Smoke in Mirrors (Random House Large Print (Cloth/Paper)) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Jayne Ann Krentz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Random House Large Print (Cloth/Paper) | Publication Date: January 8, 2002

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Lost & Found, hailed as "a delightful mystery from a seasoned pro" (People), comes a new novel of romantic suspense.

A con artist and seductress, Meredith Spooner lived fast-and died young. Now it seems Meredith's last scam-embezzling more than a million dollars from a college endowment fund-is coming back to haunt Leonora Hutton. An e-mail has just arrived in which Meredith-in fear for her life-explains that the money is waiting for Leonora in an offshore account . . . and a safe-deposit key is on the way.

Leonora wants nothing to do with the tainted money. She's already been accused of being in on the theft by Thomas Walker-who, it seems, was a victim of Meredith's knack for both scams and seductions. Eager to prove him wrong, Leonora sets out to collect the cash and hand it over.

But she discovers two other items in the safe-deposit box. One is a book about Mirror House-a mansion filled with antique mirrors, where Meredith engineered her final deception. The other is a set of newspaper stories about a thirty-year-old murder that occurred there-unsolved to this day.

Now Leonora has an offer for Thomas Walker. She'll hand over the money-if he helps her figure out what's happening. Meredith had described Thomas Walker as "a man you can trust." But in a funhouse-mirror world of illusion and distortion, Leonora may be out of her league.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sparks fly between a sexually repressed college librarian and a handyman venture capitalist while they attempt to hunt down a killer who possesses the ability to make murder look like suicide in this tepid romantic thriller from veteran author Krentz (aka Amanda Quick, Stephanie James, Jayne Castle). The news of Meredith Spooner's death comes as no surprise to her half-sister, Leonora Hutton; after all, Meredith was a con artist who was adept at making enemies. But when Thomas Walker, a victim of Meredith's most recent scam, confronts Leonora, demanding that she help him find the $1.5 million that Meredith filched from the Bethany Walker memorial fund and intimating that Meredith may have been murdered, Leonora drops her reference desk position in California to do some amateur sleuthing in Wing Cove, Wash. With the help of Thomas's brainy brother, Deke, she lands a position in Mirror House, an eerie, mirror-lined mansion that houses Eubanks College's alumni office as well as a large collection of rare books. While investigating the connection between Meredith's death and two other suspicious deaths, Leonora romances Thomas with the help of her matchmaking grandmother and a disgruntled advice columnist and pairs Deke with his sexy yoga instructor. A few half-hearted attempts on Thomas's life, orchestrated by a fraudulent stress therapist, add some zing to this one-dimensional read, but events spiral too quickly toward an unexpected and unbelievable conclusion. Once a college librarian herself, Krentz (Dawn in Eclipse Bay; Slightly Shady) ably depicts the competitive atmosphere of the academic arena, but this awkward pairing of dark melodrama and frothy romance fails to impress. National author tour.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Leonora intends to turn over the cash that she discovers murdered friend Meredith embezzled. But she feels compelled to investigate when she finds that the lock box where the loot is stashed also contains a newspaper account of an unsolved murder and a book about the Mirror House, where the murder occurred.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Random House Large Print (January 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375431632
• ISBN-13: 978-0375431630
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,242,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The author of over 50 New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense, often with a psychic and paranormal twist, in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 35 million copies of her books in print.

Building on the success of her DREAMLIGHT TRILOGY in 2010, Jayne is now focused on writing the LOOKING GLASS TRILOGY. This series will follow the Quicksilver Mirror (a paranormal artifact) through all three of Jayne's worlds covering a time span of several hundred years.

The first LOOKING GLASS book, IN TOO DEEP, will feature Fallon Jones, a recurring character from Jayne's contemporary ARCANE SOCIETY series of novels.

When she's not writing, Jayne can be found at her favorite social networking site posting messages to her fans.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Return to the JAK style, January 9, 2002

By 

Tanya V. "Bookwyrm" (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smoke In Mirrors (Hardcover)

For the last several books, Jayne Ann Krentz (who also writes as Amanda Quick) has been ignoring current romance trends to shift her style more and more toward romantic suspense. As she's done so, her writing style has become a bit more aloof, leading to less development of her main characters and the romance between them. Quick's "Slightly Shady" was somewhat of a disappointment for me; the characters and romance seemed almost incidental to the plot.

"Smoke in Mirrors" retreats somewhat from that aloof style, giving us good character and romantic development and appealing secondary characters. In addition, the mystery here is well integrated with the characters.

Leonora is a good Krentz heroine, with the loyalty and spunk we've come to expect. Thomas is another brooding Krentz hero, complete with large scary (but appealing) dog. The romance between them seems natural and easy, and the development of a secondary romance between Thomas's brother and his yoga instructor is handled well.

That said, the pacing of this book was a little off. While the initial build-up of suspense worked well, the conclusion seems rushed, and the eventual unmasking of the "villain" doesn't seem to make all that much sense. All is explained, but it would have been clearer if the conclusion had gone a slightly different direction.

Still, this is good Krentz, with all the hallmarks her fans have come to expect of her. A good read! Enjoy!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars usual tension as elusive as smoke in a mirror..., February 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Smoke In Mirrors (Hardcover)

I've read almost everything Krentz has written, under any of her pen names. This is not one of her best efforts. She seemed unable to decide whether the primary threat should be academic envy or the flaky self-help guru, and the story lacked focus on the leading couple. The result is a half realized and not very convincing threat to the heroine. The romantic interludes don't even have her usual steamy tension. I usually buy all Krentz's books in hardback when they first come out. Maybe I'll start waiting for the paperbacks. Here's hoping that this is a fluke and that future releases, under whatever pen name, return to her usual standard of good storytelling, interesting plot lines, humor and romance.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Welcome back, Jayne Ann, we've missed you!, February 23, 2002

By 

Book Addict "B.A." (Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smoke In Mirrors (Hardcover)

After the lackluster "Dawn in Eclipse Bay", the bland "Lost and Found", and the frankly dismal "Slightly Shady", Jayne Ann Krentz seems to have finally found her pace again with this lively tale of sensuality and psychoses in a small Northwestern college town. The characters snap and crackle in the best Krentz style, complete with coastal fog, excellent dog, and a supporting cast that not only supports, but also scene-steals in many places. The passion is front and center (although maybe a little more would have been nice?), and it's easy to lose track of time while adventuring with these lovers. I'm a confirmed JAK fan and I'm thrilled to see that vivacious turn of phrase back in play along with a sexy hero and a spunky heroine! Thanks, Jayne Ann - and welcome back!