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Mirror Image

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A mirror that feeds on human souls wreaks destruction on those around it in this new novel from internationally bestselling author Michael Scott and Melanie Ruth Rose
In an auction house in London, there is a mirror no one will buy. Standing seven feet tall and reaching four feet across, its size makes it unusual. Its horrific powers make it extraordinary. For centuries, the mirror has fed off of the lives of humans, giving them agonizing deaths and sucking their souls into its hellish world.

When Jonathan Frazer, the wealthy owner of a furniture and antiques shop in Los Angeles, buys the mirror at an auction, he believes he is getting the bargain of a lifetime. With its age and size, it is easily worth eight times what he paid for it. At this point, the mirror has sat dormant for years. But within days of Jonathan's purchase, the deaths begin again. One employee is crushed when the mirror falls on top of him. A few days later, the corpse of another is found in front of the mirror, brutally stabbed. A third is burned beyond all recognition. All the while, an enormous man with a scarred face is following Jonathan, demanding that he give him the mirror and killing any police officer that gets in his way.

The police are becoming desperate. As the death toll rises, Jonathan himself becomes a suspect. He knows there is something wrong with the mirror. He knows it's dangerous. But he cannot bring himself to get rid of it. Everyday he becomes more captivated by the mirror.

For the mirror is awakening, and its powers are resurfacing.

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 14, 2015

18 people are currently reading
380 people want to read

About the author

Michael Scott

179 books6,820 followers
Irish-born Michael Scott began writing over thirty years ago, and is one of Ireland's most successful and prolific authors, with over one hundred titles to his credit, spanning a
variety of genres, including Fantasy, Science Fiction and Folklore.

He writes for both adults and young adults and is published in thirty-seven countries, in over twenty languages.

Praised for his “unparalleled contribution to children’s literature,” by the Guide to Children’s
Books, Michael Scott was the Writer in Residence during Dublin’s tenure as European City of Culture in 1991, and was featured in the 2006 edition of Who’s Who in Ireland as one of the 1000
most “significant Irish.”

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
Profile Image for Zoeytron.
1,036 reviews891 followers
August 23, 2016
Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

An ancient mirror, cursed and deadly. With implicit promises of immortality and power, the flickering, swirling images just below the reflective surface beckon. It hungers, it craves . . .

Mirrors. They are everywhere. You use them to check your hair, to make sure there is no unsightly spinach stuck between your teeth, and to reassure yourself you are indeed just that good lookin'. Now, think of what all that mirror has "seen" in its lifetime. You may finish this story a little less enamored of your reflection and of mirrors in general.

There is an abundance of strong sexual content here and it detracted from the story. Just my opinion.
Profile Image for Alex ☣ Deranged KittyCat ☣.
654 reviews433 followers
December 17, 2016
Have you ever seen Oculus? I did and I loved it. So when I found Mirror Image on NetGalley, I was excited. Evil mirrors have a way about themselves.

description

A mirror that feeds on human souls wreaks destruction on those around it in this new novel from internationally bestselling author Michael Scott and Melanie Ruth Rose
In an auction house in London, there is a mirror no one will buy. Standing seven feet tall and reaching four feet across, its size makes it unusual. Its horrific powers make it extraordinary. For centuries, the mirror has fed off of the lives of humans, giving them agonizing deaths and sucking their souls into its hellish world.

When Jonathan Frazer, the wealthy owner of a furniture and antiques shop in Los Angeles, buys the mirror at an auction, he believes he is getting the bargain of a lifetime. With its age and size, it is easily worth eight times what he paid for it. At this point, the mirror has sat dormant for years. But within days of Jonathan's purchase, the deaths begin again. One employee is crushed when the mirror falls on top of him. A few days later, the corpse of another is found in front of the mirror, brutally stabbed. A third is burned beyond all recognition. All the while, an enormous man with a scarred face is following Jonathan, demanding that he give him the mirror and killing any police officer that gets in his way.

The police are becoming desperate. As the death toll rises, Jonathan himself becomes a suspect. He knows there is something wrong with the mirror. He knows it's dangerous. But he cannot bring himself to get rid of it. Everyday he becomes more captivated by the mirror.

For the mirror is awakening, and its powers are resurfacing.


With that out of the way, let me tell you the scariest of things: the mirror truly exists. Only it's not as big as described in the book and it's completely black.

description

Also, it truly belonged to Dr. John Dee, an advisor to the great Queen Elizabeth. History says the historical figure dabbed in the occult, just as his fictional counterpart. And Sir Edward Kelley was his aide.

But I get ahead of myself already. It's that the historical part is exciting.

In Mirror Image we get two stories: the one from the present (presented in the book's official description), and one from the past (about John Dee, Edward Kelley and a mysterious woman; and how they almost unleashed the mirror upon the Earth in their time).

Both stories are full of violence and sex, as the mirror is activated with blood, tears or semen. And with the help of Kelley, we find out eventually how the mirror came to be and who is the malevolent woman in it. The woman's origin is pretty cool. I loved how the authors used mythology. By the end of the book, I didn't know anymore who was it I was rooting for. The mirror had a valid reason for being and its spirit deserved to be free. Would that bring the end of the world? I don't think so, and that would be an interesting book to read, too.

What I did not understand about the book is

Anyway, bottom line is I really liked the book and I highly recommend it. It has it all, horror, sex and madness. And mind you, it has sex without falling into erotica and being silly.

*I thank NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Michael Scott and Melanie Ruth Rose for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Jen.
671 reviews305 followers
August 31, 2016
DNF at 75%. When you are begging your book to PLEASE be over already, it's time to cut your loses. The premise for this book is great - possessed mirror sold at an auction... I'm there every time. The execution... well, it's making me want to be executed, too.
Profile Image for Lisa.
350 reviews596 followers
September 11, 2016
Review from Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2016/0...


We all know, if you want creepy things, you have to hit the auction houses, right? Where old, dirty, dingy, creepy finds lurk in the shadows waiting for bids. OK. Typically it is just antique or faux-antique objects, but hey, this is a horror book, and so there have to be horrors to be found. An auction house sounds like a great place to uncover something that would be better not found. Our protagonist frequents auction houses as he took his family’s antique business and evolved it into a very successful interiors business for high end clientele in Los Angeles.

Seeing as there’s more history and antiques across the pond, he makes a yearly trip to auction houses there to find those unique and interesting pieces that he can fix up and sell for a considerable mark up. In a small auction house, his last stop in London, he happens upon a huge mirror. The frame is unremarkable but the glass is quite old and valuable. He instantly is drawn to it and has to have it.

After winning the auction, he returns to Los Angeles and remains drawn to this mirror in a peculiar way. He also becomes frightened as suddenly mysterious, sometimes violent, deaths are occurring within its vicinity. It seems cursed, and the death toll continues to rise. It becomes clear that this mirror is more than just a mirror, and it is both creepy and evil. It is also doing what it can to gain power and is trying to get our protagonist under its influence.

I have to take a moment here to mention that this book will not be for everyone. If you are disturbed by violence or gore, or are sensitive to rape or sex, you might want to give this one a pass. But, if those are not triggers for your, and you are comfortable reading the uncomfortable moments, then I found this to be a good, creepy book. It definitely has scenes and moments I would not expect. I don’t think this book holds anything back, and for me it worked. I was very curious about the mirror, how it worked, how it came to be, and most importantly, what they could possibly do to keep it from killing. Our protagonist starts out as a decent, together sort of guy. But the mirror begins taking a real toll on him between the stress of having an object that appears to be able to cause deaths, and also becoming obsessed with it. Is he under the mirror’s control or is he just going a bit insane? It is an interesting question to think about as the chaos ensues.

Mirror Image is the tale of a horrific and deadly mirror that tallies quite the body count in its quest for power (and whatever else it’s end goal may be). I definitely enjoyed this one and recommend it to fans of creepy horror that don’t have any of the sensitivities I mentioned above.
Profile Image for Zuky the BookBum.
622 reviews434 followers
Read
August 25, 2016
DNF at 45%

I instantly liked the writing style of this book, it was free flowing and easy to get into, unfortunately, this was definitely longer than it needed to be - when I got to the 36% mark I thought “really? We still have 64% of this book left to go?” I couldn’t quite work out how the author was going to be able to write much more without it being repetitive and dull.

I thought this was going to be my kind of book but apparently not, and I feel bad for not finishing it, but it wasn’t my cup of tea in the end. I’m sure lots of people will really enjoy this story, but paranormal kind of horror really doesn’t float my boat. I prefer more evil human situations.

It’s amazing how so many American written stories, whether it be book, TV or film, have British people as the evil characters, I feel like Americans picture us all as really posh and they think that’s menacing? I don’t get it personally, but then that might be because I live in a reasonably posh part of England (I’m not calling myself posh, I was born in Walthamstow lol).

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Carol.
3,677 reviews133 followers
February 10, 2020
A mirror that feeds on human souls...what a great premise for a terrorizing novel! For several chapters the author pulled it off...well enough to earn it 3 stars from me. The problem was that it turns out the mirror not only fed on blood and souls...it also fed on sex. I'm not opposed to sex in a book or a movie but there was a LOT of it here and it seemed to be endless. The shift through different timelines was also sometimes hard to follow. Still the idea and and the story minus the endless sex...was worthy of the 3 stars.
Profile Image for Kat Montemayor.
Author 9 books221 followers
August 17, 2016
4/5 Creepy mirror stars
Thank you Netgalley, and MacMillan-Tor/Forge for providing me a copy of this book for an honest review.

When I read the description of this book, I immediately thought of the movie, Oculus.
There are a lot of similarities. Mirror with a violent history, sold at an auction house. As it was one of the few horror movies in recent memory to actually unnerve me, I wanted to read this book.
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Jonathan Frazer owns a successful antique business in LA. Almost as soon as he purchases an old mirror and brings it home to his guesthouse/overflow storage area for his antiques, his employees begin to die. Then, he is threatened by a large, scarred man who demands Jonathan give him the mirror. This man has personal knowledge of the mirror's evil violence as well as it's dark origins and history. This is presented effectively in flashback by the thoughts of the scarred man and through dreams of the other characters. Pertinent information is given involving witchcraft and ritualism involving bodily fluids--blood,semen,tears which is necessary to feed/free the mirror image.The sacrificial nature of its needs is reminiscent of Satanic rituals, and the pagan worship practices of Chemosh and Molech. I like that it was shown this way, without appearing to be an info dump.

I'll admit, I took a perverse pleasure in some of the ways the more unlikable characters met their end. Side-eyes Robert Beaumont.
But the thing I found most intriguing was the transformation of the MC, Jonathan Frazer, as the mirror affects and alters him. Subtle changes are smoothly woven into the story. In the beginning, he is a milquetoast character--gullible, soft-hearted, often taken advantage by his wife and at least one his employees. He doesn't even swear. When the bodies start piling up, he considers destroying the mirror.
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It is short-lived, and soon he is in the mirror's thrall. Morality goes out the window and his whole reason for being is to feed the mirror.
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People are expendable, including Jonathan's own daughter. She is also affected. Her body is changing in noticeable ways. She is sometimes the mirror's unwitting accomplice.
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The ending leaves an opening for a continuation of the story, and I am curious if the author is considering a sequel. I would encourage anyone who reads this book to read the author's notes at the end. That information makes the whole story more disturbing.
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Profile Image for Susanne.
1,201 reviews39.1k followers
August 23, 2016
Mirror Image by Michael Scott is a campy horror novel about an antique mirror with a mind of its own.

The antique mirror, which has been left untouched for years, is purchased at an auction house by Jonathan Frazer, the owner of a furniture shop in Los Angeles. Immediately after the purchase, Jonathan is drawn to the mirror, though he doesn’t realize that this is extraordinary. Within a few days, his trusty employee loses his life when the mirror crushes him and then one by one, several other people lose their lives in grotesque ways, all because of this mirror and its “powers.” With each death, Jonathan, realizes that something is awry but he cannot bring himself to part with the mirror, regardless of what it costs him.

Most of the characters in this book were superfluous and poorly written and the writing fell flat. The book was campy, grotesque and contained strong sexual content, which was unnecessary to the storyline. Further, the book wasn’t scary and left me wishing I hadn’t wasted my time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Michael Scott for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 8/21/16.

Published on Amazon on 8/23/16.
Profile Image for Irene Well Worth A Read.
1,037 reviews112 followers
July 27, 2016
Mirrors have played a predominant role in horror movies, books, and nightmares. For as long as mirrors have existed, so have superstitions about them. From 7 years bad luck for breaking a mirror, to stealing your soul. From not reflecting vampires because they have no soul, to being a portal to otherworldly dimensions. I have always been fascinated by such stories and so I jumped at the chance to read Mirror Image. This is the story of an antique mirror and the ancient evil secrets it holds.
Johnathan Frazer, a family man, unhappy in his marriage, just knew he had to have this mirror as soon as he saw it. Perhaps the mirror also knew that it just had to have Johnathan! Oddly, he happens to be the only bidder on this mirror at auction and thinks he is getting a fantastic deal. He no sooner has it delivered when the gruesome and grisly deaths begin. Johnathan knows there is something evil about this mirror but as it begins to exert it's power over him his will to get rid of it grows ever weaker, and the danger to Johnathan and his family heightens as the mirror grows stronger.
I received an advance copy for review
Profile Image for Nenatie.
215 reviews24 followers
March 18, 2016
Die Rezi findet ihr auch auf meinem Blog

Inhalt
Jonathan Frazer entdeckt auf einer Auktion zufällig einen großen, sehr alten Spiegel. Er sieht sofort dass der Spiegel sehr wertvoll ist und hat das Glück ihn zu einem guten Preis zu ersteigern. Zurück in Amerika bringt er den Spiegel in seine Werkstatt wo er restauriert werden soll. Doch schnell stellt sich heraus, dass mit dem Spiegel irgendwas nicht stimmt, seine Oberfläche wird niemals richtig sauber und plötzlich sterben die Menschen in seiner Nähe auf mysteriöse Weise.
Jonathan findet heraus, dass der Spiegel die Vergangenheit und die Zukunft zeigen kann, wenn er nur im Mondlicht steht und mit Blut gefüttert wird. Dazu taucht immer wieder das Abbild einer verführerischen Frau auf und Jonathan würde alles tun um sie wieder zu sehen.

Meinung
Über das Buch bin ich zufällig auf dem Bloggerportal von Randomhouse gestolpert. Das Cover war interessant und der Klappentext hat mich sofort neugierig gemacht. Also Buch angefordert und freundlicherweise durfte ich es lesen!

Der Einstig ist schon mal recht abgefahren, ein kurzer Prolog in dem gleich jemand stirbt und der Spiegel taucht auch schon auf. Und man hat sehr viele Fragen im Kopf. Dann trifft man Jonathan der den Spiegel ersteigert und denkt er hat den Fund seines Lebens gemacht. Dieser erste Teil ist wirklich super geschrieben, wunderbar gruselig und mysteriös. Man weiß nicht so recht was genau los ist, ob alles eine rationale Erklärung hat oder der Spiegel doch irgendetwas magisches an sich hat. Als Leser erfährt man auch immer mehr über die Geschichte des Spiegels und was mit dem Spiegel war bevor er zu Jonathan nach Amerika kam. Diese Passagen fand ich sehr spannend und die Autoren haben wirklich gut bekannte historische Personen in ihre Geschichte eingebaut.

Nach und nach häufen sich dann die mysteriösen Ereignisse und vor allem auch die Tode. Der Mittelteil des Buches war mir persönlich etwas too much, zu abgefahren und vor allem zu viele detailreiche Tode! Es geht wirklich nur noch darum wer wann wie gestorben ist und wie bei jedem Tod "zufällig" eine spiegelnde Oberfläche im Spiel ist. Irgendwann ist es dann auch nichtmehr schockierend sondern nur noch übertrieben. Es gibt auch sehr viel Sex, der oft zum Tod mindestens von einem der Beteiligten führt.
Der letzte Teil hat den Mittelteil wieder aufgewogen, die Erklärung woher der Spiegel kommt hat mir gut gefallen. Das Ende war allerdings dann ziemlich offen und lässt sehr viel Spielraum für Interpretationen.

Die Charaktere waren interessant aber leider auch sehr austauschbar. Jonathan Frazer ist der nette und gutgläubige Antiquitätenhändler der völlig in den Bann des Spiegels gerät. Seine Frau ist die typische gelangweilte Beverly Hills Ehefrau die nur auf sich und ihr Aussehen bedacht ist. Einzig Emanuelle, die Tochter, fand ich interessant und konnte so ein bisschen mit ihr mitfühlen. Der Spiegel als Protagonist war aber eine tolle Abwechslung und auch sehr interessant.

Für Fans von Mysterythrillern mit sehr viel Übernatürlichem und vor allem sehr viel Blut auf jeden Fall ein lesenswertes Buch. Definitiv nichts für Leser mit schwachen Nerven und wer mystische Inhalte nicht so sehr mag sollte auch nicht unbedingt zu „Blutbann“ greifen.
Profile Image for Sue Wallace .
7,319 reviews133 followers
October 30, 2023
Mirror Image By Michael Scott is a horror read.
A mirror that feeds on human souls wreaks destruction on those around it in Mirror Image, the new novel from internationally bestselling author Michael Scott and Melanie Ruth Rose.

In an auction house in London, there is a mirror no one will buy. Standing seven feet tall and reaching four feet across, its size makes it unusual. Its horrific powers make it extraordinary. For centuries, the mirror has fed off of the lives of humans, giving them agonizing deaths and sucking their souls into its hellish world.

When Jonathan Frazer, the wealthy owner of a furniture and antiques shop in Los Angeles, buys the mirror at an auction, he believes he is getting the bargain of a lifetime. With its age and size, it is easily worth eight times what he paid for it. At this point, the mirror has sat dormant for years. But within days of Jonathan's purchase, the deaths begin again. One employee is crushed when the mirror falls on top of him. A few days later, the corpse of another is found in front of the mirror, brutally stabbed. A third is burned beyond all recognition. All the while, an enormous man with a scarred face is following Jonathan, demanding that he give him the mirror and killing any police officer that gets in his way.

The police are becoming desperate. As the death toll rises, Jonathan himself becomes a suspect. He knows there is something wrong with the mirror. He knows it's dangerous. But he cannot bring himself to get rid of it. Everyday he becomes more captivated by the mirror.

For the mirror is awakening, and its powers are resurfacing.
This was an absolute fantastic read. I couldn't put it down. Lots of action blood and gore. Just how I like it. Very cleverly written with brilliant characters. Highly recommended. 5* although I would give more if I could. Thanks to netgalley for the arc.
Profile Image for Bookish_predator.
576 reviews24 followers
August 24, 2016
A book about a psychotic mirror you say!? Yes please, I will definitely read that!!

As the story starts we meet one of our main characters, Jonathan Frazer, an antiques dealer from LA, who is drawn to a mirror at an auction, bids on it and wins. We follow him back to LA and meet his wife Celia and daughter Emmanuelle aka Manny along with some of his workers.

After the bizarre death of his friend Tony we are introduced to 2 detectives, Margaret Haaren and Jose Perez, who are investigating and lurking in the shadows is a tall powerfully built man covered in scars, watching and waiting, trying to get his hands on the mirror. Why? Who is he?

The story weaves between present day and 16th century London, the slow build of the history of the mirror begins and the 3 people involved, Kelley, Dr John Dee and a long haired woman whose name we don't learn until the last few chapters of the book.

Things start to go wrong almost immediately, mysterious deaths and vivid erotic dreams sending people crazy, verging on complete madness. The deaths and dreams begin to happen more and more, each one described in detail.


This is a really good book, I enjoyed it even though I was being attacked by an 11 week old puppy at the time! There's a good mix of violence and backstory, it's well written and the tension builds nicely to a cracking conclusion.

*Huge thanks to Michael Scott, Melanie Ruth Rose, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review*
Profile Image for Brenda.
1,516 reviews67 followers
August 14, 2016
This is a beautiful, beautiful horror. It is horror in all its glory. Characters descending into madness, lots of gore and sex, and a deliciously evil mirror that can give you all you want....right before it kills you.

But wait, there's more! The BEST PART EVER is who the mirror is. Who has been stuck in there, biding time, waiting for the next dumbo to come along and sate their need.....

It's just exactly what you want from a horror. It takes very little time at all to jump into the action which is perfect. Horror novels and horror movies tend to take a while in the beginning portion because they want to set you up properly for future drama. I understand it, but sometimes they just take too long and I want action! Mirror Image does precisely that. It's surprisingly original and has the perfect amount of all the bad things you need. The gore isn't too superfluous at all and I enjoyed every bit of our character's descent into madness.
Profile Image for Joselyn  Moreno.
865 reviews34 followers
August 22, 2016
A true masterpiece on horror and suspense, it was so interesting I just love how it was written. the characters were so alive that I could almost feel everything they went true.
Frazer went down pretty bad at the end wao I didn't expected that at all, at some point I did thought he was going to make it out of it for some reason, Manny well she was unfortunate maybe and for what I get from the end the mirror did make its wish come true. loved that Scott's always do so well him homework with story and wao that lots of things exist like that in the real world is amazing.

overall it was a great read for me since i'm just in love with horror, I liked that it played with my mind so many times and it made me think so many different scenarios and possibilities to what was going on and what was going to happen.

I received an advanced ecopy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Horror DNA.
1,257 reviews117 followers
May 28, 2019
Are objects that are said to be cursed simply bad luck, or could there be something more diabolical at work? Johnathan Frazer, an antiques dealer from Los Angeles, has just bought a mirror in London at an amazing price. Little does he know (ugh, I feel sick even just typing this), he just bought more than he bargained for...

This is the premise of Mirror Image, a story of possessed antique that feeds on blood and souls and...semen. The antique looking glass begins claiming lives in its new home through a series of bizarre accidents. A huge, strange man with scars all over his face begins stalking Johnathan’s family, trying to get to the mirror and stop it from engaging in its magical blood lust.

You can read Matt's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
Profile Image for Cade.
645 reviews42 followers
September 2, 2020
This book was—not great. It was barely good. I have no problem with sex in horror novels, but this was just poorly integrated. There were too many things going on and very little good development.

The very last thing in the book is a brief note telling the reader that the historical parts were based in fact. That bit of fascinating info deserves a much better book.
Profile Image for Katie.
277 reviews9 followers
June 25, 2017
Cheap, sleazy, uneven, and bor-ing.

Difficult to make myself finish. Elicited such boredom and disgust in me that I found myself wishing an evil mirror would kill me so I wouldn't have to keep reading such crap.

Knocked off a star for gratuitous misogyny.
1,211 reviews
September 21, 2016
What is it about horror that begs for gratuitous sex? I don’t get it. Actually, I’m wondering if it’s one of those deeply-seeded societal issues inherent in the majority of the population where sex = evil and only bad things come from sex. Take this mirror that’s fueled literally by male spooge, female orgasms, and blood. People have sex and bad things get unleashed on the world. I honestly don’t get it. Where’s Freud when you need him?

I was intrigued by the book because mirrors are a pain point for me. They freak me out and I’m always on the look-out for books that will actually scare me. What better way to attempt to ensure that than reading something about an object that really does give me the willies? Except I get a mirror that feeds on cum stains and pulsating pussies and it’s left me wondering what sort of Night of the Living Dead B-movie I just fell into. Heavy breasts and dark nipples abound here.



How fitting are their faces right now?

There were a lot of ill-placed exclamation points that were just kind of flicks to my nose every time I saw them. Most of the time it wasn’t in dialogue. And it liked to happen at moments where SCARY THING JUST HAPPENED! <–emphasis Except that little exclamation point has the opposite effect on me. This book didn’t rely on me to posit what was and wasn’t scary. It told me with punctuation. And just the all around voice was off. No sense of immediacy, I didn’t really feel invested in any of the characters. I was just reading along, waiting for the story to end.

I mean, I didn’t feel like it was a slog to read, so at least there’s that. I was able to get through it pretty quickly. But it was not scary in the slightest. From sentence construction itself to voice to just the basic plot, it didn’t leave much to the imagination, and I find that’s where horror really dwells. I felt spoon-fed. And the sex. Holy crap. Don’t get me wrong. I love sex in a story, when the story calls for it. But this is just . . . off. It’s like, I get it. Sex is the root of all evil, especially female sex. Move on already.

I can forgive oddball elements in a book if the story’s at least good, but that’s not what we have here. Forget MIRROR IMAGE. If you want cheeseball, just watch some campy 80s horror on Netflix. At least that’s entertaining. This was just . . . meh.

2

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Simona.
239 reviews30 followers
September 9, 2016
*I've got this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review*

What the hell did I just read?! Oh,my God, how disappointed I was. I expected it to be a good old horror story with a haunted mirror, but it turned out to be totally different from what I anticipated.

At first when I started to read I really enjoyed what I read, at least first 20 or so pages, but then it got to the point where genre of this book slightly changed into thriller. I thought "oh well, I can deal with that, it's fine", and kept reading. Then, after few more pages it became some sort of a strange fantasy or something like that, I can't even correctly describe what genre it turned out to be. However I still kept reading hoping that it will get better and will return to what it was in the beginning - a horror novel. But no no no...why stop at cringe worthy horrory thriller fantasy, when you can also add erotica or rather strange pornography in to this mixture. This book got to the point where in every page you could find paragraphs about masturbating, having sex in front of a mirror, ejaculating, spreading semen on the mirror and so on... Don't get me wrong sex, violence, gore in the books don't make me cringe. But this book made me do that. That's why I should warn THOSE WHO ARE TRIGGERED BY RAPE, ABUSE AND SUICIDE DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. Tell me, wouldn't you cringe just a little bit if you find a part where family members masturbate in front of one another ? No ? Then good for you...
Speaking about the characters I can't say much, because they were flat and boring, made decisions that were just plain odd and didn't make any sense. I didn't care what will happen to them. I JUST couldn't care less.
This book or rather the idea of this book had so much potential to be truly great. But, in my opinion, it was written just for a shock factor. At some parts it felt like author didn't even read what he wrote and didn't care what it will turn out to be. Well I like when there is at least a little bit of a plot and character development.

So, do I recommend this book? NO.
Profile Image for Daisy.
120 reviews36 followers
August 22, 2016
I received this ebook as an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

This is one wild ride. There are not many things that bother me when I read a book, however, objects being "possessed" really get me. I requested this book from the title alone. I didn't read the blurb so I went into it cold. I thought from the title that it would be a story about a haunting of some kind. I suppose you could say it is but not like I expected.

The story revolves around an antique dealer who purchases a mirror at auction. He doesn't know the mirror is "possessed". When two of his employees are killed while working with or near the mirror he decides to investigate it.

There is a lot of blood and gore that is very graphic at times. There are also many sexually explicit scenes with a lot of detail. I would caution anyone that can't handle this sort of material in a book.

Overall, I thought the book was mediocre.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book.
Profile Image for Jeri.
533 reviews26 followers
July 5, 2016
This book started out good for me but lost me along the way. It seemed to throw a lot of things into the story that either didn't tie in or didn't make sense. Like people taking their own lives at a certain time, people that had nothing to do with the mirror or any of the characters in the story. Just random deaths. The premise of a "haunted" "magical" mirror is a classic horror basis and this story started out on that point very well, but to me it got further off-base as the story went along.

I received an advanced ecopy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Angie Fehl.
1,178 reviews11 followers
August 27, 2019
Los Angeles antiques dealer Jonathan Frazer attends an auction in London, England where he ends up seeing this giant standing mirror he suspects is several centuries old. The mirror is not particularly pretty, but is eye-catching in its sheer size, not to mention Jonathan feeling a strange, strong pull toward the piece. Figuring he can make a decent profit on it back home, he buys it for a song and has it shipped back to California.

Though the mirror gave no hint of its evil secrets back in London, once the piece is in Frazer's workshop things start to turn weird almost instantly. In less than 10 chapters, we already have what... three deaths, I think it was? And not normal, sad but understandable freak accident kind of deaths... oh no, this story is full of total Final Destination-style candle snuffings.

*Note to animal lovers: one of the deaths sadly involves the gruesome execution of a K-9 dog. I'm still bothered by that part. Yep, I'm one of those people who can watch / read horror and be disturbed but also quickly okay again with human characters being killed off... for some reason, my mind can say "it's just a story" in that scenario... but when the author does something to an innocent animal in the name of plot points... ugh, that messes me up for ages after I finish the story.

After the first death, that of Jonathan's close friend and antiques restorer, Tony Farren, a tall, noticeably disfigured man starts making visits to Jonathan, insisting that the mirror belongs to him, but Jonathan absolutely refuses to sell. The story later explains that this disfigured man is Edmund Talbott, a descendant of the family who has been guarding the mirror, keeping it out of the public eye, for centuries. Edmund is positive the evil power trapped within the mirror is responsible for the deaths of his wife and young son. Though he doesn't understand how the mirror came to fall out of the family's possession, he just wants to get it back under lock and key before any more people have to suffer. Tired of the death and destruction the mirror seems to incite, Edmund is hoping he can convince Jonathan to hand it back over before the pull becomes too strong for Frazer himself to resist. Edmund's arrival may be too little too late. Jonathan has already spotted the face of a beautiful woman behind the glass. Once he catches this glimpse, he begins to slowly go mad with the need to free her. The night he discovers the mirror's response to blood sacrifices is the moment the plot truly takes a spiraling dive into dark, dark places of paranormal fiction.

Though paranormal fiction is one of my favorite genres, I'll admit I've not spent a lot of time with the horror genre in quite awhile, so my brain was a little unprepared for where this story was headed. To say the story gets weird doesn't even begin to cover it, but man, it was a fun ride! I found myself doing all the book version reactions of classic horror movie viewing: gasping, cringing, OMG-ing, covering my mouth but still frantically reading... the works!

The writing style reminded me of classic Stephen King seasoned with a little CSI / Law & Order. Periodically, the plot will do a throwback chapter to a piece of the mirror's Elizabethan-era origin story, presented in the form of Jonathan's fevered dreams (the reader is typically informed that it was a dream in the following chapter). Essentially these dreams tell us that the mirror is old even in the Elizabethan era. John Dee, an advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, comes into possession of the mirror. Though he's not fully informed regarding its provenance, he does learn that the mirror has the means to foretell futures --- either possible or definitive --- through the use of intense human emotions experienced in its presence or bodily fluids rubbed over the glass surface. In short: intense anger, sadness, orgasms, blood, sperm, sweat... any of these will cause the mirror to share its secrets. But the offerings are brief and it quickly becomes evident the mirror needs constant "feedings" if one is to get any information from it.

In addition to the paranormal elements, this story also incorporates the topics of remote viewing, scrying, and astral projection. The author's note at the end mentions that the novel was inspired by a bizarre true story involving Queen Elizabeth, John Dee, and a mirror she refused to look at unless he agreed to have it moved to his garden.

Because of the legend developed around the mirror that it --- whatever "it" is that was put inside the mirror --- feeds off high human emotion and bodily fluid, yes, sex is mentioned in this story. OFTEN. And it's often in weird scenarios... sometimes a tad rapey, sometimes ending in murder as some of our MCs get further off the deep end under the influence of the mirror. I'm warning you now, it gets especially graphic and gruesome in the later chapters.... but even so, the writing itself is very well-written, gripping, creepy, and just plain GOOD.

I don't know that I loved the ending though... and the very last line left me confused and with questions... but wow, it certainly made me interested to get into more of Michael Scott's work in the future!
Profile Image for Phoebe Sargeant.
144 reviews1 follower
July 14, 2023
3.5 Stars, unfortunately rounded down because there were just too many glaring issues with this book.

As a long-time stan of the Flamel series, Michael Scott has had an undeniable influence on me as not only a reader but as an individual as a whole. His writing is enjoyable and easily digestible and often paired with an epic story that spans millennia that always reignites that passion in history Scott instilled in me years ago. This all being said, I have multitudinous thoughts on this book that in short, will demonstrate my overall disappointment in this installment from Scott.

First off, I was *this close* to DNFing at the 30% mark, and I am SO GLAD I did not. I understand why a lot of people gave up here, as there was something seriously off with the quality of writing that I am used to seeing with Scott. The story felt stagnant, the horror was more confusing than shocking, and it was difficult to see where Scott and his co-author were going to take this novel for the next 250 pages. Mirror Image hit its stride around the 150-page mark, however, the redeeming aspects of this book were not enough to make me feel as though the whole experience was worth reading.

I will praise the story to an extent, especially its connection to the Elizabethian Court, and I absolutely fell in love with Detective Haaren for some reason, which kept me invested to the point where I found myself biting my nails in the last 10% of this book. I commend Scott and Rose for an excellent finale to an otherwise mediocre book.

But now, I need to speak my criticism of this book. Scott has this tendency to always introduce characters, give them little backstories, let us into their minds, and while all these characters are given a certainly unique perspective, when this does happen, I feel like my time is wasted. Because, almost always, the character is dead by at least the next five pages. In addition, there are repeated murder scenes that felt similar that contributed a repetitive essence to the story that also bogged down the pacing. Also, Scott has an obsession with a connection between sexual activity and magic and it is in full force in this book, which I can see also detering a good amount of readers. I often found it excessive and not particularly related to the larger horror story Scott and Rose were trying to tell. Last but not least, and this is minor, my god the amount of exclamation points is downright juvenile. They disappeared near the end, making the reading experience far more enjoyable, but in the first half, they are at best, distracting and at worst, fatal flaws to Scott's usually enrapturing writing.

This book doesn't warrant this long of a review, but I love Scott, I love his writing, and this ended up being a massive disappointment in the first section and a return to form in the second, averaging at 3.5 stars.
Profile Image for Lora Milton.
620 reviews
May 6, 2019
I was really anticipating reading this story because the plot sounded like just the sort of Horror I really like. I'm not sure what I expected, but I soon found that it earned it's Horror tag with some gruesome deaths and horrific supernatural occurrences.

An antique dealer in Los Angeles buys a very old mirror for a bargain price while on a buying trip in London. Soon after he gets it home, the mysterious deaths start to happen and a rough looking man shows up, attempting to buy the mirror, even resorting to threats. Despite tragedies among his own employees, the antique dealer doesn't want to sell to this unpleasant man.

Police investigate but find it increasingly difficult to come up with rational explanations for the deaths.

The characters are strong in this and the plot fast moving. I found it a little more gory than I generally like and a lot of the swearing seemed unnecessary, but it kept my attention with morbid fascination.

The one thing I thought didn't work well was introducing historic characters into some of the back story, although the author's note at the end explained why. The trouble with using known personages and glamorous words like 'Alchemy' is that a certain percentage of readers will have background knowledge that doesn't fit with the fictional use and that can interfere with flow and suspension of belief.

Despite this, the story had its scary moments and didn't fall into predictable outcomes. A sub plot involving the main character's family was neatly woven into the main plot and kept me wondering who would survive to the end. The last few chapters were one of those 'let dinner burn, I'm reading!' moments when I found it very difficult to stop and I got most of the way through before I guessed the final outcome.

Ritual sex, graphic gore and occult sensationalism play a part so mature audience only, but a really good read.
240 reviews
May 12, 2020
I think this book is generally underrated with a 2.98 average stars. It's a little different than my usual, favorite thriller genre. I would say it's a combination of many genres... horror, thriller, fantasy and even some nonfiction. As for the horror part, I am not a fan of gore. It did have some, but it wasn't gratuitous as it was necessary to the story and not overboard. While the book was basically fiction, the epilogue is a MUST READ. If you are like me and think that epilogues are usually boring, this short epilogue is definitely an exception. It was downright surprising and had me shaking my head, making the book that I just read seem all the more meaningful. I do not think that it would at all be a plot spoiler to read the epilogue first. If you think the epilogue is interesting, then I would surmise that you'd definitely love the book. The cover is weird. The image on the cover is a blonde woman in the mirror while it's always a dark haired woman appearing in the mirror in the book. Also in the book the mirror is described to be in a very plain frame where the one on the cover is ornate. That doesn't take anything from the book, really, but it left me wondering why they didn't match the cover art up to the story.
Profile Image for Marianna Neal.
551 reviews2,267 followers
Read
November 24, 2016
DNF at 53%

I tried, I really tried to get back into this book, but sadly, it just doesn't hold my interest. Leaving this one unfinished and without a rating. The premise was so promising, and the whole "evil mirror" concept was perfect (actually made me think of Oculus - a very good horror movie), but the plot felt repetitive, full of clichés I've seen over and over in other books and films, and with half of Mirror Image left I just didn't have it in me to read any further. This makes me very sad, since I'm always looking for a great horror novel, but this just wasn't it. I rarely abandon books, but that's what I'm doing here - obviously, can't recommend it to anyone.
Profile Image for Aly.
1,894 reviews68 followers
December 2, 2016
For me, this book has it's ups and downs. I was drawn to the book because I love scary stories about mirrors. They can be very creepy. My childhood bedroom had a bunch of mirror on one wall to make the room look bigger but I think movies with mirrors scare me more because of this.
They was some sexual parts in this book and I'm not real sure if they fit in the story but I enjoyed the picturing how beautiful yet scary this mirror was. * I received this book from NetGalley---this is my honest review*
Profile Image for Whitney.
174 reviews4 followers
December 7, 2019
This author needs to read Strunk & White. Especially the part that says, “Eliminate all unnecessary words.”

Even though it’s too late, I was still tempted to take my red pen to it.

The story, at least the 70 or so pages I read of it, was predictable. In horror, that’s not necessarily a deal breaker—we know bad things are going to happen, people are going to die, go mad, what have you. But when you combine that with clunky writing, it’s too much to take.
Profile Image for Olga Miret.
Author 44 books249 followers
August 22, 2016
You’ll never look at a mirror the same way again Thanks to Net Galley and to Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books for offering me a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Horror is one of my favourite genres although I don’t read exclusively in any genre, but I always look forward to horror books. I also love antiques and TV programmes and books about antiques, and I was therefore even more interested in this novel.
Mirror Image tells the story of a haunted mirror (so to speak, although the full details of what the mirror represents and its ultimate power go beyond most stories of haunted places and/or objects) that an unwitting interior designer/antiques dealer from Los Angeles buys in London and gets shipped back. Although he at first thinks he’s got a bargain (as the mirror is much older than he realised and much more valuable), instead he gets more than he bargained for. Very soon after its arrival strange deaths happen around the mirror. At first they all look like freak accidents, but soon the police becomes suspicious of the new owner of the mirror, and there’s another mysterious figure, a tall man covered in scars, who knows more about the mirror than he’s willing to tell.
The prose is fast-paced and dynamic and the story is written in short chapters, in the third person from alternating points of views. Although many of the chapters are told from Jonathan Frazer’s point of view, there are chapters from the female detective’s point of view, from Frazer’s wife and daughter, Emmanuelle or Manny (who also become ensnared by the mirror), from three of Frazer’s employees, from Edmond, the man after the mirror, from some minor characters that make fleeting appearances in the book and even some very brief chapters that we realise are told from the mirror’s point of view. Although at first these changes in point of view tend to only take place in different chapters, as the pace picks up, especially towards the end, we might jump from one point of view to another during the same chapter. I didn’t find it difficult to follow but I know there are readers who are not keen on ‘head-hopping’.  On the one hand it might shift the focus of the action and release tension, although on the other hand, by making us share in the characters’ experiences, especially those who are just innocent victims, we are even more shocked by what happens. As the owner of the mirror becomes more and more fascinated by it, he starts experiencing dreams that seem to reveal past events concerning the history of the mirror that are particularly relevant to the current situation. As the mirror gains in strength he isn’t the only one to experience those dreams that we are also witnesses to. True historical characters, like John Dee, Edward Kelly and Queen Elizabeth I have appear to be lined to the mirror too and add intrigue and complexity to the story.
My only reservation was that I felt the female characters were slightly less well rounded. I liked the detective but we don’t get to know enough about her, and Frazer’s daughter, Manny, although central to the action, spends most of the chapters where she appears either unwell, confused or under somebody’s influence and we never discover her true self. From the few details we get about her at the beginning I assumed she was older (as she’d been living and studying in Paris, met another of the characters and lived with him for a while) but then we learn she’s only eighteen and perhaps that explains her difficulty dealing with the situation she finds herself in. There are also other female presences very important to the story, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers.
There is gore (I’ve read books that are more explicitly violent, but it’s not a mild read either), there is sexual content (as the mirror gets its strength from humans emotions and human bodily fluids, and has some pretty interesting effects on its subjects) although it’s not as explicit as I’ve read in many other books and it is seamlessly integrated into the story.  Is it scary? Yes. The novel shows how a character that to begin with is a likeable man, kind and gentle, a loving father and a generous employer, becomes a completely different person due to the influence of the mirror and he ends up doing unspeakable things. The obsession that takes over not only him but so many others who come into contact with the mirror, and the lengths people will go to gain power and immortality have a ring of truth that makes it more effective. Although this is not the most terrifying book I’ve ever read, it’s an uneasy, uncomfortable and eerie read. It is also compellingly and beautifully written, and its connection with the historical characters makes one wonder what kind of things went on in the name of experimentation and knowledge in the past.
I recommend it to lovers of horror with a kick, especially those who enjoy some historical background and mythology, and to people who love stories about haunted objects. If you read it I’m sure you won’t look into a mirror the same way again. 
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