Review: Mirror Image by Michael Scott #MondayBlogs

by MK French

Jonathan Frazer is the owner of an antiques shop in LA, and he buys a mirror that he thinks will net him an extraordinary profit once it's refurbished. He's a generally likable man, trusting others to be as honest as he is. As soon as the mirror arrives in the workshop, deaths begin. At first, it's chalked up to accidents, but a tall and scarred man shows up demanding the mirror. Odd things happen around the city, and he begins to have nightmares that indicate the mirror's origins. His daughter arrives home, and she has nightmares as well. Visions appear in the mirror whenever blood or bodily fluids are placed on the glass, and people have an odd fascination with it. Police investigating the odd deaths soon suspect Jonathan and his very personality starts to change.

There are some typographical errors and stylistic choices that feel odd as different timelines are introduced to explain the mirror. Its origins are fascinating if a bit inconsistent with how the rest of it progresses. I liked the Elizabethan sequence much better than the modern one, to be honest. Some of the modern characters aren't very likable. This isn't much of an issue when they die in gory, bloody ways so that the mirror can feed on their souls. Jonathan was very likable in the beginning, as were his employees that were the mirror's early victims. As the story progressed, the lack of characters to really care about bothered me; in a horror story, you need to care about someone surviving to the end, and it needs to feel as though justice was served. I'm still not sure if it was.

The powers that the mirror manifests changes as more people die, though it doesn't feel like a logical progression, only as a plot device. The air of menace around the mirror works best in the beginning of the book, actually. As Jonathan changes and more people are affected, it feels less like a creepy, supernatural mirror and more like a serial killer on a spree. There is still the supernatural element, but it seems to take a back seat to the hunt for more blood and souls to sacrifice. It's still a haunting read, and I kept wondering what would happen next. The ending, while it feels a bit abrupt, is appropriately sinister.

Buy Mirror Image at Amazon

MK French, reviewer. Born and raised in New York City, M.K. started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and golden retriever

Book Info:
available formats: ebook and print (352 pages)
published: August 2016 by Tor Books
ISBN13: 9780765385222 
genres: horror, dark fantasy, paranormal suspense
a free book was provided for this review



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