The Girl in the Glass

A McCabe and Savage Thriller, Book 4

By: James Hayman

Narrated by: Stephen Mendel

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Two identical women. Two identical murders. Two lives brutally cut short 108 years apart.

June 1904.

Aimée Garnier Whitby, a beautiful French artist and wife of one of Maine's richest and most powerful men, is found near death on the Whitby family's private summer island, the letter "A" mysteriously carved into her chest.

June 2012.

Veronica Aimée Whitby, the 18-year-old descendant and virtual double of the first Aimée, becomes the victim of a near perfect copycat murder. With another beautiful, promising young Whitby woman slain, the media begin to swarm and pressure builds for Mike McCabe and Maggie Savage to bring the killer quickly to justice. But the key to solving Aimée's death just might have been buried with her beautiful ancestor.

The latest McCabe and Savage thriller from USA Today best-selling author James Hayman is a crackling, twisty novel of suspense, perfect for fans of J.A. Jance and John Sandford.

©2015 James Hayman (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Good book, interesting and easygoing

Characters are profound and believable! I didn't like the ending but that could be a personal thing. The performance is really good, not exaggerated, but not dull either.

Story....ok - Narrator...not ok

I can count on one hand the number of narrators who enhanced the author's story. Narrator, Steven Mendel, is not one of them. The story was not necessarily exceptional, just okay. But it would have been so much more enjoyable if Mr. Mendel 's narration included some sense of enthusiasm for role play. His reading-voice is monotone throughout which leaves the impression of boredom and sleepiness. The author's work deserved better.

McCabe and Savage Thrillers

Plot. Police procedural series based in Providence, Rhode Island. The cases are who-done-it murder mysteries with twists, some obvious, some surprising.

Liked. Clever plots, no explicit sex, no offensive language. These are murder mysteries, and some scenes are a bit grizzly but nothing gratuitous. There are five novels as of this writing, giving a nice long listen of nearly 50 hours. But, each book has a beginning-middle-end. Start with The Cutting for character continuity.

Not so hot. Narration is a bit stilted and unnatural, but listenable. No trouble discerning who is speaking to whom. Bumped the speed to 1.5.

Written by James Hayman and narrated by Stephen Mendel. All novels in the area of 10 hours of listening in unabridged audiobook format, released from 2015 through 2017 by HarperAudio.

A Total Letdown

This story had so much going for it. There were multiple suspects with varying possible motivations for the crimes and a mysterious link to the past. The revelation regarding the truth about the past murder was interesting, but it was spelled out in a journal, so there was no great sleuthing required. What really disappointed me was how the author resolved the crimes that took place in the present. The detectives are gathering clues, eliminating one suspect after another, then, suddenly, as if the author ran out of time or decided he'd had enough of writing this story, the answer just comes to one of the detectives out of thin air. Worse, the perpetrator is someone we've never met. I feel like I've been cheated when an author reverts to tricks like this to resolve a mystery. I was so disappointed that I had become engrossed in the story, only to have the resolution come out of nowhere.

Well done!

Kept me guessing until the end. I love stories that do that. Never a dull moment.

Good Murder Mystery!

I was not expecting The Girl in the Glass to be as good as it is. The book is a complex murder mystery.

Too much Historical Data - Very Slow moving...

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. I absolutely love James Hayman's books. The McCabe & Savage series has been awesome but this book was a total let down. There was just too much historical data regarding the going on's in the 1920's. They could have developed more "real time" content and character development. The book was just not what I thought it was going to be. I was so let down.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The story had so much potential but for me it just fell very flat in comparison to the other books in this series. I am sadly disappointed with this book. The book was flat for the first 8 hours but then in the last hour of the book it seemed like there was "HOPE" for it to come alive and end well but... again... fell very flat for me.

Which scene was your favorite?

The best scene in the book is the one of Lucy withdrawing the $400 from the ATM! I couldn't help be rooting for her even though she was stealing money from a dead girl.

Do you think The Girl in the Glass needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. The book was just... well... dumb. It was not nearly as good as the other books. Too much historical data regarding stuff that happened in the early 1900's. It seemed irrelevant. Less time could have been spent on that historical data and spent developing a better story line/killer.

Any additional comments?

I was not happy with this book but... I absolutely LOVE James Hayman as a writer. I am excited to see what adventure awaits McCabe & Savage next. I really wish their relationship would flourish!

Good. Quite Good... But, be warned...

From my cozy seat here on the edge of the mystery story spectorium I get-off peering inside of detectives McCabe and Maggie’s minds. I wish that Maggie Savage hadn’t slipped to a supporting role this time, and it’d be cool if next go-round she got more of the star turn she deserves.

James Hayman is more an expert engineer than an artist. He constructs plots the way Lear builds jets. It’s a miracle that so many tons of density can fly through the air… But engineers aren’t artists, or wizards. They put together the parts so that their creations don’t, um, land… spontaneously. Y’know?

I like the way Haymam and Stephen Mendel make me like Maine, and the people who swirl around Portland police detectives. Detectives who incidentally generally like and support one another as a team. Hayman, unlike a lot of mystery authors apparently doesn’t think they’re inept clowns riven by Peter-Principle promotions where only dung rises politically to the top.

And this time Hayman takes some clever risks as a writer, swirling together twin murders committed over a century apart. And it works. This jet flies!

Warning though, start the series with “The Cutting” and work your way here. Me? I’ll pre-order the next in this series as soon as the team records it.

Just ok

It started strong and fizzled out. Not as good as the others in the series

Now and Then: A Fatal Portrait

Would you consider the audio edition of The Girl in the Glass to be better than the print version?

I think they're pretty much the same. This was the last book in this series and I was disappointed with it.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Changed the ending for one thing, and would have taken out unnecessary info that made the book "drag" on.

What does Stephen Mendel bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The feeling of McCabe's character.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A Portrait in Murder

Any additional comments?

Disappointed with this one, but I like his writing. I will be looking forward to his next book.