A Spooky Read: Rearview Mirror by Stephanie Black

Happy Halloween!

I don’t normally do book reviews on Mondays, but this is a special occasion. Stephanie Black’s new book, Rearview Mirror, is definitely a book to put on your spooky list. I highly recommend you turn off all the lights in your house and read it by flashlight so you can get a full-on adrenaline rush. It is that chilling. (And I would never do that myself because it would give me nightmares. But some people are adrenaline junkies and this book has what it takes to get that going!)

The main characters seem innocent enough at first. Our heroine, Fiona, (I couldn't help imagining Princess Fiona from Shrek every time she was mentioned. Ha!) has been through some traumatic events in her life that she’s tried to work through and put behind her. She’s living her dream being an English professor at a small university and she has her colleague and friend James to talk to and confide in. But then these strange things start happening to her and when they escalate, it becomes a race against time to figure out what’s really going on before something truly horrible happens to Fiona. And just when I thought I had it all figured out, the author threw me a curveball and I was practically speed-reading through to see what would happen.

I think the thing that is the most creepy about this book is the way the author can manipulate me into suspecting even the people I really like and trust. She had me wondering who was really behind it all almost down to the last page. The twists and turns of the book all lead up to one really amazing scene that makes you gasp at the end. It’s no wonder that Stephanie Black is a three-time Whitney Award winner. Her mysteries are truly fantastic and will keep you on your toes the entire time. My only complaint was the same one I’ve had for all her books---it comes to the point where I have to read it during the day (yeah, I’m a scaredy-cat) and sometimes it’s hard to squeeze in some reading time!

So, if you want to extend your Halloween rush with murders, mayhem and mysterious men (and women), this is the book for you. Here is the back copy:

On a rainy night eight years ago, Fiona Claridge lost control of her car and crashed, injuring herself and killing her roommate, Mia Hardy. Now, she strives to keep the painful past at bay by staying burrowed beneath the demands of her job as a college professor in a small New England town. But when someone starts leaving her gift-wrapped boxes containing malicious reminders of Mia’s death, Fiona’s guilt and grief come flooding back.

She assumes her stalker is Kimberly Bailey, a disgruntled student, and enlists the help of fellow professor James Hampton. But when Fiona encounters the angry wife of an old flame, it becomes clear her student isn’t the only one with an eye for revenge. Cruel messages escalate to danger, then murder. As past and present become horribly entangled, Fiona struggles to unravel the truth about a determined killer—before she becomes the next victim.

And you can click here for the Amazon link.


I hope you all have a wonderfully ghoulish Halloween and eat a TON of candy. (And if you are a Castle fan, tonight's episode looks epic! And so does Hawaii Five-O. Can't wait!)