Mirror Image

by Clair M. Poulson

In this exhilarating new thriller from the king of LDS suspense, twin boys are born into tragedy when their mother dies giving birth. Separated through adoption, the two boys grow up worlds apart. Greg Ralston, handsome, intelligent, and a talented athlete with a promising future, is the ideal all-American boy. Rafe Collings, on the other hand, is a down-to-earth cowboy who, at an early age, witnessed an unspeakable crime, and has the criminal's face-and his horrible threat-burned deep into his memory. Then there is Lindsay Diamond, the one person who has figured out the connection between these two young men. While her knowledge has the potential to reunite the long-lost brothers, it also involves dangerous individuals who are desperate to keep hidden truths buried, no matter who gets in the way.

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

Paperback

Published January 1, 2005

About the author

Clair M. Poulson was born and raised in Duchesne, Utah. His father was a rancher and farmer, his mother a librarian. Clair has always been an avid reader, having found his love for books as a very young boy.

He has served for forty years in the criminal justice system. Twenty years were spent in law enforcement, ending his police career with eight years as the Duchesne County Sheriff. For the past twenty years Clair has worked as a justice court judge for Duchesne County. Clair is also a veteran of the US Army where he was a military policeman. He has served on various boards and councils during his professional career, including the Justice Court Board of Judges, Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, Utah Judicial Council, Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, an FBI advisory board and others.

In addition to his criminal justice work, Clair has farmed and ranched all of his life. He has raised many kinds of animals, but his greatest interest is horses.

Clair has served in many capacities in the LDS church, including fulltime missionary (California Mission) bishop, counselor to bishop, young men president, high councilor, stake mission president, scoutmaster, High Priest group leader, etc. He currently serves as a Sunday School teacher.

Clair is married to Ruth, and together, they have five children, all of whom are married: Alan (Vicena) Poulson, Kelly Ann (Wade) Hatch, Amanda (Ben) Semadeni, Wade (Brooke) Poulson, and Mary (Tyler) Hicken. Between them they have twenty-three children. Clair and Ruth met while both were students at Snow College and were married in the Manti temple.

Clair has always loved telling his children, and later his grandchildren, make-up stories. His vast experience in life and his love of literature has always contributed to both his telling stories to children and his writing of adventure and suspense novels.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be the post complicated books of his I've read. There was a lot going on, and I don't think I've read characters with so much bad luck with so many unconnected people wanting them for nefarious purposes. It was still enjoyable, and I wanted to keep reading to the end.

[Jacque · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a compelling story, but the writing was not great. There was also a lot of cheesiness in the love plot. There were also about 6 different stories happening at the same time. It was a little much!

[Audra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw an add for his new book in an ad and it mentioned that he was a number one lds suspense writer. I found Mirror Image at the library and gave it a try.
It was a bit cheesy and predictable. There were also about 5 different story lines going on at the same time. I was bored after awhile and just wanted to finish it so I could be done.
I wouldn't mind trying another of his books. If anyone has a suggestion let me know!

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twin boys are born to young Stella Tuft after she's in a car accident. Her husband wasn't around when they found her. One twin is adopted in rural Utah - Rafe Collings. Greg Ralston, the other twin is stolen by his dad from the hospital and sold to a couple in ID. Rafe is young when his adopted mom is murdered in a bank robbery which he witnesses, but is told by the murderer not to say anything. In their teens, Rafe wins a rodeo championship and the national press picks it up. A girl in Idaho who knows Greg sees it and writes to Rafe about Greg - Lindsay Diamond. the murderer also sees it as does his grandfather and uncle. Lots of storylines start coming together, all of which involve people trying to do away with Rafe and Gabe. Lindsay also has a stalker. There's a bunch going on - hard to believe it would all happen to one person, but Poulson makes it believable and ties it all together, keeping the interest high.

[Camile · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan of his writing style. The storyline was very unrealistic. Too much happening to too few people. Identical twin boys separated at birth. Their biological mother has a crazy father and brother, who are after the twins thinking they have information on them. Then their biological father was also after them for money. One of the twins adopted mother was murdered, and he was witnessed to it so now the murderer was after him. A girl who knew one of the twins in high school, ends up meeting the other twin (was in love with both of them at different times) and she has a stalker. Also, one of the twin brothers was accused of murdering someone… Way too much! I don’t think his style of writing is amazing either. And even though I am LDS, I did not appreciate his random mentions of faith a prayer, priesthood blessing, Church. I understand that that really is an integral part of these characters lives, but for some reason it seemed to forced in the book.

[Sharon Gallup · Rating 5 out of 5]

i was very surprised how this book held my attention. i couldn't put it down . It was a different kind of mystery . A young girl runs away from home and gives birth to twin boys. she died in the delivery and when the doctor went to check on the babies he found one of the babies had just been stolen from the hospital.. neither boy knew they had a twin brother so their lives were totally different. the boy that was adopted decided to find who was his birth mother and once he starts that he opens the door to those who don't want him to find out who and what his birth family are able to do. this is a excellent book for mystery readers .

[Betty Ann Baer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first three chapters introduced so many people that I had to go back and take notes about the different people involved in the book. After getting all of the people sorted out it was interesting to see how all of the various crimes or attempts were solved. It kept my brain thinking to see who was in trouble and whom was chasing whom.

[Cassie Shiels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how there were so many villains. It made it fun. It had many fun tense parts. The romance was okay, but I usually like a little more build there. It was all wrapped up nice too which was good.

[Susan Forsgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action from the beginning until the very end.

[Elizabeth Midgley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was actually pretty good and attention keeping for a fluff mystery. The only complaint I have with this author is he can’t write a good romance element to the story.

[Delores Cordell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story! Always enjoy his books mystery,clean romance, thank you!

[Sal4gal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book. It started out kind of cheesy but then I grew to really enjoy it! Especially for a short book, it packed a lot of story.

[Malinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Instant action and it doesn’t stop until the end. Makes for a fast read.

[Lawana Sisam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clair M Poulson has done it again. An enjoyable tale of mistaken identity! No inappropriate language or sex.

[Van Reese · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining story, but a bit much to be believable.

[Makenna Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow, angsty burn through the whole book. I loved the end!

[LAWonder10 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very young woman felt she was finally safe - fleeing with a handsome man from the frightening, abusive situation she endured with her cruel father and brother. They were married in Las Vegas and she was now protectively pregnant with their child. While traveling on a highway in Utah, one snowy night, something dark rushed onto the highway and stopped. Unable to stop the vehicle in time, it skidded into the object then all went black. When she awoke, she was alone with strange people in a hospital and her husband was never seen. She was in severe pain and was rushed to the labor room where twin boys were delivered by C-Section...Twin boys she would never see, never hold.

When seven years old, Rafe witnessed his adoptive mother get murdered at a robbery of their local bank. Although for years following he suffered frequent nightmares, he lived a productive life on a ranch and riding in rodeos where he gained fame.

Greg was a dynamic basketball player in High School, and gained much public attention. Lyndsay had a crush on him but their lifestyles were very different. She one day noticed in a newspaper Greg's picture on a wild horse...Greg would never ride horses or wear cowboy attire! Shockingly, he lived nowhere near Greg...yet, they looked identical!

The story continues with a huge amount of action and twists! The adventures never cease. I listened to the book on CD where David Walker did an excellent job in reading and creative effective voices.

The Title is perfect and the book cover reflects the title well. It also creates reader interest.

The development of the characters were done very effectively and they seemed very real. The background scenes and action were also created well and described clearly. This was indeed well-written, smoothly flowing from one scene to the next. This was a very cleanly written, Christian fiction.

My review of this book rates it with a strong Five Stars rating.

[04rachels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mirror Image: Clair Poulson
Someone is after Rafe and Greg. There's also a stalker that's after Lindsay. It's in our time so we had all the cellphones and computers and it was easier to track people down. The place had to be in Texas and Provo because in Texas is where the Private eye works and Provo is where Lindsay is. Rafe Collings, Greg Ralston, Lindsay Diamond, and The Tall Man are all Protagonists. Dempsey, Deke, Bob, and Harley are Antagonists. I liked how it didn't just focus on one character. It gave a point of view for everyone. I didn't like how many boys were after Lindsay and she didn't even know. "Greg took a bullet that was meant for me." Rafe said with bitterness in his voice. I thought that was kind of scary to know that someone was after Rafe to actually kill him. Rafe's no longer safe. Usually, people that know something that they aren't suppose to know, might end up dead. I recommend this book to anyone who likes it when a book has mystery characters. There were so many characters in this book. Most of them were bad. I thought that this was a really awesome book. It always has the best epilogue and prologue.

[Hilary Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very busy book. There were so many different elements at play throughout the book. This was okay to keep the reader's interest, but it was almost a little too much for me. I was also disappointed in the romance; Clair Poulson obviously writes more for the mystery than the relationships. I highly recommend any of his books I've read so far, however, if you just want a fun, quick, clean mystery with a little suspense!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know what to expect from this book. I picked it up from the library when I was searching for something to read. It looked intriguing. Low and behold I discover that it is an LDS themed book! Mystery and suspense are truly evident as you read this story! Will Rafe and Greg ever meet? What about Lindsay, will she find happiness? So many villains to keep track of! I will definitely look into another book by this author!

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just okay for me, although I thought that giving it two stars would be a bit harsh. It was what I expected. I found all of the "enemies" of the main characters a bit confusing at times and just too much. Also, I felt like it was "action, action, suspense, hurry-up-and-end-the-book-and-they-all-lived-happily-ever-after..." Ya know?

[Annabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book a 3.5. Good and clean story. A little too much 'intrigue', if that is possible. And it was confusing to have the characters referred to as 'the tall man' or the 'man with the green car' and 'the man in the brown Bronco' over and over again....purposefully not being clear on who the characters really were. I didn't like that much, but the story was really good besides that.

[Marvelle Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only reason I finished this book is because it was the only thing I had to read/do. It was predictable, cheesy, and totally unbelievable. There were too many bad guys all after the twins. There were too many coincidences. I was incredibly bored reading this.

It should probably only get 1 star but I gave it an extra star because it's clean (no language or sex).

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was well written and the suspense was very well done. Many of the scenes jump around between characters and it takes a while to figure out how they'll all connect, but that was part of the fun of the book was trying to figure out what path the author was taking.

[Kailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fantastic LDS suspense novel! The characters are interesting and the plot is very complex and fun to follow. It is cool how all of the different stories tie together at the end; you will be up all night listening (the audio book is excellent) to this one.

[Marinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

We listened to this while driving home from St. George. It did get a little complicated at times with over 4 "bad guys" all going after the same people. I guess that kept me thinking though. As for listening to it, the reader's girl voice drove Brandon crazy. Over all, a good book.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author gets better as he goes. This one has almost more plots than you can keep track of. Twin brothers (you know there would be twins by the title) a separated at birth. Problems from the past as well as current problems result in their meeting at age 23.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot is so impossible, is is almost believable that something like this could actually happen. At first it was hard to keep track of all the characters, who wants to kill who, etc. Very suspensefull, and keeps you on your toes. One of my fav. LDS novels so far.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of those books I only finished because I'd started it. The plot was improbable and full of too many coincidences. There were too many unconnected villians to be a good read, and the dialog was cheesy.

[Megan Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Apparently it's very easy for good people to have a lot of enemies. Or at least, people after them. This was good. I'm going to have to commandeer more of his books from my parents room! I was interested in finding out more about the stalker, though.