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Sarah Fortune #1
Shadows on the Mirror
By day, Sarah Fortune works as a lawyer in a prestigious firm in Mayfair, but by night she provides lonely men with intimate company—an arrangement with which she is happy until she becomes implicated with a dead body found off the English coast.
296 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
16 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Frances Fyfield
82 books65 followersAka Frances Hegarty.
Frances Fyfield is a criminal lawyer, who lives in London and in Deal, by the sea which is her passion. She has won several awards, including the CWA Silver Dagger.
She grew up in rural Derbyshire, but spent most of her adult life in London, with long intervals in Norfolk and Deal, all inspiring places. She was educated mostly in convent schools; then studied English at Newcastle University and went on to qualify as a solicitor, working for what is now the Crown Prosecution Service, thus learning a bit about murder at second hand. She also worked for the Metropolitan Police.
Years later, writing became her real vocation. She also writes short stories for magazines and radio and is occasionally a contributor to Radio 4, (Front Row, Quote Unquote, Night Waves,) and presenter of Tales from the Stave.
Frances Fyfield is a criminal lawyer, who lives in London and in Deal, by the sea which is her passion. She has won several awards, including the CWA Silver Dagger.
She grew up in rural Derbyshire, but spent most of her adult life in London, with long intervals in Norfolk and Deal, all inspiring places. She was educated mostly in convent schools; then studied English at Newcastle University and went on to qualify as a solicitor, working for what is now the Crown Prosecution Service, thus learning a bit about murder at second hand. She also worked for the Metropolitan Police.
Years later, writing became her real vocation. She also writes short stories for magazines and radio and is occasionally a contributor to Radio 4, (Front Row, Quote Unquote, Night Waves,) and presenter of Tales from the Stave.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
December 11, 2013
Shadows on the Mirror by Frances Fyfield is a Witness Impulse publication. I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
This novel is , I think, the first in the Sarah Fortune series.
Originally published in the late 1980's this book has been released in digital format and is available at Amazon.com
Sarah, an attractive red head, with a law background, meets a man at a gathering named Malcolm. He is an attorney, very personable and funny, but he is very overweight. Sarah, a widow with major trust issues, sees something in Malcolm others don't. They have an dalliance, but Malcolm want to be better for Sarah and so he begins improvement on his weight issues, but he loses contact with Sarah for two long years.
He could never imagine the way in which he would eventually find her again.
A client of Malcolm's father , a wealthy man, has lost his wife to suicide. But, the death is suspicious. When the wealthy widower begins to take an interest in Sarah, her friends thinks she is nuts for not going for it.
Sarah may have an instinct about the guy that keeps her at a distance from him. It turns out his good looks and money helps him to slide under the radar and hide a very dark side to his personality. Sarah's lack of interest only adds fuel to the fire and soon she will meet the darker half of her suitor.
This is the second book by Frances Fyfield I have read recently. The first was a solid Helen West mystery. This one was a complete 180 compared to the other series.
The story is murky and very slow moving. There isn't really a great deal of action or suspense for that matter, since we already know whodunit. It's just a matter of time before he makes his move. The rest of the book deals with Sarah's career and her personal issues and friendships and well as Malcolm's career and desire to find Sarah and his conflict with his step-father.
This was a crime novel that may actually qualify for the psychological suspense genre. I would keep in mind that the book was written in a time frame when this style of writing wasn't all that uncommon. These days we crave more action and forensic details as well as more courtroom banter. The case may not even wrap up in the way you like. I personally felt a little unsettled about the way things ended with case. The personal issues that Sarah and Malcolm had will tie up quite nicely.
Overall this one gets a C.
This novel is , I think, the first in the Sarah Fortune series.
Originally published in the late 1980's this book has been released in digital format and is available at Amazon.com
Sarah, an attractive red head, with a law background, meets a man at a gathering named Malcolm. He is an attorney, very personable and funny, but he is very overweight. Sarah, a widow with major trust issues, sees something in Malcolm others don't. They have an dalliance, but Malcolm want to be better for Sarah and so he begins improvement on his weight issues, but he loses contact with Sarah for two long years.
He could never imagine the way in which he would eventually find her again.
A client of Malcolm's father , a wealthy man, has lost his wife to suicide. But, the death is suspicious. When the wealthy widower begins to take an interest in Sarah, her friends thinks she is nuts for not going for it.
Sarah may have an instinct about the guy that keeps her at a distance from him. It turns out his good looks and money helps him to slide under the radar and hide a very dark side to his personality. Sarah's lack of interest only adds fuel to the fire and soon she will meet the darker half of her suitor.
This is the second book by Frances Fyfield I have read recently. The first was a solid Helen West mystery. This one was a complete 180 compared to the other series.
The story is murky and very slow moving. There isn't really a great deal of action or suspense for that matter, since we already know whodunit. It's just a matter of time before he makes his move. The rest of the book deals with Sarah's career and her personal issues and friendships and well as Malcolm's career and desire to find Sarah and his conflict with his step-father.
This was a crime novel that may actually qualify for the psychological suspense genre. I would keep in mind that the book was written in a time frame when this style of writing wasn't all that uncommon. These days we crave more action and forensic details as well as more courtroom banter. The case may not even wrap up in the way you like. I personally felt a little unsettled about the way things ended with case. The personal issues that Sarah and Malcolm had will tie up quite nicely.
Overall this one gets a C.
February 28, 2016
This is a strange book ... intended to be a psychological thriller, but missing the mark. The story is muddled and obtuse. I never knew where this story was going, but wherever it was, it never got there! The cover states that Fyfield "has joined the ranks of PD James and Ruth Rendell", but she clearly has not! This was published in 1989 and I have never heard of her! The story and writing lack clarity and direction.
January 3, 2016
I've read most of Frances Fyfield's books completely out of order; have really loved some of them and have been left disappointed by others. It was good - and a complete stroke of luck - to have picked up both the first of her Sarah Fortune and the first of the Helen West series together. This one gives the beginning of Sarah's story, puts into lovely focus how Malcolm became Malcolm and sets up the rest of the books to be read again.
Fyfield's writing is effortlessly superb and endlessly enjoyable.
Fyfield's writing is effortlessly superb and endlessly enjoyable.
June 19, 2022
Like all the books I’ve read by this author this book has all the usual hallmarks - intelligent, thoughtful writing, that immediately is intriguing.
However, I got lost in the complexity of this story which detracted from my enjoyment of this book.
Yes, it all came together, eventually, but I felt it got lost a little.
But still the author is a great writer - no question, (and sadly neglected in my country) however, that aside, she is one of the better mystery thriller writers that has come out of the UK in the last thirty years.
However, I got lost in the complexity of this story which detracted from my enjoyment of this book.
Yes, it all came together, eventually, but I felt it got lost a little.
But still the author is a great writer - no question, (and sadly neglected in my country) however, that aside, she is one of the better mystery thriller writers that has come out of the UK in the last thirty years.
March 14, 2020
Frances Fyfield creates characters that are real human messy people with complicated emotions and lives. A writer with a real sense of humanity
Sarah Fortune is a much nicer rounder character than Helen Bailey
Malcolm West is one of my favourite all time characters!
Sarah Fortune is a much nicer rounder character than Helen Bailey
Malcolm West is one of my favourite all time characters!
August 19, 2025
Sarah Fortune is a bored solicitor who seeks the company of men at night. One such man was rather despicable, he was fabulously wealthy and hiding a dark secret, his wife had disappeared and we in the book know where she lies, and why she has been cut to ribbons by her husband. Malcolm also a solicitor meets Sarah at a party and she sees in him something which he doesn't see in himself, he is very overweight but very sweet, they spend one night together and she walks away.
A couple of years later Malcolm runs into Sarah again but this time her beautiful face and body has also been slashed repeatedly as she too fell under the spell of the odious Charles and Malcolm wants to help her to escape.
The storyline was good but the writing of it was not perhaps to today's tastes, the book was ploddingly slow and you wanted to speed it up a lot. I began to skim read well before half way through just to see how it all ended. I wouldn't read this again and don't feel as if I want to read any more books by the author either.
A couple of years later Malcolm runs into Sarah again but this time her beautiful face and body has also been slashed repeatedly as she too fell under the spell of the odious Charles and Malcolm wants to help her to escape.
The storyline was good but the writing of it was not perhaps to today's tastes, the book was ploddingly slow and you wanted to speed it up a lot. I began to skim read well before half way through just to see how it all ended. I wouldn't read this again and don't feel as if I want to read any more books by the author either.
June 20, 2020
Having read another Francis Fyfield novel, which I really enjoyed, I was really disappointed with this book.
The writing is dense and unusual for the genre but I found the way in which people spoke was utterly unlike any actual human conversation I’ve ever come across. If dialogue was a major issue for me, so was behaviour. Sarah is a lawyer with a sideline as a prostitute but it’s okay because it’s all very middle class and cerebral. Wait, what??!! Malcolm, another lawyer, decides to turn his entire life around and lose half of his body weight because of a single bonk? Trust me, these aren’t even the implausible parts in a book where there are more unlikely coincidences than a Thomas Hardy novel.
Also, note to author: dogs are not likely to mistake one human for another based on their looks! *sigh*.
The writing is dense and unusual for the genre but I found the way in which people spoke was utterly unlike any actual human conversation I’ve ever come across. If dialogue was a major issue for me, so was behaviour. Sarah is a lawyer with a sideline as a prostitute but it’s okay because it’s all very middle class and cerebral. Wait, what??!! Malcolm, another lawyer, decides to turn his entire life around and lose half of his body weight because of a single bonk? Trust me, these aren’t even the implausible parts in a book where there are more unlikely coincidences than a Thomas Hardy novel.
Also, note to author: dogs are not likely to mistake one human for another based on their looks! *sigh*.
July 2, 2018
This is sold as a novel of suspense, but there isn’t a whole lot of that. Instead, this is really just a romance novel, with a plucky but damaged heroine with a damaged but totally hot social life, a suitable barrister who had a life changing if improbable one nighter with plucky heroine, and an unsuitable suitor who is rich enough, but, alas, a psychopath. There are some cops around, and some lawyers around, and maybe a crime or five has been committed by the psycho, but the real question is whether our hero and heroine will get their self-proclaimed outsider selves together. Can’t say I ended up caring that much.
The writer of this novel has a way with words and witty description in the best English tradition. Character and plot? Sadly, there’s no evidence of that here.
The writer of this novel has a way with words and witty description in the best English tradition. Character and plot? Sadly, there’s no evidence of that here.
August 14, 2024
Wonderful character setup at the start of the book, but I'm not sure I'm quite so convinced by the denouement. (And what happened to the strand about Malcolm's relationship with his family? That didn't seem to get resolved.)
I initially had this pegged as a detective story, but it really isn't, although the death (not in fact a crime) at the beginning is eventually clarified by the end. The comparisons to Ruth Rendell are apt; this is basically a psychological thriller more than anything else, despite the legal element.
I initially had this pegged as a detective story, but it really isn't, although the death (not in fact a crime) at the beginning is eventually clarified by the end. The comparisons to Ruth Rendell are apt; this is basically a psychological thriller more than anything else, despite the legal element.
April 1, 2018
This is the first novel I read by this author. It is more a suspense than a mystery with a villain who identifies with the narrator of Robert Browning's poem "Prophyria's Lover," except he goes for redheads, not blonds. Thankfully, there are no endangered children. It is difficult to suspend judgment with the plot as the coincidences beggar belief, but eventually the romance plot ends happily.
May 4, 2020
Shadows on the Mirror was a bit deep, in fact it is a scalloped read, peaking and then swooping down to a curve before sweeping up to the next peak.
I am not sure if the ending with Charles Tysall, and with Sarah Fortune and Malcolm, was extraordinarily clever, or whether I needed a sharp intake of breath before the next book.
I am not sure if the ending with Charles Tysall, and with Sarah Fortune and Malcolm, was extraordinarily clever, or whether I needed a sharp intake of breath before the next book.
May 6, 2022
Having read Fyfield before, I was unsurprised by the stucture of this novel - a long slow build-up, the sense of foreboding, the late but frightening violence, and the somewhat unorthodox ending, are all typical. I enjoyed it.
May 17, 2023
I thought this was the most confused book to try to read! The writing was just weird! It jumped around…it was like the author was in a fog while writing. I have read her before and really enjoyed the books. I struggled through it.
September 5, 2017
Compelling characters, interesting plots
September 14, 2017
3.5 stars. Interesting. I may try more of her books.
October 11, 2017
thoroughly enjoyed this book. Something slightly different.
April 8, 2020
Enjoyed this book, she writes well and makes you care about the characters.
April 26, 2020
Closely plotted, and nicely knitted together. The claustrophobic world of city law nicely evoked.
August 25, 2020
I don't really know what to think of this one! I kept reading it as I wanted to know what happend but I can't say I enjoyed it Perhaps the next in the series will be better (its on the shelf)
February 17, 2021
This was my first Frances Fyfield read, not really my genre but I gave it a go and stayed till the end. I found the storyline a little muddling at times, and not totally plausible, but ok.
April 30, 2022
Took me so long to read as it was so complicated and confusing. It was a hard read. Wanted to finish it but never really wraps anything up anyway.
November 5, 2014
3.5 stars
-received arc for honest review-
"You are not important enough for anyone to watch you."
Sarah Fortune is a highly respected, beautiful talented lawyer. But she is bored missing something in her life. After the death of her cheating husband Sarah becomes a 'mistress' spending her evenings with lonely men. This seems to satisfy Sarah she is happy with her new routine. This all changes when she comes into contact with Charles Tysall. Before she knows what has happened Sarah is being accused of murder! She finds herself unable to escape from 'shadows'.
Let me start off by saying this is not the type of novel I normally read. I had hard time getting into the book and following along. It was a good book and I did come to enjoy the book. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I also found myself slightly paranoid while reading this lol. I was not fond of the way the case ended and in a sense feel like somethings were left unanswered. This book was well written and once I was able to follow along and get into the book, I was able to read it quickly. If you enjoy crime novels and suspense I would recommend it.
-received arc for honest review-
"You are not important enough for anyone to watch you."
Sarah Fortune is a highly respected, beautiful talented lawyer. But she is bored missing something in her life. After the death of her cheating husband Sarah becomes a 'mistress' spending her evenings with lonely men. This seems to satisfy Sarah she is happy with her new routine. This all changes when she comes into contact with Charles Tysall. Before she knows what has happened Sarah is being accused of murder! She finds herself unable to escape from 'shadows'.
Let me start off by saying this is not the type of novel I normally read. I had hard time getting into the book and following along. It was a good book and I did come to enjoy the book. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I also found myself slightly paranoid while reading this lol. I was not fond of the way the case ended and in a sense feel like somethings were left unanswered. This book was well written and once I was able to follow along and get into the book, I was able to read it quickly. If you enjoy crime novels and suspense I would recommend it.
August 29, 2011
This is the first in the Sarah Fortune series. It is a little hard to read at times as the dialogue is not separated by paragraphs. This is an English novel and I think because it was written in 1989, might be the reason. I would probably read more by this author. Sarah and Malcolm seemed to get together in the end and I wonder if the series will continue with the 2.
March 3, 2012
The first couple of pages just sucked me into the story and I couldn't stop reading. But somehow I still could not enjoy it much. Maybe I just don't like the kind of story that seems like one of those soap operas that old housewives watch but somehow is not written like one. It felt so disturbing at times.
July 19, 2012
A different main character than the ones I'm familiar with, although Bailey & Ryan are players in this book too. This is about Sarah Fortune, who is a widower, a lawyer, and a kind-hearted mistress to several men. Too nice for her own good because she can't tell one of the guys to leave her alone, and too bad he's a bit of a psychopath. Too fun.
August 1, 2011
My first, and probably last Frances Fyfield read. I just couldn't get on with this, the only likeable character was the dog, the story seemed to drift and get nowhere and I couldn't really see the point of it. Very unsatisfying read.
October 8, 2011
I read this book twice not because its brilliant but because I forgot I had read it until a quarter of the way through the book I thought this is very familiar...first read 19 January 1997...
February 11, 2012
this is obviously an early Fyfield as it lacks the suspense and terror of some of her later books, however it was an enjoyable and quick read.
March 23, 2021
Superior crime writing
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews