The Book of Mirrors

Publisher's Summary

An elegant thriller in the vein of Night Film and Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, this tautly crafted novel is about stories: the ones we tell, the ones we keep hidden, and the ones that we'll do anything to ensure they stay buried.

When literary agent Peter Katz receives a partial book submission entitled The Book of Mirrors, he is intrigued by its promise and original voice. The author, Richard Flynn, has written a memoir about his time as an English student at Princeton in the late 1980s, documenting his relationship with the protégée of the famous Professor Joseph Wieder. One night just before Christmas 1987, Wieder was brutally murdered in his home. The case was never solved. Now, 25 years later, Katz suspects that Richard Flynn is either using his book to confess to the murder or to finally reveal who committed the violent crime.

But the manuscript ends abruptly - and its author is dying in the hospital with the missing pages nowhere to be found. Hell-bent on getting to the bottom of the story, Katz hires investigative journalist John Keller to research the murder and reconstruct the events for a true crime version of the memoir. Keller tracks down several of the mysterious key players, including retired police detective Roy Freeman, one of the original investigators assigned to the murder case, but he has just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. Inspired by John Keller's investigation, he decides to try and solve the case once and for all, before he starts losing control of his mind. A trip to the Potosi Correctional Centre in Missouri, several interviews, and some ingenious police work finally lead him to a truth that has been buried for over two decades...or has it?

Stylishly plotted, elegantly written, and packed with thrilling suspense until the final moments, The Book of Mirrors is a book within a book like you've never encountered before.

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Engaging

After trying a couple clunkers I really needed something to keep my attention and give me a sense of spending time and credits for value. This book was a gamble, just released and no reviews yet. I finished it in one day. Very satisfying.

18 of 18 people found this review helpful

Don't waste your time!

This editor's pick way over-promised on this one. I kept listening, hoping to *finally* get to the "thrilling" plot, which never materialized. The book hinted at psychological games and manipulation, but those didn't materialize, either. This book was all exposition and no tension, and that was just the beginning of my irritation. In this book, you will know everybody's college major. Why do we need to know an elderly lady's caregiver majored in anthropology? Good God, we don't! Side plots were pointless, too.

The book had notes of sexism, where a female was dismissed as the suspect in a murder my a grizzled detective because the guy was bludgeoned to death and lady murderers usually use poison. I mean, what? We do? How? Where do we get poison? Then there was a racist moment where an African-American man (who we know is African-American because he spoke in partial dialect) furrowed his brow and looked like a "confused monkey." Ugh, you guys.

Normally I would just move on and find something else to read, but editor's picks are usually pretty good. I was waiting for a Kaiser Soze moment to warrant the attention from people who like to read. It didn't happen. If you're wondering if this will be worth your struggle through the flat characters and unnecessary words, the answer is no.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

Middling and aloof

Any additional comments?

This mystery just left me cold. The writing style is detached and often stilted, sometimes reading more like a middling true crime accounting than a novel. None of the characters truly engaged me, and the handful of narrators (failed writer making a last attempt at a manuscript outlining a decades old murder, prospective publisher who wants to know more, freelance journalist hired to find out more, and retired police officer who failed to catch the murderer in the first place) all felt a bit aloof, with little real drive or depth. The most interesting aspect of the book is the theme of memory and how it plays into figuring out what happened, but this theme was not fully developed or thoughtfully explained. In the end, I can't say I recommend the book - though mostly resolved, Chirovici adds an epilogue that seems purpose built to throw a bit of doubt where none was necessarily needed and ends up feeling contrived. I leave this book disappointed, especially after quite a few positive reviews led me to expect more.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Wow! Awesome book.

Didn't want this book to end. Totally lost track of time listening to the story. Just when I thought I had it figured out, it threw me another curve ball.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A good listen, but disappointing ending

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The ending could have had a twist. Some plot points seemed to hang.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Disappointing ending. I think the author got tired of writing.

Did the narrators do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Narrator was adequate and easy to listen to.

Do you think The Book of Mirrors needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Doesn't need a follow up because the story ended without any build up to another "chapter".

Any additional comments?

I liked the premise of a story within a story. It was an ambitious goal! I appreciated the minimal foul language very much. The story was compelling up until the last chapters. But when I was expecting a twist, it just ended. Most disappointing.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fairly compelling

This is a good whodunit. I was certainly carried along, wanted to know what would happen. However, it's hard to feel connected to or care about the characters, who are all somewhat dry. The concepts were good, but as other reviewers tend to indicate, not fully developed. The ending lacks a true punch to it.

On the whole, an enjoyable listen.

Great promise but story and performance need lots of work

I am very sorry I got this one. I don't say that often. But the 'mystery' was neither deep nor was it interesting. Never got beyond the most surface of any character and even then you were left not knowing if you had been given a real picture of that person. Ended up not caring if ANY of the characters came out ok in the end.
Narration did not help. Seemed very forced even with the change in voices. I don't do this for a living so I know it is much harder than it seems but I would say this one could have been helped immensely with more editing from beginning to end. There is promise here but the author needs to work on developing the themes and the characters more!

Disappointed

I was expecting much more. I should have known because I usually don’t like first person narrative. I couldn’t even finish it.

I feel like I missed something...

First, the way this story is broken down, made me feel - at the end- like I missed a major part.
Second...I thought "whodunits" we about detecting "whodunnit". I'm either really good at being a detective is this was very easy to solve.
Third... I feel like the real mystery was never solved. Is there a another book for that?
Reader performances were very dry.

I hate when I feel a book was a waste of time and money.

Good listen!

It was difficult for me to put it down. I knew I had to finish right away.