Mirror Image by Michael Scott and Melanie Ruth Rose – Review

A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Published: August 23, 2016

Publisher: Tor Books

Genre: Horror

Pages: 352 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 3.5/5.0

 

 

Synopsis:

A mirror that feeds on human souls wreaks destruction on those around it in this new novel from internationally bestselling author Michael Scott and Melanie Ruth Rose
In an auction house in London, there is a mirror no one will buy. Standing seven feet tall and reaching four feet across, its size makes it unusual. Its horrific powers make it extraordinary. For centuries, the mirror has fed off of the lives of humans, giving them agonizing deaths and sucking their souls into its hellish world.

When Jonathan Frazer, the wealthy owner of a furniture and antiques shop in Los Angeles, buys the mirror at an auction, he believes he is getting the bargain of a lifetime. With its age and size, it is easily worth eight times what he paid for it. At this point, the mirror has sat dormant for years. But within days of Jonathan’s purchase, the deaths begin again. One employee is crushed when the mirror falls on top of him. A few days later, the corpse of another is found in front of the mirror, brutally stabbed. A third is burned beyond all recognition. All the while, an enormous man with a scarred face is following Jonathan, demanding that he give him the mirror and killing any police officer that gets in his way.

The police are becoming desperate. As the death toll rises, Jonathan himself becomes a suspect. He knows there is something wrong with the mirror. He knows it’s dangerous. But he cannot bring himself to get rid of it. Everyday he becomes more captivated by the mirror.

For the mirror is awakening, and its powers are resurfacing.

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Mirror Image is my first true foray into the somewhat intimidating territory of the horror genre. When I initial read the synopsis I was intrigued. An antique mirror that seems unusually unlucky? Tame enough for a genre-noob like me. I read it, found it to be creepy yet entertaining, and not so scary that I would cover all the mirrors in my house.

I thought the story was well told but not overly spectacular. As this is the first horror novel I’ve read, I can’t really compare it to others of the same genre, but only to the vast number of other books I’ve read. The characters were believably written and not spectacularly stupid as characters often are in horror movies. Sure, they’re dumb and don’t do what would be the best or safest or most practical thing, but we can write that off as the malign influence of the mirror, right? I personally would have sold it immediately, or more likely not have bought in the first place because its description was largely unappealing and I’m picky about my décor.

The characters were good and had surprisingly interesting backgrounds and dynamics. Jonathan Frazer, the protagonist, is an antiques dealer in Los Angeles and its all his fault that the mirror is active again. We’ll just go ahead and get that out there. I repeat, EVERYTHING IS HIS FAULT. His family of course gets involved as well and that’s about all there is to say about it.

Honestly, this wasn’t a scary book. It was creepy and kind of weird but not scary. Also, lemme spoil this for you- the mirror contains the Gorgons (1 or 2 of them) and that’s why it’s a sketchy piece of décor to own. That particular revelation felt somewhat random and forced, like it didn’t jive with the rest of the story. Gorgons? They’re Greek, but did the Greeks even have glass making capabilities? I’m no history or archeological expert but I don’t think so. Anywayyyys, it was an entertaining book, though my eyebrows were frequently raised by content and character decisions.