There’s a ghost in the mirror. And secrets in the past…
While renovating an old house, Sarah Greene discovers a strange mirror haunted by a murdered teenage girl. It’s not the first time Sarah has seen a ghost. This is different, though. It’s a psychic experience like nothing she’s known before.
She sets out to discover the victim’s identity and stumbles onto something chilling. The people who built the house had a son who worshipped demons. More and more, Sarah comes to believe he killed the girl. But why?
The sinister feeling isn’t confined to the house. An insidious evil infests the town of Dos Santos. Sarah begins to wonder if it’s all tied together.
Digging for answers in a murderer’s past is creepy. But Sarah starts to fear she’s awakened something malevolent. Something so dark as to make the demon-worshipping son insignificant.
But what does it want with her?
Assessment:
Plot: The Girl in the Mirror is a well-paced paranormal mystery that delivers chills, laughs, and romance all in one go, and gives the reader a heroine to root for.
Prose: Ramirez delivers highly readable prose that is both funny and unnerving when it intends to be. The prose would benefit greatly from keeping the diverse POVs distinct, rather than blending them into one omniscient narrator.
Originality: This paranormal mystery series stands out by tying in the main character's religion (Catholicism) in ways that develop her character’s origins and motives and drive the story forward.
Character Development: The character of Sarah begins as a woman unsure if her choices in life are the right ones, but through her trials she becomes stronger and more confident in herself and her abilities.
Date Submitted: April 01, 2019
“The Girl in the Mirror is the first installment in the Sarah Greene Mysteries series, and while the book plays with the usual mystery genre conventions, it has the added intrigue of supernatural elements. It’s an excellent first entry to this exciting new series, set in the California town of Dos Santos where a shady history lends itself to all kinds of paranormal drama for protagonist Sarah Greene. Author Steven Ramirez weaves a gripping mystery at the center of the novel, and the unpredictable twists keep the pages turning well into the last act.”
“The Girl In The Mirror is a spooky, supernatural thriller. The first page drew me into the story and kept me there until the end, with the suspense building on each page. This is a well-paced story, with plenty of action and a great plot filled with twists and turns that keep you hooked.”
