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In the London Library, while researching poisons, student Marion Summers goes into a seizure, then a coma, and dies in the hospital. At first, it appears to be nothing more than a tragic end to the life of a woman with a brilliant future ahead of her. Then an autopsy reveals that Summers died of a massive overdose of arsenic, a poison that isn’t readily available in this day and age. Could it have been nothing more than a dramatic suicide by a student too caught up in what she was studying?
Detective Inspector Kathy Kolla and her superior, DCI David Brock of the Serious Crime Unit of Scotland Yard, catch the case. As they try to figure out how Summers ended up with such a huge dose of arsenic in her system, they learn that the victim’s research on Victorian poisons might have led to her demise. Why and how puzzles the inspectors, until they learn that Marion Summers was getting too close to something else.
In the meantime, DCI Brock is having personal problems with his wife, Suzanne, who inadvertently puts herself in the middle of the investigation when she looks up an old flame. At the same time, others within Scotland Yard advise him to take Kolla off the case after she becomes too personally involved.
Dark Mirror draws readers deep into a baffling murder investigation that makes little sense until it comes together in the end. Believe me; it doesn’t turn out anywhere near how you think it might. And the way that author Barry Maitland brings everything together for the conclusion will surprise and impress you.
Both Brock and Kathy are pleasant characters, and, as the story unfolds, you’ll learn about their personal lives as well as their careers as inspectors for Scotland Yard. I especially liked Kathy. She’s easy-going, but she’s tenacious when it comes to running down a lead. And though it may seem as if her personal life gets in the way of her job, it really doesn’t. Brock, on the other hand, stays mostly in the background on this case, but I like how he stands behind Kathy when he’s pressured to take her off the case.
Dark Mirror may not be one thrill after another, but the suspense will have you holding your breath as you await the outcome, suspecting everyone outside the police as the murderer. Filled with tense and gripping scenes, Dark Mirror will keep you clinging to the story right up until its surprising but credible end.
