R.I. Partridge

After being seriously injured in a devastating house fire, Abby Bennett returns from California to her Iowa hometown to try rebuilding her life. She focuses her attention on helping her sister fix up a house that was left in a mess by the previous renters. Fifty-some years earlier, the house was the scene of a horrific murder whose victims were distantly related to Abby and her sister.

As Abby gets to work stripping wallpaper and painting walls, she is drawn to a mirror hanging over the living room fireplace. Most of the time it reflects the room behind her, but sometimes she sees something else: A cozy domestic scene of a mother and children gathered around a table. Abby realizes that the family only she can see is the one that was murdered all those years ago and they are trying to tell her something: That the person accused of their deaths is not guilty. But as she starts to investigate the long-ago crime, she begins to sense an evil presence lurking in the deserted house. Is it the real killer, trying to stop her from uncovering the truth? Or is all of this only the product of a mind damaged by the trauma and loss she suffered in the fire?

This is a solid mystery for a debut novel. The author skillfully walks the fine line between "is it ghosts or is she crazy" and I liked that she didn't weasel out by offering up a logical explanation for every seemingly supernatural occurrence. Readers learn early on that Abby may be an unreliable narrator: It's clear there is something off about Abby's version of exactly what happened in the house fire that ended her marriage and drove her back to Iowa. Even though I suspected the broad outlines of what she's hiding, it wasn't so obvious to spoil the reveal.

LibraryThing indicates this is the first book in an intended series. The cast of characters introduced and the setting of a small Iowa town would seem to be able to support continued storylines, although I wonder if they would all be told through Abby's eyes or if other characters would take their turns in the storytelling spotlight. Either way, I'd be happy to read the next book to find out.… (plus d'informations)