The Nebraska Quotient, Things Invisible, and Drive-By. He is also the author of many short stories, magazine articles, and non-fiction. He is a member of the Authors Guild and a past board member of the Mystery Writers of America. He was named the South Dakota Author of the Year in 1987 and holds the Key to the City of Omaha and is an Admiral in the "Great Navy of the State of Nebraska." The author lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brash Publishers are digitally reissuing these oldies but goodies, though the only listing for this book on GR currently is that of an old paperback. Ok, let’s go with that, then. There’s also only one review, which doesn’t speak volume to the book’s popularity. Then book has been out for decades.
This is the fifth volume in Reynolds’ Nebraska series. It’s also a good indicator of why there were only ever six of them for it is much too long and drawn out of a story. The strategically never first named Nebraska has originally attracted me with his wham-bam thank you m’am approach. His neo-noir adventures were fun and succinct, entertaining while never overstaying their welcome. And Nebraska is a fun - and funny - guy, always juggling his aspiring writing career with his reluctant private eye work.
This time, though, there’s less of the juggling, virtually none of the clever meta detective talk, less jokes and more words, great many words.
It begins with Nebraska saving a teenage gay boy from lechery – kudos for Nebraska and how very progressive for the time. But by doing so, Nebraska steps on some toes he maybe shouldn’t have. The toes trace back to a wealthy connected family in Minneapolis and soon Nebraska finds himself at the proverbial crosshairs as a target of revenge. Nebraska is exposed now...hence the title. Get it? Get it? Good.
In order to get out of this bind, Nebraska assumes one of his secret perfectly documented other lives (of which he has four…what? overkill? this has never been mentioned before), goes to Minneapolis and inveigles himself into the family that’s after him. And if he has to work out and get fit to do it (they own a gym among other things), so be it.
And then for great many chapters Nebraska toes the line while trying to figure out how to get the target sights off of him. Which kind of makes it slower than usual, less fun than usual, less clever than usual even.
Nebraska is still fun, but this volume seems to almost entirely rely on its protagonist’s inherent charms, which kinda sorta makes for a less far, less balanced and less interesting of a read. There’s virtually no mystery in here either. Just a sort of play by play games of power and manipulation. It’s still entertaining enough, but it leaves a lot to be desired, especially when compared to its predecessors. Many thanks to Brash publishers for providing a free copy for review purposes.

This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/

[Chuck Neumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Naked Eye" by William J. Reynolds is the fifth in a series of novels about a Private Detective in Omaha named Nebraska. He is good at his job but always says he plans to quit the business and become a full-time fiction writer. He lives in central Omaha, not the newer suburbs. One reason I enjoy these novels is because I live in the Omaha area, and know the different buildings and landmarks discussed in the books. They are also good, hard-boiled detective stories. In this story, Nebraska's life is threatened after he brings back a runaway teenager back from Minneapolis. In order to discover who is behind it, Nebraska assumes a back-up identity and returns to the Twin Cities. Most of the novel takes place up there. In fact, after a while the reader might forget why he is there as you get more involved in the people and activities he gets mixed up with in Minneapolis. As usual, a woman falls for him, and she is the sister of the key player in the plot against him. He gets so involved that it is even suggested that he replace the thugs sent to Omaha to find the elusive Nebraska. The characters are interesting and two dimensional. The plot gets a little convoluted at times but makes sense. While I feel the novel was a little too long, it was still a fun read.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read years ago and forgot just how good Reynolds writing is. His character, Nebraska, lives on the edge dancing both sides of the ethical coin. Substantial sense of place, of person.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of a slow burn. Kind of dated.