Rearview Mirror

by Stephanie Black

Fiona Claridge, a smart and stylish New England college professor, strives to pull herself together after a car crash kills her roommate, Mia Hardy. Yet Fiona's guilt and grief come flooding back after opening a gift-wrapped box left outside her office that contains car keys and a malicious note. Shaken, Fiona travels to her hometown to attend a funeral but is followed by vivid nightmares as well as her unknown enemy, who leaves another sinister gift on her doorstep. She assumes the stalker is Kimbery Bailey, a disgruntled former student, and enlists the help of fellow professor James Hampton. But when Fiona encounters an old flame at the funeral, it's clear her student isn't the only one with an eye for revenge. Soon, through the maneuverings of her unknown enemy, Fiona faces criminal charges as well as continuing threats. As past and present become horribly entangled, Fiona unravels the truth about a determined killer, and finds herself on the wrong end of a knife.

Genres: Mystery, Lds Fiction, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Lds, Thriller

316 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

About the author

Stephanie Black has loved books since she was old enough to grab the pages, and has enjoyed creating make-believe adventures since she and her sisters were inventing long Barbie games filled with intrigue and danger or running around pretending to be detectives. She is a four-time Whitney Award winner for Best Mystery/Suspense novel.

Stephanie lives in California, in the Bay Area. She plays the violin in a community symphony (but never practices enough), enjoys homemade chocolate-chip cookies, and takes pictures of birds. Her favorite activity is spending time with her family, currently consisting of her husband, five kids, three kids-in-law, a cat, and three grandpets.

Reviews

[T.K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stayed up most of the night to finish this, and it was worth it! The murderer kept me guessing to the end, and there were so many intricate relationships that added depth to this thriller. Well done, Stephanie! 4.5 stars

[Charissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning. This one is extremely sticky—meaning, your hands won’t be able to put it down and your mind won’t let you stop thinking about it until you finish. It’s a decent sized book—300+ pages. But I read it in a day. Super thrilling. Super mysterious. Super characterization and plot. Super duper murder mystery suspense thriller heart-grabber. Fiona is the MC, and she is a cool, but wounded character. She’s currently an English professor at a college back east, but 8 years ago, she was in an accident that killed her roommate, Mia Hardy. Now, she is receiving threatening notes and odd things keep happening that escalate the tension and worry in her mind. There are tons of characters and side plots, but pay attention, because they all come into play in the end. Wow! This book was impressive. I don’t read many mystery-suspense books, but this one I would totally reread. It’s THAT good. I don’t want to try to summarize because I don’t dare give away any of the awesome surprises you get from reading it yourself. Let me just say, I suspected everyone at some point in the book. I love that. Great job, Stephanie Black.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It made me suspicious of almost everyone. I did not figure it all out until it was revealed.

LDS writer writing about LDS characters, but thankfully she didn’t belabor the point. It was more like she wrote it for LDS readers and just used vocabulary that audience would understand. I think a reader who isn’t LDS could also enjoy this.

Some blood and violence. A minor profanity or two?

This had been on my Want to Read shelf for MANY years; no idea where I heard about it.

Spoiler below.

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Alternative title: Murderous Mormons. 🤪

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiona Claridge is a professor at a small college in New Hampshire. Her long-time friend James teaches there as well. They have a history together from college and the time of the accident that killed their friend. When Fiona catches a student plagiarizing and calls her on it, Kim retaliates by pulling pranks. But some of the pranks go too far--and some Kim claims to have had nothing to do with.

I thought this was a great suspenseful story! There were a few side stories going on as well and all were very interesting. My only complaint is, at times, especially in the beginning, I kept feeling like I should know the back story--possibly this was a sequel?--but I believe this book stands alone. The characters were great and the ending was unexpected.

[Tabitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

More crazy psychological romantic suspense from Stephanie Black. Another one that kept me up late and not able to put it down. An accidental death that Fiona feels responsible for keeps her from trusting anyone with her feelings. Current events bring the past to mind, and then cruel reminders masquerading as gifts or even worse start showing up in her life, until finally they almost kill her as well, with a murder or two along the way. You'll be wondering too. Clean. LDS references but nothing that needs understanding to enjoy this book. Definitely recommend.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It has a great ending and I honestly was shocked at the identity of the killer. I felt the author did a good job at switching between the characters point of views to help tell the story. I think this will be on my October reads list for mystery novels. Definitely will reread 😊

[Donna Weaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently finished reading Rearview Mirror by Stephanie Black. I've read one other of her books, Cold As Ice and loved it. It made its way around my office where I'm the resident library. Rearview Mirror is now making the rounds as well. As a disclaimer, the author provided me with a free copy of this book, but it didn't impact my review. I would definitely purchase it.

So what's it about?

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.

What did I think?

I loved it. I really haven't been that much of a mystery/suspense reader, but I'm finding myself being pulled into this genre thanks to Stephanie. My heart went out to poor Fiona who already bears so many scars--both physically and emotionally--from the accident all those years ago.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters that Stephanie created in this story because they were believably flawed. You're only given a part of each character's story and left to guess the rest. I found myself getting really nervous as the end of the book approached because I was emotionally invested in so many characters ... and I knew one of them was the villain. I kept thinking, "No, it can't be ***; I like *** too much." or "No, it can't be *** because if it is *** then **** will be devastated, and I don't want **** to be hurt."

Stephanie messed with my head so much that toward the end of the book, when things were getting really tense, I had a nightmare where my own romantic interest in the WIP I'm editing right now ended up turning into a villain. O_o Mine is not even a mystery/suspense!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephanie Black’s new book 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!

Originally reviewed on http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com

[E.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read one other Stephanie Black novel and I enjoyed this one more. Once again she sets up so that there are plenty of suspects to who is behind the attacks but this one was done in such a good way that I was blown away by the ending. The story follows Fiona who years earlier caused a car accident that killed her roommate. She is continually plagued by the death and does everything she can to make everyone else feel at ease, even at the expense of her own peace of mind. I don't always like the fact that the characters assumed the worst of each other but it seems to be pretty consistent with real human nature. I thought she did a good job of creating compelling characters.

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book! It had a lot of twists & turns that I found fun! It was well written & kept my interest. My only complaint was that I figured out what was going on about half way through. A new twist would come up & I had it figured out within a few pages. It was a good read though & if given the chance, I'd probably read it again.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that can hold your attention enough while you are sick so that you finish it within one and a half days of starting it deserves five stars. Great suspense. I look forward to reading more of her books.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rearview Mirror is about a professor named Fiona who is the victim of a series of escalating pranks referencing her roommate who died in a car accident eight years prior. An accidental death becomes suspicious, a suspicious death has the police looking at a cop’s wife, and a dead co-ed in Fiona’s tub has everyone wondering what in the world is going on in their quiet little town. My brain kept spinning around wondering whodunnit. 😂 Goodread!

[Sharon Hogenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written!

I would have given this book 4 1/2 stars if possible, and the only reason it isn't five is because my five stars are reserved for books I can read over and over again. While "Rearview Mirror" is one I'll probably read again, it isn't one I'd pick up any time for a bit of light reading.

[Alisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun mystery/suspense. Kept me alert with audio book while driving. I admit some was predictable but it still kept you guessing. Some crazy twists and turns. Scary to think some of that stuff is more real (not just fictional) then we'd like to admit.

[Brienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I SO appreciate a mystery without profanity! I did end up guessing half of the ending, but there was a surprise. There were so many characters that some seemed a little unnecessary? But it was a fun read and definitely kept me interested. I will definitely read more of this author.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this isn't my usual genre I really enjoyed reading this murder mystery. I loved the characters and the storyline kept me engaged from start to finish. I will definitely be on the lookout for more of her books.

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it and cared about the characters, but it took me awhile to get into it and so much of the suspenseful action was at the very end, I wish I had felt that a little more throughout. I will read the author again, but not likely the book.

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for the 52 books in 52 weeks February mini challenge. Honestly, it was kindof creepy. I don't know weather to be proud of this author for writing a good mystery story, or terrified of how her psycho imagination works. I enjoyed it, i think.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful read. I was guessing "who done it" until the very end. I would recommend this book if you like thrillers that are clean with no profanity and sex.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I was in the mood for a mystery and this kept me guessing. I thought I had it figured out, but I was only half right. Fun read.

[ChattyChihuahua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the terrifying twists and turns of Rearview Mirror! :D It kept me guessing all the way through.

[Kathi Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good well written mystery that made me feel that I'm willing to read more of the author's books

[Ranee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, “clean “ mystery ! Very dramatic ending

[Suze Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first this was hard to keep track of all of the characters and their stories. Then it got interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat. Kept me guessing till the end! Hard one to put down.

[Hailey Fackrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really kept me guessing. Had a good plot! Highly recommend for mystery/suspense fans!

[Sadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mystery... kept me rethinking whodunit until the end.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very suspenseful! The only thing I didn’t like was how Fiona was a bit naive—like always going when Gavin called. But she kept me guessing!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kept me guessing. Great suspense.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

***3.5****
This was a quick, clean read filled with suspense and mystery. It was fun.

[Marjean · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm glad I don't live in a ward with a family whose mother's controlling, gossiping, judging character drives people literally to death.