Nora Roberts’ second book in the Lost Brides Trilogy adds depth to the story of a haunted Victorian manor house situated for generations on the rocky coast of Maine. Built in 1794 for the Poole family, the house became the site where a ghostly witch murdered seven Poole brides.
The curse began with Astrid Grandville Poole when Heather Dobbs, a jealous, outraged witch, killed Astri and then threw herself off the cliffs to cement the curse on future brides.
Sonya MacTavish inherits the mansion and begins to experience ghostly occurrences – slamming doors, footsteps, music playing, and occasional glimpses of scenes from the past.
Sonya develops a relationship with Owen, who is good friends with Trey, a Poole and Sonya’s cousin. Sonya’s close friend Cleo, an artist and designer, moves into the mansion, establishing a studio to work and keeping her friend company when the haunting moves begin.
Ms. Roberts establishes two critical themes in THE MIRROR. First, a mirror appears and seduces Sonya and Trey to enter it to experience an event that happened years before. They witness the actual brides’ murders and Heather snatching the rings from their fingers. Second, the friendly ghosts (some of whom are dead brides) that haunt the manor support the four friends in various ways. For instance, one of the former brides manages to clean the house, light fires, and recommend clothes for Sonya and Cleo; 10-year-old ghost Jack plays ball with Sonya’s dog, Yoda; and then, there’s the bride who always cues up an appropriate tune on Cleo’s cell phone. So, history is shared as the four friends establish relationships with the friendlier ghosts. Sonya and Cleo are determined to figure out how to end the curse and rid the mansion of Heather Dobbs and her many, many tricks.
Based on where THE MIRROR ends, Sonya and Cleo believe they must figure out how to take the rings from Heather and end the curse, then determine how to banish her from the house. It seems like this is where the final book in the Lost Brides Trilogy will take readers. And Nora Roberts will make it as riveting as she has book two in the series.
When Sonya MacTavish inherits the huge Victorian mansion on the coast of Maine, she has no idea that the house is haunted. The footsteps she hears at night, the doors slamming, the music playing, are not figments of her imagination. In her dreams she sees glimpses of the past. In the present she finds portraits of brides. And when she has visions of an antique mirror, she is drawn to it, sensing it holds dark family secrets.
Then one night the mirror appears and Sonya glides through this looking glass, into the past--and sees a bride murdered on her wedding day, the circle of gold torn from her finger. It is a scene that will play out again and again--a centuries-old curse that must be broken--and a puzzle she must solve if there is any hope of breaking the curse.
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