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Deeper into the Mirror by Diana Wells (view source)
Revision as of 08:54, 8 October 2020
, 08:54, 8 October 2020no edit summary
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=A compelling read about two women and the struggles they face as marriages stutter and fail. I planned to read it over four days a long weekend but finished it in less than a day!
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|date=
|isbn=978-
|cover=
|aznuk=
One of the reasons that Helen finds middle-aged suitors boring is that she's still secretly hankering after the one who got away, the fiance who dumped her after a four-year celibate relationship. Charles Franklin had been adamant that his virtue and his Catholic faith meant everything to him: ultimately they meant more to him than Helen, who predicted that he would become fat and filthy rich. She was right about that.
The story is heavy on coincidence but suspend disbelief and you have a very good story. Diane Wells builds her plot layer by layer and you quickly fall into the 'just another chapter' trap. I originally planned to read the book it over four days a long weekend but finished it in less than a day , simply because I had to find out what happened. I didn't spot how it was all going to work out - and all I'll say about that is that my fingers are crossed for Helen...
There was one point where I howled with laughter: a man approached a Catholic priest and was given advice about his sex life - and took what he was told seriously. It's priceless. There's a thread of Catholicism running through the book and it did make me realise the harm which any form of religious extremism can perpetrate. It's very sensitively handled.