Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 Summary, Characters and Themes

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 by Lisa Unger is a taut psychological thriller that explores the dark underbelly of influencer culture, survival entertainment, and personal redemption.

The book is about Adele, a single mother thrust into a brutal game show that promises a life-changing prize—at the cost of her safety and sanity. As viewers watch from their screens, the contestants quickly discover that the boundaries between performance and reality have dissolved. With layers of mystery, social critique, and emotional resilience, Unger crafts a suspenseful narrative about survival, justice, and confronting the ghosts—both literal and figurative—of one’s past.

Summary

Adele is a single mother doing everything she can to protect her two children, Blake and Violet, from the aftermath of her husband Miller’s criminal disappearance. Their lives are marred by judgment and instability.

When Adele is offered a spot in a high-stakes survival game run by controversial influencer Maverick Dillan, she sees it as a chance to finally secure her family’s future with the million-dollar prize.

The competition, set in an abandoned, supposedly haunted hotel on Falcão Island, is streamed live on a platform called WeWatch, promising fame and riches—but possibly danger.

Maverick is obsessed with views, virality, and building his legacy through increasingly extreme online content.

But his history is murky: a girl named Chloe Miranda disappeared during one of his earlier stunts, and whispers of cover-ups have begun to surface. His co-producer and occasional lover, Angeline, starts to sense that something more sinister is brewing behind the scenes.

As she tries to maintain control over a rapidly devolving production, she begins uncovering irregularities in Maverick’s files and surveillance feeds.

Adele arrives on the island unsure of what to expect but determined to win. The other contestants, including the charismatic but fragile influencer Malinka, quickly reveal cracks in their social-media-polished veneers.

As the game begins, things escalate fast. Contestants begin vanishing under mysterious circumstances.

Blood is found.

Communicators go dead.

A storm traps everyone on the island, cutting off exit and rescue. What was supposed to be a thrilling contest becomes a waking nightmare.

Back at home, Adele’s children follow the livestream. Blake, a tech-savvy teen, uncovers connections between the current game and past abuses, including Chloe Miranda’s disappearance.

Violet hacks into internal WeWatch systems with help from an online ally and starts pushing out damaging footage of Maverick’s negligence and abuse of power. They also meet with FBI Agent Coben, who believes the event might be a trap to draw out Miller, their fugitive father.

Tensions rise as Adele encounters a mysterious, masked figure who stalks her through the ruins—someone who may be connected to her past or her missing husband.

Malinka’s live feed ends with a scream. Other contestants vanish without explanation. Adele narrowly escapes a deadly ambush and discovers evidence suggesting that not only Chloe but others before her may have died in similar stunts.

Angeline, now convinced of Maverick’s culpability, leaks his hidden footage—videos of Chloe crying and terrified, the last images of her alive.

The fallout is immediate: sponsors pull out, the public turns, and the island becomes a scene of chaos.

In a harrowing confrontation, Adele challenges Maverick directly, calling out his recklessness and complicity. Their clash plays out on a livestream before Angeline shuts it down for good.

Rescue finally arrives as a storm destroys the hotel. Adele and a few survivors escape. Back home, Adele faces a mix of trauma and new beginnings. She’s offered sponsorships and hailed as a symbol of strength.

Angeline, having cut ties with Extreme, begins working to reform digital entertainment, aiming to protect future creators and audiences from such exploitation.

She and Adele reconnect, bound by what they survived. While they don’t speak much of what happened, there is an unspoken alliance between them—a shared mission to turn pain into change.

Characters

Adele

Adele is a multifaceted character whose life has been marked by personal loss and turmoil. As a mother trying to hold her family together after her husband’s criminal actions and disappearance, she faces immense emotional and financial challenges.

Her decision to participate in Maverick’s extreme game is driven by a mix of hope and desperation, as she seeks not only the prize money but also a sense of redemption for herself and her family. Throughout the story, Adele grapples with her own sense of guilt, fear, and strength, revealing a woman who is far more resilient than she initially believes.

Her determination to survive the game and her deep reflections on her past, especially regarding her troubled marriage, allow her to grow both emotionally and physically. In the end, Adele becomes a symbol of resilience, standing up to the exploitative nature of the game and the man behind it.

Maverick

Maverick Dillan is a charismatic yet deeply flawed figure in the narrative. His personality is a blend of recklessness, ambition, and narcissism.

Maverick’s obsession with viral content and his relentless pursuit of views and adrenaline have led him to organize a game that is more dangerous than anyone realizes. His disregard for the safety and well-being of the contestants reflects his deep-seated need for control and fame.

As the story unfolds, Maverick’s inability to reconcile his guilt over past events, like the disappearance of Chloe Miranda, and his fear of being exposed, causes his mental state to deteriorate. His manipulative tactics and denial of any wrongdoing make him a tragic antagonist whose actions ultimately lead to his downfall.

Angeline

Angeline, the COO of the game, is an interesting character who begins with a sense of duty and professionalism but slowly becomes disillusioned by the chaos surrounding her. She is Maverick’s occasional lover, but their relationship is complicated by her growing sense of ethical responsibility and moral conflict.

Angeline’s role in the story is crucial as she starts to uncover the darker secrets behind Maverick’s game. Her decision to take a stand against the unethical practices of the show marks her as a character of integrity, especially as she uncovers disturbing truths and eventually takes action to expose the truth to the public.

Her journey is one of self-discovery and moral courage, as she transitions from being a mere accomplice to Maverick to a whistleblower who seeks to undo the damage caused by the game.

Blake

Blake, Adele’s teenage son, plays an integral role in the story from the perspective of a young person who is trying to make sense of a chaotic world. He is a smart, tech-savvy individual who becomes suspicious of the game’s true nature, eventually helping to expose the unethical practices behind the scenes.

His concerns for his mother’s safety are balanced by his growing awareness of how the digital world manipulates and exploits its participants.

As a character, Blake embodies the modern struggle between the innocence of youth and the disillusionment that comes with discovering the darker sides of the world.

His emotional journey is tied closely to his mother’s, and his actions serve as a key part of the resistance against Maverick’s dangerous game.

Malinka

Malinka Nicqui is a glamorous influencer whose public persona masks her deep insecurities and trauma. She presents herself as a strong and confident figure, yet beneath this exterior lies a woman haunted by her father’s manipulation and the need to prove herself in a world that often feels out of her control.

Malinka’s participation in the game is driven by her desire to win and escape the shadows of her past, but as the game becomes more dangerous, she begins to regret her decision. Her character offers a glimpse into the pressures faced by influencers, especially women, in a world where their value is often defined by their appearance and online popularity.

In the end, her tragic fate symbolizes the dangers of a system that exploits vulnerable individuals for profit.

Violet

Violet, Adele’s daughter, provides a strong counterbalance to the other characters with her sharp wit, skepticism, and protective instincts. She is fiercely loyal to her family, especially to her brother Blake, and plays a pivotal role in uncovering the truth behind the game.

Violet’s journey mirrors her growth from a concerned teenager into a determined and capable force for justice. Her ability to hack into systems and gather evidence to expose Maverick’s corruption highlights her intellect and resourcefulness.

Through Violet’s eyes, the reader sees the impact of the game on the younger generation, who are more attuned to the manipulations of the digital world and its darker side.

Agent Coben

Agent Coben’s role in the story is that of a supporting character whose investigation into the game ties into the larger mystery surrounding the disappearance of Adele’s husband. He serves as a catalyst for many of the events, as his suspicions about the connection between the game and Miller’s fugitive status drive the investigation forward.

Though his screen time is limited, Agent Coben is an important figure in uncovering the truth, especially as he works with Blake and Violet to gather evidence that can bring justice to the victims of Maverick’s extreme game.

Miller

Miller, Adele’s fugitive husband, serves as a shadowy figure whose past actions continue to haunt Adele and her children. While he is not a primary character in the narrative, his presence looms large throughout the story, particularly through his connection to the events surrounding the game.

His crimes and eventual disappearance create a lingering sense of dread and tension, particularly for Blake, who becomes obsessed with the idea that his father might be involved in the game. Miller’s role is largely symbolic, representing the fractured past that Adele and her family are trying to escape.

Themes

The Manipulative Power of Influence and Digital Fame in the Age of Social Media

The novel explores how individuals, especially those seeking fame, can easily be manipulated or fall prey to the destructive forces of social media and digital fame. Maverick Dillan, the charismatic influencer, is a personification of the toxic nature of these platforms.

He thrives on chaos, sensationalism, and ratings at the expense of others’ safety and well-being. His actions reveal the darker side of influencer culture, where profit and personal gain are prioritized over ethical responsibility and human life.

The novel offers a critique of how social media can blur the lines between reality and performance. Maverick constantly pushes boundaries to fuel his platform’s popularity, regardless of the consequences. It poses important questions about how these digital spaces can distort reality and warp individuals into seeking validation through increasingly dangerous and harmful means.

The Lingering Effects of Past Hurts

At the heart of Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 is the theme of trauma and its long-lasting effects. Adele’s past, particularly her relationship with her fugitive husband Miller and the aftermath of his crimes, haunts her throughout the story.

Her experiences reflect a larger commentary on how individuals carry the weight of past abuses, betrayals, and unresolved pain into new situations. Adele is constantly battling the demons of her past while attempting to forge a path to redemption and personal strength.

The novel shows how these unresolved traumas affect every aspect of her life—her relationship with her children, her ability to trust others, and her sense of self-worth. Through Adele’s journey, Unger presents the idea that trauma does not just disappear and that individuals must confront it, often in unexpected or dangerous ways, in order to heal.

The narrative also illustrates how the legacy of trauma can pass down to the next generation, with Blake’s obsession with the game and his investigation into Chloe Miranda’s disappearance further reinforcing the idea of how deeply embedded past wounds can be.

The Illusion of Control and the Downfall of Reckless Ambition

Maverick Dillan’s relentless pursuit of control—both over his game and his public image—represents a broader theme of the dangers of unchecked ambition. As the host of the Extreme game, Maverick is initially portrayed as a man in complete control of the situation.

However, as the narrative unfolds, we see how his obsession with ratings, spectacle, and dominance gradually unravels. The pressures of maintaining the perfect image in a media-driven world lead him to make reckless decisions, endangering the lives of others and ultimately losing control of both his game and his persona.

The theme highlights how individuals who are consumed by the need for power and success can lose sight of the consequences of their actions, leading to their own downfall. Maverick’s descent into paranoia, fueled by guilt over past tragedies, serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of becoming too focused on external validation and success, especially when one is willing to disregard ethics and human dignity for the sake of profit and reputation.

Redemption and Resilience in the Face of Adversity

Despite the grim circumstances and terrifying events that unfold, the theme of redemption and resilience is one of the most powerful in the novel. Adele’s journey represents a form of personal resurrection, as she navigates the perilous game and the traumas of her past.

Throughout the story, she draws strength from her children and her determination to reclaim control over her life. The novel reflects the idea that resilience is not just about surviving external threats but also about overcoming internal struggles and embracing one’s capacity for growth and transformation.

Adele’s eventual heroism in exposing the truth behind Maverick’s game, and her ability to rise above her personal history, portrays how resilience can lead to not just survival but empowerment. Her evolution mirrors the idea that true strength comes from confronting one’s vulnerabilities and emerging from the darkness with newfound purpose and clarity.

The Ethics of Exploitation and the Moral Corruption of Media Spectacles

A recurrent theme in Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 is the exploitation inherent in the modern media landscape. Maverick’s game, marketed as an “extreme” form of entertainment, is fundamentally exploitative, as it manipulates the contestants and the audience alike.

The novel critiques the commodification of human suffering for the sake of ratings, profit, and sensationalism. It sheds light on how individuals are often reduced to mere spectacles, their pain, vulnerability, and lives put on display for public consumption.

As the contestants struggle through the game, the lines between entertainment and reality blur. This reveals the moral decay that often underpins modern media productions. The ethical implications of this exploitation are explored through the characters of Angeline, Malinka, and Adele, each of whom is forced to confront the moral compromises they have made to further their careers or participate in this spectacle.

Through their arcs, the novel explores the cost of participating in a system that rewards sensationalism at the expense of human dignity.