In Her Shadow
A Novel
-
-
3.8 • 5 Ratings
-
-
- $6.99
-
- $6.99
Publisher Description
A pregnant young woman becomes obsessed with the disappearance of her lover’s wife, only to discover that she may be headed for the same fate, in this novel from New York Times bestselling author Kristin Miller
When secretary Colleen Roper becomes pregnant by her boss, Michael, he whisks her away to Ravenwood, his opulent estate. Abruptly thrust into a life of luxury she’s never known, Colleen finds the immense house suffused with the memory of Michael’s wife, Joanna, who left months ago and haunts her imagination. With rooms she’s prohibited from entering and a staff that greets her with hostility, there is little room for a new mistress of Ravenwood.
It’s not long before bones are unearthed in the grove across the street and Michael falls under the suspicion of detectives. The soon-to-be mother of his child finds herself hurled deeper into her lover’s dark past, a past filled with unfaithfulness and deception. Making a claim to her new life is harder than it seems—especially since she’s walking in the shadow of the hauntingly beautiful Joanna. 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.
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this uninspired update of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca from romance bestseller Miller (Dangerously Red), Colleen Roper, once the assistant to wealthy Michael Harris, discovers she's pregnant with his child. Michael invites Colleen to move from her tiny San Francisco apartment to Ravenwood, his mansion north of the city, where her arrival is met with a frosty welcome from the housekeeper and the chef, both of whom were devoted to Michael's wife, Joanna. Joanna and her mysterious disappearance six months earlier still haunt Michael and everyone at Ravenwood. Colleen becomes increasingly obsessed with Joanna as she struggles to measure up to Joanna's image as a woman renowned for her looks, poise, and grace. When Joanna's body is found in a grove near Ravenwood, Michael becomes the prime suspect in her murder and Colleen must prove Michael innocent or lose him forever. Miller neither creates characters to care about nor builds up any sense of terror. An unexpected plot twist can't save this flatfooted remake of a classic.
Customer Reviews
So many dark twists
4.5 stars
Holy moly what a twisted, wild ride.
The beginning of this novel finds us witnessing Colleen broken and bleeding on the floor of the wine cellar at Ravenwood. There is a dark figure at the top of the wine cellar stairs. And then we switch to the past, and the title of the chapter is “One Week until Colleen’s murder.”
Colleen is pregnant with Michael’s baby and about to move into Michael’s home, Ravenwood. It is a spectacular home set across from a Monterey cypress grove and the Pacific Ocean. It is an exclusive community known as Point Reina. Michael and his wife owned this home, but his wife Joanna has been missing for about six months now. Missing, as in left and hasn’t been heard from. Colleen is understandably uncomfortable entering Joanna’s domain, but Michael is insistent that it’s time.
About 24 hours after Colleen has moved into Ravenwood, a body is found in the cypress grove. A woman’s body. The small, close knit community of Point Reina is thrown into a media circus as police and forensics comb the grove and unearth the body. Who is the woman in the shallow grave?
In Her Shadow makes every character a suspect, in the tradition of Sherlock Holmes. Each character has secrets behind the mask worn every day for the world. It is such a small community, it is amazing that they can keep all these secrets hidden. But Miller has written a novel that was so compelling, I finished it in two nights (would have been one but I did finally have to fall asleep!)
Loved this crazy story about wealth, privilege, and the secrets we keep to keep up appearances. Can’t put it down!