Shadows on the Mirror by Frances Fyfield is a Witness Impulse publication. I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
This novel is , I think, the first in the Sarah Fortune series.
Originally published in the late 1980's this book has been released in digital format and is available at Amazon.com
Sarah, an attractive red head, with a law background, meets a man at a gathering named Malcolm. He is an attorney, very personable and funny, but he is very overweight. Sarah, a widow with major trust issues, sees something in Malcolm others don't. They have an dalliance, but Malcolm want to be better for Sarah and so he begins improvement on his weight issues, but he loses contact with Sarah for two long years.
He could never imagine the way in which he would eventually find her again.
A client of Malcolm's father , a wealthy man, has lost his wife to suicide. But, the death is suspicious. When the wealthy widower begins to take an interest in Sarah, her friends thinks she is nuts for not going for it.
Sarah may have an instinct about the guy that keeps her at a distance from him. It turns out his good looks and money helps him to slide under the radar and hide a very dark side to his personality. Sarah's lack of interest only adds fuel to the fire and soon she will meet the darker half of her suitor.
This is the second book by Frances Fyfield I have read recently. The first was a solid Helen West mystery. This one was a complete 180 compared to the other series.
The story is murky and very slow moving. There isn't really a great deal of action or suspense for that matter, since we already know whodunit. It's just a matter of time before he makes his move. The rest of the book deals with Sarah's career and her personal issues and friendships and well as Malcolm's career and desire to find Sarah and his conflict with his step-father.
This was a crime novel that may actually qualify for the psychological suspense genre. I would keep in mind that the book was written in a time frame when this style of writing wasn't all that uncommon. These days we crave more action and forensic details as well as more courtroom banter. The case may not even wrap up in the way you like. I personally felt a little unsettled about the way things ended with case. The personal issues that Sarah and Malcolm had will tie up quite nicely.
Overall this one gets a C.
