REVIEW: The Woman in the Mirror

The Woman in the Mirror
Author: Rebecca James

In 1947, Alice Miller comes to Winterbourne to be a governess for Cpt. Jonathan de Grey's twins. At first, the situation is idyllic. The isolated mansion on top a cliff by the sea is beautiful...but frightening or even threatening as well. The children's strange affection for her starts to turn dark. And their father slowly turns spiteful and mean. Flash forward several decades....orphan Rachel Wright finally discovers who her parents were and that she is the heir of Winterbourne. Excited that she finally has knowledge she wanted all her life, she discovers the old mansion hides secrets and mysteries that might have been best left alone.

This story is very gothic in feel. Very Victoria Holt-esque. I loved it! The story sucked me right in and I enjoyed every twist and turn. I'm not usually big on plots that skip back and forth in time, but for this sort of tale, it works. This sort of story has been done many times before.....governess finds herself isolated in a dangerous, mysterious situation....and a later resident of the house discovers what happened. But, Rebecca James does a superb job at re-visiting an old, tried and true gothic plot. She never allows the story to fall into melodrama or theatrics. This story is very well written. Great character development. And, some good twists along the way.

This is the first book by Rebecca James that I have read. I will definitely be coming back for more! Very enjoyable read!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St. Martin's Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**