Eye Spy by C. M. Ewan

 

A short break in Paris turns into a nightmare when Mark's step-daughter disappears on board the return trip via the Eurostar. A sinister figure warns Mark that he must follow his instructions if he's to see his step-daughter again.

Author C. M. Ewan has raised the stakes in the locked-room genre with Eye Spy, which takes place onboard the Eurostar train on its non-stop return journey from Paris to London. 

Mark is feeling frazzled before he even boards the train. A family break in Paris was disrupted when a work emergency meant that his wife, Claire, couldn't make the trip. After an exhausting few days with his sixteen-year-old step-daughter, Freya, and four-year-old daughter, Molly, Mark just wants to get home. Things aren't helped when Molly causes a scene involving another passenger at the security gate.

Once on board, Mark is apprehensive when he notices the very same passenger from security is sitting nearby. He also notices that the man now has a completely different suitcase. We quickly learn that events in the recent past have made Mark extremely suspicious and fearful, possibly even paranoid. He's constantly on the lookout for danger, and as a result of his suspicions, decides to inform a member of train staff,  but Mark's vague concerns don't seem to interest the staff. Threats follow when Mark returns to his seat. It is made clear that unless he follows a set of instructions, he'll live to regret it. 

With the story told in real-time, there is a real sense of urgency, almost panic. Mark's churning emotions, his doubt in his own ability to protect his children, all add to the feeling of terror. Every so often, we get snippets of information regarding the past event which has made Mark fearful, and these really added to the blistering pace and the intrigue of the novel. When Mark's panic is combined with the sense of urgency and a non-stop train journey, you do wonder how there can be a positive conclusion.

As the end of the journey approached, I felt a sense of anger on Mark's behalf; no matter what he did, there was always one more hoop for him to jump through. I was filled with dread that survival was not an option. The dramatic ending was satisfying, and it was great to see karma making an appearance.

Eye Spy by C. M. Ewan will be published on 26th March 2026 in paperback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for a review copy.

Author Details

Chris Ewan is the critically acclaimed and bestselling author of many mystery and thriller novels. Chris’s first standalone thriller, Safe House, was a number one bestseller in the UK and was shortlisted for The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. He is also the author of the thrillers A Window Breaks, Dead Lineand Dark Tides and the Kindle Single short story, Scarlett Point. He is the author of The Good Thief’s Guide to . . . series of mystery novels. The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam won the Long Barn Books First Novel Award and is published in thirteen countries.

Born in Taunton in 1976, Chris graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in American Studies with a minor in Canadian Literature, and later trained as a lawyer. After eleven years living on the Isle of Man, he recently returned home to Somerset with his wife, their daughter and the family labrador, where he writes full time.