I was really intrigued to read about how Chirovici left his native Romania to seek a wider audience It's worked - as this book has had huge interest from publishers - I don't know if I was completely 'sold' on it but definitely found the third part of the book much more enjoyable than the rest but perhaps not as incredible as the the claims being made might have suggested.

The structure is interesting: It consists of three parts; an old manuscript for a book, a reporter's attempts to investigate the tale followed by the efforts of one of the original detectives to unravel and solve it. To me each part was better than the previous one and the concluding section was the highlight of the whole book for me. I'm not sure whether something got lost in translation, as I found the language a little impenetrable at times
I'd recommend it as an interesting read and an original structure that I enjoyed - it just never lived up to the hype as far as I'm concerned.

Mixed feelings about this one. I got it from the UK publisher, through Netgalley, just as it was being published in Romanian, but I prefered to read the english version, being curious to see if it sounded as good as it was supposed to. Well, that was a little disappointing: throughout the book, I had the persistent feeling of reading a text that was written by someone whose native language was not english, by someone who had been learning it as a foreign language. It was correct from a grammar point of view, yet there were certain phrases which sounded just as if they would have been written in Romanian and then translated into english, but not by a native speaker. You can almost always spot the places where a native editor of the manuscript has tried to give it an english sound.
The story is rather simple, and the fact that the POV characters are changing from one part to the next, although it’s a neat literary trick, doesn’t manage to convince me: the POV characters sound almost alike, despite belonging to different professions and being of different ages. A literary agent, a freelance reporter and a policeman, all talking the same way? Not efficient towards reaching the aim of suspending disbelief…
What I disliked most was the elaborate setup of the plot which led to an anticlimactic conclusion. In an interview, Chirovici said tried to give his crime novel a literary feel; with all the descriptive passages and the omnipresent contextualization, he mostly managed to make it boring and at times overdone. Also, the too frequent change of perspective on the events does justify the title of the book, making it a sort of a Game of Mirrors. But the fact that all narrators end up being unreliable, far from keeping you on the edge of the seat, becomes simply annoying.
What I did like was the fact that the author managed to keep me reading, despite all that I’ve said before. You do end up caring for at least one character and you definitely want to find out the truth. Hence the three stars qualification. I acknowledge the fact that breaking out in the harsh international market is no small feat. But I will not be so eager to read the next book by E. O. Chirovici, not enough to put it on top of my TBR stack.

An extremely clever book. This story really explores the complex workings of the human mind, and more specifically the memory. I couldn't help but question my own memories, and wonder if they are real or fabricated over time. Told through the narrative of three 'outsiders', the mystery of a 30 year old murder is unravelled. A thoroughly enjoyable read that is also thought provoking.

A well-written classical murder story, which can completely change the way you think about reality and the way in which our memory built our identity. A very interesting read!

A new author for me and a very easy book to read , which left me wanting to read more from this author. Would definitely recommend this book.

This was a different type of story, a book of three parts. Each part telling the same story with different interpretations hence the "book of mirrors". Interesting concept and an absorbing read.

I'm going to have to be honest - this book bored me. I went into it expecting a thriller, and instead I got a slow-burning mystery. There's very little action, if any.

The book is split into three parts, each with its own perspective: Peter Katz, the literary agent who receives Richard Flynn's partial manuscript; John Keller, the freelance writer assigned by Katz to dig up the rest of the story; and Roy Freeman, the now-retired detective originally assigned to the Weider case.

THE BOOK OF MIRRORS is supposed to be a twisty, psychological suspense. I found it to be very much dialogue driven, and while it's not easily predictable, the twists aren't particularly surprising.

It's a real shame because this is marketed as a psychological thriller and, in my opinion at least, it just isn't. It's 326 pages of "X says this, so I went to speak to Y who says this about X, but then X said...". The best part was Flynn's manuscript, and I'd love to have known who Flynn actually thought the killer was.

Chirovici's writing is good, as you'd expect from an author who has already published 10 novels in his home country of Romania, but it's a shame his first novel written in English is so lacking in plot. I hope this author can go on to better things.

This novel might be up your alley if you like slow-burning suspense, but I definitely prefer my thrillers to be a little more exciting.

Okay psychological thriller that is in many ways a template whodunnit layered with formulaic twists and turns that are clever but still leave one with an impression that it's predictable in it's unpredictability if you get my drift. And to be honest, the 'intellectual' angle of a deep investigation into the intricate and dark workings of the human mind, really isn't there. This is a straight forward murder-solving mystery and doesn't live up to the hype in that department to my mind.

Having said all that, when you strip away the pretension and that hype what you have is an enjoyable whodunnit that is written with a fair degree of flair and keeps you turning the pages. Approached on this level, you won't be disappointed. It is at the end of the day though a little more disposable than promo blurb would have you believe.

When Peter Katz receives a manuscript, he initally put it to one side. He eventually gets a chance to read it and is fascinated by the writing and discovering who murdered Joseph Weider twenty-five years earlier. All evidence points to it being the author but only part of the manuscript is available. Unfortunately, the author has died, the manuscript is missing and he hires a journalist to investigate and talk to people who might have answers. The journalist manages to make contact but in trying to find answers he becomes obsessed and this has consequences on his own life. The remainder of the story deals with the police officer who dealt with the murder at the time. By his own admission, he has made many mistakes. Both in the investigation and his marriage. He isn’t a likeable person, like many in the novel and has spent most of his life alone and full of regret.

The strongest character by a long way was Laura Baines. Cold and manipulative but unlike the detective she had no remorse or regret. It is a strange novel and the ending was a little unexpected. I thought I knew what had happened but I was completely wrong. There was also something hinted at but never revealed, this was left for the reader to consider and was a little chilling. I think the main theme of the novel was obsession. All the characters were obsessed with either an individual, success and fame within a career or the past. But it also showed that there could be a chance for redemption.
I was surprised that the author was based in the U.K. The American setting was very convincing.

With thanks to the publisher for the copy via NetGalley.

The Book of Mirrors is a book within a book layered upon viewpoints and more viewpoints as various characters pass along an investigation to one another.

It starts with a partial manuscript about a murder thirty years ago being sent to a literary agent, and ends with a cop tortured by the unsolved case, trying to tie the loose ends together.

The problem was that I didn't like the writing much. I found the multiple narrators all had the same generic male voice, and I didn't particularly care about the character who was killed, either. There was no one person who kept me reading because I cared about their cause. Yet I did keep on turning the pages for some reason (mostly because I'm quite stubborn and it takes a lot to make me put down a book).

In the positives column, it was refreshing to read a murder that wasn't a young girl who'd been killed in incredibly tragic and/or gross circumstances. There was no rape or abuse, but a lot of talk about memory and a lot of confusion over manuscripts. At least it didn't feel like a retread of something else and I did want to find out 'whodunnit'.

I don't think I'd personally read this author again - his style just didn't work for me.

When big-shot literary agent Peter Katz receives an unfinished manuscript entitled The Book of Mirrors, he is intrigued.
The author, Richard Flynn is writing a memoir about his time at Princeton in the late 80s, documenting his relationship with the famous Professor Joseph Wieder.

One night in 1987, Wieder was brutally murdered in his home and the case was never solved.

Peter Katz is hell-bent on getting to the bottom of what happened that night twenty-five years ago and is convinced the full manuscript will reveal who committed the violent crime.

But other people’s recollections are dangerous weapons to play with, and this might be one memory that is best kept buried.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved this book. Right from the start there are intricate plot twists and turns. There are several protagonists that give the story a different spin and you are kept guessing right to the end about just who is really responsible.

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I'd definitely read another.

A five out of five star read.

I am profoundly grateful to NetGalley and Random House for my copy of the book.

I found the story and the dialogue rather slow and I lost interest. I did not enjoy the translation style of the narrative.

Perhaps the whole thing was a little too serious for my taste.

Do you trust other people’s memories? Do you trust your own? Should you? Princeton, 1987: renowned psychologist Professor Joseph Weider is brutally murdered. New York, twenty-five years later: literary agent Peter Katz receives a manuscript. Or is it a confession? Today: unearth the secrets of The Book of Mirrors and discover why your memory is the most dangerous weapon of all.
This book had an interesting premise, a tale told from three different viewpoints, each casting a little more light on the question of who murdered Professor Weider. It is a well-constructed psychological mystery which aims to highlight the difference in how witnesses remember things. But this is nothing new, we all know that if 10 people witness an event, you’ll get 10 different stories, each convinced they are right. Having said that, it is an enjoyable read. There has been an enormous amount of hype about this book. It was a good read, but a great one? Not for me. There are better books out there more deserving of the ‘great’ description. 3 stars.

I would like to thank netgalley and penguin random house for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.
Who killed joe wielder? Frankly I couldn't care less, this book I thought was going to be right up my street, a great thriller but I am afraid to say I gave up at around 40%. The beginning was OK as you started to get to know Richard Flynn and Laura Baines but here my attention waned. I don't often do this, giving up on a book but I am afraid on this one if I didn't I was never going to get to the end.

[book:The Book of Mirrors|29905588] is the story of a cold case and a reflection on how memories work.

It is told through three different perspectives. One of the suspects of the brutal murder of a college professor writes a book about the case. Then, a journalist researches the validity of the claims found in said manuscript and, finally, a cop who had been involved in the investigation decides to dig deeper and find out once and for all who the culprit was.

I thought the format was creative and extremely adequate to the story being told. The plot was intriguing and kept my interest until the end.

(Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!)

This book left me with mixed feelings. The writing style felt slightly unnatural to me, almost devoid of emotion and more just a relaying of various facts about the characters’ lives. Each of the main narrators had their own romantic entanglements but I really struggled to care about them, and, to some extent, all of their voices felt very similar.

But, on the other hand, this psychological thriller has an intelligent, strong, multi-layered plot which, despite some issues with the narrative, was enough to carry it through and keep me avidly reading.

The book opens with Peter Katz, a literary agent who receives a partial manuscript from a man called Richard Flynn. Katz has received many manuscripts over the years, but there’s a kind of desperation in Flynn’s letter which gets his attention. In his book, Flynn recounts a short period in his life during his time at Princeton, a time when he became close to his housemate Laura Baines and worked for popular but enigmatic Professor Weider.

I enjoyed the ‘book within a book’ – the manuscript is gripping, and ends on a cliffhanger on the night we know that the famous Professor Weider was murdered. Katz tries to contact Flynn to get the rest, but finds out he’s too late – the fledgeling writer has died.

But the manuscript has got his attention and, even without the writer to finish the story, Katz thinks that he can make something of it. Armed with the new information on the Professor’s relationships, Katz asks reporter John Keller to investigate.

The author uses a range of narratives to peel back the layers of the decades-old crime. We hear from Katz, Flynn through his manuscript, we follow Keller’s investigations and, finally, Roy Freeman, the retired detective who worked on the case at the time. Each reveals a different piece to the puzzle, but it’s unclear who can be trusted and how they all fit together until the final few chapters.

“They’d all been wrong and had seen nothing but their own obsessions through the windows they’d tried to gaze through, which in fact turned out to have been mirrors all along.”

The murdered professor was carrying out some controversial research in the field of human memory, and this is a resonating theme throughout the book. It explores how memories can shift and change over time, how a person’s perception of events can be distorted by their own obsessions and how life-altering memory-related conditions such as amnesia and Alzheimer's can be.

For me personally, The Book Of Mirrors didn’t stand out in the busy crime genre, and I would have liked a little more character development and emotion. But there’s some intelligent themes and an unpredictable, fast-paced plot which kept me reading. It didn’t blow me away, but I enjoyed it all the same.

I enjoyed this book. It had lots of twists and turns which kept me enjoying it from start to finish.

I enjoyed this book, the plot kept me engaged and entertained.
The first change of narrator threw me, and the numerous twists were almost too many near the end. I just didn't know which version to believe at times! I would read another book by this author, it is well written, with an extensive vocabulary.

Literary agent Peter Katz receives a well written, thoughtful submission which piques his interest. It's about a murder, but it's not just any old fictional tale. It's about a real life, high profile crime which took place 25 years ago. As is customary in the world of publishing, Peter only has the first few pages of the manuscript. But he knows he needs to read more. Who killed Professor Joseph Weider? Is this the author confessing? Or a complete work of fiction?
I loved the idea of this book. Any book that's, well...about books tends to grab my attention. The story is divided into three parts and the story is told by three narrators; the literary agent, the investigative journalist and the retired cop. Events take a turn for the worse when the manuscript Peter Katz is so desperate to find goes missing. But he needs to know who killed Professor Weider. Yes, his interest is professional but if he's honest it goes much deeper than that now.
I enjoyed reading The Book of Mirrors but I'm afraid it didn't have the wow factor for me. At times, I wondered whether I had accidentally picked up a psychology textbook by mistake. It was a fascinating read but not a very exciting one. I really enjoyed the first part narrated by literary agent, Peter Katz. I'm afraid I was stating to lose interest when the investigative journalist stepped up to the plate and by the time I had reached the third part narrated by the retired cop, I was completely lost.

Before I conclude this review I have to say something about Laura Baines. For me she was the character that outshone every one else. Laura is one of the characters who makes a regular appearance throughout the story. And each and every time she does make an appearance she is a completely different person. I loved that. I loved grown-up, career driven Laura. She made me shudder at one point with her icy attitude.

Would I recommend this book? I would but it's a slow burn of a novel. The beginning is great, I found the end satisfying but it lost it's way somewhere in the middle.
Three and a half stars out of five.