Finding Laura

Accidental death stalks the owners of a mirror crafted in eighteenth-century Boston as generation after generation of them searches for eternal love. Kate Fleming conveys the stilted speech of Amelia Killburn, family matriarch, with an exaggerated Southern drawl appropriate to her formality. As the provenance of the mirror unravels, Fleming distinctly and effortlessly presents the host of descendants; however, her narrator voice takes on the husky quality of her male characters as she seems to tire toward the end of the performance . M.D.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

September 29, 1997
A young artist's obsession with mirrors entangles her in the scandals and power struggles of Atlanta's wealthiest and most influential family in prolific Hooper's (After Caroline) new novel of contemporary romantic suspense. At the Kilbourne estate auction, striking redhead Laura Sutherland is delighted to acquire a beautiful 200-year-old mirror for her collection. But she's no longer convinced her purchase is a bargain when magnetic Peter Kilbourne turns up dead only hours after attempting to buy back the mirror, and the police immediately consider her a suspect. Intent on proving her innocence--and inexplicably drawn to the history of the mirror--Laura becomes a regular visitor to the Kilbourne estate and meets the rest of the eccentric clan. She is immediately attracted to Peter's brother, enigmatic Daniel, the heir to the fortune. A soup on of magical second sight, sexual seduction and the devious machinations of a powerful Southern family intertwine as Laura becomes more deeply enmeshed in Kilbourne affairs. Hooper keeps the intrigue pleasurably complicated, with gothic touches of suspense and a satisfying resolution.