This mystery is inspired by "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier and the first chapter feels very reminiscent of "Rebecca". But the story's originality quickly becomes apparent after the first chapter. I was drawn in by the characters immediately. Colleen is a lovely young lady who appears very naive. While Michael comes across as very much taking advantage of Colleen. Don't be deceived though, these characters are much more complex than they at first appear. Motives shift from one person to another and you will have to get to the end in order to fully understand what has been happening throughout.


This book is loaded with murder, deception, ulterior motives and betrayal, all wrapped up in a mysterious modern setting. I enjoyed this story much more than I expected to and highly recommend it.

The pacing of the book and the taut suspense really made this book....right up until the end. Unlike other readers who loved the surprise ending, I didn't feel that it held with the rest of the book. I would have been fine with it ending just before the twist - but maybe someone with a finer sense of disbelief would enjoy the final ending. What I did like was the setting (a gothic mansion), the allusions to the presumed dead and missing, Joanna, and the way the novel pulled you back and forth between suspects. I had trouble with Michael's character (was he a good guy or a bad guy), but I think the author did a great job of getting across the dislike the maid and chef had for Colleen, the new (pregnant) mistress of the house. Overall, a really enjoyable read.

Amazon review: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2MCWRFH79FOZ9/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

In Her Shadow was expertly written. Though I read the summary, I thought the story was going to be very different than what it was. I loved the idea of a young pregnant woman moving into the home that her fiancee used to share with his first wife - a home that she feels unwelcome in and haunted by. This novel is full of suspense and intrigue, unexpected twists and turns, and sketchy and dark characters that keep it mysterious and unpredictable.

I received In Her Shadow by Kristin MIller as an ARC from NetGalley. Colleen is a secretary who becomes pregnant by her rich boss. He moves her into his home, Ravenwood, where she lives in the shadow of his wife, Joanna, who has disappeared. I didn't like any of the characters in this book and I found the premise very cliche. The ending was kind of a surprise but overall I didn't enjoy the story.

I finished this last weekend, and it’s an entertaining, beach-read type of book (if anyone’s still going to beaches).

It’s about a young assistant named Colleen who becomes pregnant by her boss, whose wife left him months ago. Colleen moves into her boss’s opulent estate and finds evidence of his former wife everywhere she turns.

I found Colleen’s insecurities believable and her character relatively compelling. Having the chapters move as a countdown towards her murder (ex, Tuesday, Five Days Until Colleen’s Murder) is manipulative, but gosh darn it, it still works — it ups the tension and keeps you engaged.

That’s how I felt about much of the book. Many of the elements seemed contrived, but I was still compelled enough to tear through it in a few days to try and figure out what was going on.

I had glimpses of what the revelation at the end might be, and I was right, but somehow that still didn’t stop me from being pleasantly shocked by the twist at the end, despite the rather campy way it was revealed.

Its similarities to Rebecca were used to market this book, but the parallels between that novel and this seemed a bit forced upon the story to me. I didn’t need any of that to enjoy this book in its own right and think it may have been stronger without the attempt to graft that old (and well-loved) gothic novel onto this.

Despite the marketing, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this for fans of Rebecca. This is not slow-burning and brooding gothic fiction. This is a pinch of psychological thriller dropped into a very commercial, fast-paced mystery.

Thank you #netgalley and Random House - Ballantine for the ARC!

Colleen Roper feels like she's won the lottery. She became pregnant by her boss, Michael, who has lots of money and takes her away from her humdrum life to his mansion in the country. There's a cook and a housekeeper ... unfortunately they do not particularly like her.

Michael's wife disappeared months ago, but his wife's memory lives on. She's expected to eat the same foods, sleep in her old room, dress the same as his wife, Joanna. There's a suite of rooms that she's forbidden to enter.

She's not exactly happy with the situation, but when human bones are found are found close to her new home ... and the detectives names Michael as the prime suspect.

The detectives aren't the only ones who suspect Michael of murder... and since the police don't seem to want to consider anyone else, she does what she has to do to claim her new life for herself and her baby-to-be.

As Colleen untangles truth from lies, she discovers that nothing is what it seems, and that some people will kill to keep their secrets as quiet as the dead.

There are more twists and turns than a roller coaster. The suspense starts on the very first page and maintains a steady rise until the very last page with an unexpected terrifying conclusion. Kudos to the author for the fascinating chapter titles that are a countdown to a murder. As a woman who becomes obsessed with her boyfriend's wife, and the father of her baby, who definitely has secrets, the characters are skillfully drawn.

Many thanks to the author / Random House Publishing - Ballantine / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

An interesting and different murder mystery. In spite of the spoilers in every chapter title this book still manages to have several unexpected twists and turns before we get to the very surprising end.

I really enjoyed and recommend this book.

In Her Shadow by Kristin Miller is a nicely written murder mystery. It is difficult to talk too much about it without spoilers. Colleen has moved in with her boyfriend, Michael. Michael had previously been her boss. When his wife left him, there Colleen was and now she is pregnant and living with him in his mansion. The problem is that everywhere she turns there is his ex-. Everyone loved her. Joanna. The place has been wiped clean of any hint of her, but she is everywhere. Then, there are those locked rooms. What is that all about? Then she turns up buried in the woods across from the house. Who killed her? How did she get there? So many suspects. So many reasons. What does it all mean? Was it Michael?

In Her Shadow has a clever plot, thickly laden with miscues and red herrings. Once the mystery is solved, the reader wants a re-read to see if the clues are there. Colleen is a good character, if a little needy. The neighbors are almost caricatures of the young idle rich, although they are not quite idle. The police detective carries a lot of baggage: a dead wife. Your heart will bleed for him. A frightening book. If it is your genre, you will love it. I recommend it.

I received a free ARC of In Her Shadow from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #inhershadow

A huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

In a Manderley world ruled by a secretive Bluebeard, one woman must ensure her survival.

No one will tell the truth about Joanna. And then a body is uncovered in the imposing grove of trees across from Colleen's new home.

When Colleen's boyfriend Michael whisks her away to his palatial estate, she is excited and overhwelmed. Everyone she meets seems hostile - especially the staff. They all adored the enigmatic forner mistress and continue to go through the routines she prescribed. Colleen is made to feel both inferior and inadequate - a poor sbsitite to the perfection of Michael's ex-wife.

The palatial estate is full of locked rooms she is forbidden to enter. The upscale neighborhood is a hotbed of secrets and trysts. The world she is now a part of is rife with deception and subterfuge that Colleen did not expect. She is left floundering - questioning the truth of everything he thought she knew.

I loved this suspense novel with its allusions to DuMaurier's Rebecca, and found many similarities in the self-effacing demenaor of the two heroines. It kept me guessing to the very end,

Wow. I really liked this one. I never knew what was going on until the end and still wasn’t sure Lol 😂 It starts out with Michael and Colleen. Boyfriend (and boss of Colleen) and girlfriend. Colleen is pregnant. Michael has a wife, but she’s been missing around six months and no one really knows where she is, but only that she doesn’t want anymore to do with Micheal. But he moves Colleen into the very house he and his previous wife, JoAnna, lived and built just for her. All throughout the story she’s compared to JoAnna. Can’t seem to get away from her and come to find out JoAnna has been murdered. And many things come out during the investigation. I don’t want to tell too much, but it’s great. Also, it tells from each character’s point of view, how things are happening from that character’s thoughts and actions in their view. There was a little language, but not much. Just letting those that don’t like that, that are like me and rather not have it, but there is some, but not too much. Great mystery and thriller! I want to thank #NetGalley and the publishers of #InHerShadow for opportunity to read and review with my honest perspective.

From the first page, In Her Shadow grabs you by the throat and won’t you go.

“‘Help.’ My voice is hoarse. Fading fast. Someone help me. But no one’s coming. No one knows I’m down here.”

And then the first trickle of smoke appears, the house where Colleen is trapped is on fire. Both her and her unborn child need to leave. And leave soon.

“Oh, please God, no...I’m going to die. And it will have all been for nothing.”

Moving from a week before Colleen’s dilemma to the prior year and finally to the fire’s aftermath, the book continues at a brisk pace. Each chapter starts with a new point-of-view. It seems like most, if not all, of the characters are either confused or lying. All are unlikeable. I didn’t even like Colleen by the end.

I think moving a famous gothic novel up to present day is a feat that the author only slightly pulls off. As soon as my boyfriend and the father of my child says I can’t visit an entire wing of the house, I’m out. Most modern women wouldn’t stand for that because now, unlike Victorian times, women have options. So if you decide to read this book, be aware that you will need to suspend disbelief from almost the first chapter. However, what brings In Her Shadow up to 3 stars is the surprising and well-done twist during the finale.

Thanks to Ballantine Books, Random House and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a fast paced suspense story told through different perspectives as well as past and present events. The characters drew me into the story and the layout of the different perspectives and going from present to past really helped give this story some body. I figured out the ending a few chapters before hand but still enjoyed it. I will be looking for more books by this author.

What a BOOK!!!!! Colleen has finally found the love of her life. She is pregnant and finally things are going her way. Or are they? Kristen Miller has written one of the best thrillers of the year. The reader is immediately drawn into Colleen's new life with her new love. When he suggests that Colleen should move in with him so she can rest before the birth of their child she has no idea that she is stepping into the shadow of his missing wife. Why wont he seek a divorce? Where is Joanna? Why does everybody think she is so perfect? What is really going on? Prepare to go on a journey with Colleen that will lead the reader to such a shocking conclusion that it is ABSOLUTELY stunning. If I could give this book 10 stars I would.

Have you ever asked yourself if the plot of the classic Daphne DuMaurier novel Rebecca would work if the story was set in modern times? That’s the question author Kristin Miller tries to answer in the novel In Her Shadow.

We meet Colleen Roper as she is about to take her first step into her new home. Up until then, she and her lover Michael Harris had their assignations in her small apartment. As her boss and a man who has only been parted from his wife for six months, he has been anxious to keep their affair extremely quiet, especially since his liaison with Colleen and her subsequent pregnancy all occur within a month of his marital split.

Colleen is a bit disconcerted when she first enters the house. She knows Michael is wealthy but his huge estate is grandiose enough to have a name, Ravenwood. Rather than being delighted at her good fortune, however, Colleen quickly becomes uncomfortable with the fact that the house is suffused with the memory of Michael’s wife, Joanna. She is served Joanna’s favorite dishes by the cook, warned away from Joanna’s rooms by both the housekeeper and Michael, and is advised over and over of the schedules and patterns that must be maintained because Joanna set them up. Colleen may be Michael’s mistress but it is clear she will never be mistress of Ravenwood.

Within a week of her arrival another problem arises. A woman walking a couple of dogs loses her hold on a leash and the newly liberated pooch quickly finds human remains in a shallow grave not far from Ravenwood. When the police come to investigate, they quickly learn that strange comings and goings have occurred at the house. Specifically, Mrs. Harris has gone and Mr. Harris has brought a very pregnant young stranger into the home. Where, they ask, did Joanna go? It doesn’t take long to discover that she is in fact missing and not staying with her sister as Michael claims. Needless to say, suspicion falls on Michael as the detectives try to determine what happened to his absent – quickly confirmed dead – wife.

The blurb for this novel advises us that, “Inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, In Her Shadow is the chilling story of one woman’s desperate desire to be loved and the ghosts that threaten to get in her way.” I’m not sure it was wise for the publisher to openly invite comparisons to that classic story. To begin, Ravenwood is no isolated, atmospheric Manderley. There is nothing spooky or chilling about this “mansion plucked from Luxury Living magazine” set in an upscale neighborhood in a posh village south of San Francisco, with breathtaking vistas of the ocean available through the windows and contemporary American neighbors strolling the streets and basking in their privilege.

But more importantly, Colleen is no ingénue, no innocent young girl who falls in love with a near stranger only to discover herself trapped in a dangerous situation and married to a man who may very well be a murderer. While I was sincerely concerned for the safety of the second Mrs. DeWinter, I had few fears for Colleen, who could easily have left any uncomfortable position she found herself in by calling for an Uber. I also couldn’t help but feel Colleen was a gold digger – who, in this modern age, gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby when she is with a married man whom she has only been dating a month? Why would you want that sort of tie to someone you barely know? I also believed almost immediately that she was a liar. She pretended she couldn’t have been aware of how much money Michael had but I worked as a secretary many years ago to an executive officer of an oil company. I might not have known his exact bank balance but it was obvious just how much money he had, so I struggled to believe that Colleen, secretary to the owner of a clearly successful, top tier financial company, wouldn’t have been aware of Michael’s wealth. Numerous statements she made regarding her own humble background mixed with her awareness of how expensive everything around her was, convinced me she was deeply desirous of this opportunity to be upwardly mobile.

Most gothic novels are told in first person singular but Ms. Miller employs several first person points of view to tell her tale, among them Michael’s, and some of the poorest writing revolves around his character. A gothic hero – or even one in a simple mystery – needs to be at least mildly threatening, with an air of dangerous foreboding about him. That isn’t the case here. He’s a tad unsavory – he has, after all, hooked up with his secretary a matter of days after receiving a text message purportedly ending his marriage. But he is never frightening. He is however, rather dim. He’s never suspicious of the fact that his wife left him via text and took few, if any, personal possessions when she walked away from a marriage worth millions, something not in the least in keeping with her character. He also never questions why she doesn’t contact him – about a divorce, to ask for money, to tell him what her plans for the future are. Finally, we are to believe that he buried the body within walking distance of his own home. All of this was so over the top foolish that I never once believed he was guilty. No one that stupid could own run a company successfully, and literally everything pointing toward his culpability was laughably dumb behavior. This particular red herring felt like it wasn’t just painted crimson but covered in scarlet glitter and wreathed with cardinal colored blinking Christmas lights.

Lacking the ingénue heroine, sinister hero and eerie house, the sense of menace In Her Shadow hoped to convey never coalesced. The author does try to throw several twists in at the end but I was never invested enough in the tale to find the clues leading to them intriguing, nor did I find the denouement shocking. I already disliked that character enough to believe anything of them and I had ferreted out their motive in the first few chapters of the book. Given the fiercely competitive nature of the thriller market and the number of outstanding writers in the genre, I can’t recommend this tale.

This author has the magic to write in any genre with captivating her readers. Ravenwood is one that only the brave should enter if you know better. But it seems Colleen has her own issues and when she goes there she does have many challenges thanks to servants and Michael. Colleen better watch out for her and the one she carries. The intrigue and mystery will chill you as you are driven to turn those pages. The darkness will twist its way into this with secrets. Just when you think you know something bam you are thrown for a loop.

A modern day Rebecca? I’m in!

Firstly, in the Prologue, Colleen is lying on the wine-cellar floor, her leg crumpled beneath her, with Ravenswood burning above her. What an intriguing start! From there the chapters begin titled “One Week Until Colleen’s Murder,” then counts down from the days, to hours, with the third-to-last “After” title an “ahah” moment for me, - I loved Kristin Miller’s smart play on titles and what they finally revealed!

Colleen is pregnant with her boss Michael Harris’s baby. After experiencing spotting, her doctor tells her she has to rest and relax. Michael then moves her into his luxurious stone-faced home, Ravenswood, built to look like a gothic castle. It had previously been Michael and his wife, Joanna’s home. Located off the beaten path just south of San Francisco, the home sets across a Monterey cypress grove and has a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean. Colleen is ecstatic but intimidated. Michael had never let on that he lived in a mansion plucked from a luxury living magazine. Michael gives her a grand tour, ending upstairs with the only request that Colleen lets him know if she needs access to the rooms in the East Wing. All doors are kept locked. Hmmm.. she’s curious to find out what lies behind them.

Six months before Colleen started working as Michael’s personal secretary, his 5-month pregnant wife, Joanna, disappears. Even so, everyone in and around Ravenswood still talks of/thinks about Joanna, leaving no room for Michael’s new girlfriend Colleen, who feels trivial compared to HER.

24-hours after Colleen moves in, the body of a woman is found in a shallow grave in the cypress grove. With Detectives Shaw and Patel on the case, almost everyone is a suspect -the chef, the housekeeper, the neighbors-Rachel and Travis Martin, and yes, Michael himself.

I highly enjoyed this sinister psychological thriller with the ghost of Joanna seemingly haunting everyone associated with Ravenswood. It mirrored one of my favorites, Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, and the mystery surrounding her death read like the pages out of a Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie mystery. An intriguing tangled web of greed, envy, lust, adultery, and murder. Great spine-tingling suspense. Definitely a must read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for this ARC.

Colleen has been dating her boss, the CEO of a financial company, since she started work there about six months previously. She got pregnant soon into their relationship, and now she is moving in to Michael’s house, a palatial estate on the California coast south of San Francisco. But however opulent it is, with a chef ready to make all her meals and a housekeeper on hand to keep everything perfectly clean and tidy, Colleen is not comfortable: She is confronted at every turn by the memory of Michael’s estranged wife, Joanna, who left him soon before Colleen began dating him and hasn’t contacted him since.

The housekeeper and chef clearly loved Joanna and resent Colleen, and Michael doesn’t really get how difficult that is for her. Colleen is supposed to be resting and reducing her stress levels during her pregnancy, but this move into Ravenwood isn’t making that happen. And then a body is found in the grove of cypress trees right across the street from the house: It’s Joanna, and she has been there for months.

In Her Shadow takes liberally from Daphne du Maurier’s classic gothic tale Rebecca, placing it in the current day and making it more murder mystery. The story regularly switches points of view among Colleen and Michael, as well as a police detective and a next-door neighbor, Rachael. Readers see many angles of the story and the feelings of those involved, aside from just that of a haunted and anxious Colleen. A lot had been going on behind closed doors in the lives of the supposedly happy couple Michael and Joanna, and Colleen pieces these things together from talking to Rachael, who was friends with Joanna, and hearing bits of information from the servants. At the same time, readers know there’s plenty that’s not been or being revealed, and it all comes to a head at the end of the book.

In Her Shadow is an entertaining thriller that borrows nicely from Rebecca while standing on its own. I wasn’t sure it was necessary to have four points of view; it just seems a little much, especially including the police detective, who isn’t a main character as are the other three narrators, but it may just be that the author found it the only way for her to get the needed information across.

This story was basically a decent, average murder mystery. Rich man, dead wife, new girlfriend. Lots of suspects. But, what elevated it to 4 stars for me was the totally unexpected twist at the end! Very clever, Ms. Miller. Other readers might have caught on sooner, but you totally got me! Loved the ending. Warning ... do not look ahead! Just read the book and wait for the fun surprise at the end!

Chilling, and the murderer is not so who you are expecting. This is hands down a page turner and one you will not want to put down until it ends. Everyone is a suspect even when you think they have been cleared. The author holds the clues tightly and reels the reader in by using clues that seem innocuous and innocent. It is definitely worth reading twice.

I truly enjoyed reading this book and I'm so glad I went out on a limb and requested this on NetGalley. I never like to talk too much about plots in my reviews so this one will be short and sweet. I think if you are a lover of mysteries that delve deep into the lives of the characters then this book will be right up your alley. This book has a cast of characters that are extremely unlikeable, but that always makes it more fun to read. I have been seeing this being compared somewhat to movies (and books) like Dial M For Murder and Rebecca. As a lover of film noir (although my favorite Hitchcock films are the ones Cary Grant star in), I can understand those comparisions. I think the kind of locked room style of the book and the situation Colleen finds herself in is reminescent of those movies. The book almost has a creepy vibe that screams classic film noir which I enjoyed. I could almost picture the house in black and white as I was reading. There are some twists, but I liked that the book wasn't dependent on them. The ending was satisifying and enjoyable. This is a solid read and I'm happy that I read it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine books for providing me with a review copy. Not only did I enjoy the book, but I found a new author to look out for. I will definitely be checking out more of Miller's work.