Rating:  Summary: A Bit of Iris Johansen meets Psychic Phenomenom Review: In "Finding Laura" Kay Hooper has mixed romance, mystery and fantasy for a great read. Our herione, Laura is mysteriously drawn to mirrors of all kinds and to one man, Daniel, for reasons she does not understand, but she can not resist these two things even though they both seem to be drawing her into danger including murder. The chemistry between Daniel and Laura jumps right off the page and grabs you and you will be envious of their passion and love. But will this overcome all the secrets that hide in Daniel's family, including a recently murdered brother and a family that does not appear to be mourning him? In the meantime Laura has moved into Daniel's family home which is ruled by the family matriarc, Amelia, whose husband (Daniel's father) was killed in an "accident" many years ago. Can Daniel be trusted? and why won't he tell Laura what he knows about the mirror that brought the two of them together. I'm not going to tell you because this book is definetly worth the read to find out. Very exciting and very satisfying ending.
Rating:  Summary: One of the best books ever written! Review: It has twists and turns that always keep me interested. It was the first book I read by Kay Hooper and believe me it won't be the last! Laura is a believable character and is described beautifully! If you think love can survive over centuries then this book is the book you should read!
Rating:  Summary: Clever and Well-Hidden Answers. Review: Kay's book is fascinating, despite some of the negative comments. Keeping the reader from figuring out who committed the murders was masterfully done. I found very little to complain about in this piece, though reading tastes are so subjective, it's impossible to please everyone. Her characters were complex and highly interesting, though I would have liked a bit stronger characterization in the hero. He was the kind of guy I wanted to know more about. It's still a great book. When a reader wants to know more about a character, it speaks well of the author who created him in the first place. It takes a lifetime to perfect the craft of writing, and not nearly that long to learn how to criticize.
Rating:  Summary: Dragged. Characters cardboard and little sexual tension. Review: Laura and her "soulmate" were both flat. I couldn't figure out why they were in love, other than a very strong sexual attraction. What did she bring to him, and he to her? WHY did they complete each other? Take away Laura's strange fears and reactions left over from being reincarnated, and she is completely without definition. The hero was intriguing at first, but I lost interest in him when he so quickly seduced Laura and did little else but get her into bed. The other characters seemed to have stepped right out of a romance written 50 years ago--what women these days hang around the house all day doing nothing but reading, playing piano, and walking in the garden? To have five full-grown women doing nothing else made it very hard to relate to them. Though all the murderers were women, none of them were very intriguing people. The plot was predictable (we all knew who the baddest person in the house was from the get-go). I wanted one of the shy wallflowers to be the murderer--at least it would have been a surprise. And ALL the women in the house had secret romances, except the matriarch. All FOUR of them. Plus the heroine's best friend! Talk about too much! The ending was far too obvious. We knew from the beginning about the soulmate business, so the mystery of the mirror was very predictable. But why didn't the heroine ever consider the possibility of former lives at any point? Also, unrealistically, her college-student researcher managed to put together the entire history of the mirror in a week or two, complete with lost diaries and letters. As if it would ever be that easy in real life. Worse, the murderer of course admits to the crime the second the heroine asks her about it, in full detail. Talk about a pat ending! Where was the suspense? Finally, the heroine's life was NEVER in danger, despite the blurb on the back. Never once did I feel she was entering dangerous territory. Where's the suspense in that? All in all, a yawner.
Rating:  Summary: Very much like the best of Barbara Michaels Review: Laura has been obsessed by mirrors her whole life, yet she is not vain. She doesn't look at herself in the mirror, but searches behind her for something she can't identify. She goes to the Killbourne estate for a sale and finds the mirror that she has been looking for her whole life. That evening, one of the Killbournes, Peter, shows up at her apartment wanting to buy the mirror. Peter is murdered that night, sweeping her into many more mysteries than those found in the mirror.
I would compare this book to some of the older Barbara Michaels books, romance and paranormal blended beautifully. The various characters were very realistic, and there is a twist at the end.
Rating:  Summary: All Kay Hooper's books are "keepers"! Review: Laura went to an estate sale with a girlfriend and bought a brass hand mirror with a maze on the back. Hours later, Peter, from the estate, showed up at her door to buy it back. Laura refused. Peter was murdered later that night. Laura was the main suspect. Laura went to the estate expecting hatred. But no one believed she had killed Peter. His grandmother, Amelia, found out Laura was an artist and arranged for Laura to paint her portriate. All Peter's relatives lived on the estate. The center of everything seemed to revolve around a four acre maze made of living greenery. It was a duplicate of the back of the brass mirror. Laura met and began to know all the relatives. Amelia ran the house with an iron fist. Daniel ran the business and finances. Kerry was Peter's scarred and timid widow. Anne ran hot one minute and cold the next. Madeline was the mother and was not mentally fit. Joesie was Amelia's personal assistant. Alex was the family lawyer. Landry was the detective investigating Peter's murder. Every one of them had a motive. Every one of them had an alibi. Who killed Peter? Who would die next? ***I did not know until the last few pages how appropriate this title was. I am usually so good at solving these murder mysteries. This time; however, I found myself accussing everybody! I love the writings of Mary Higgins Clark and Sidney Sheldon. For others who like them, buy this one in hardback! Kay Hooper has written a Keeper!***
Rating:  Summary: Flat Review: The storyline in this book might have been interesting except that a mood was never successfully set. At one point, the heroine, Laura, describes Daniel, the hero, as "expressionless", enigmatic", and "showing barely more emotion than a sphinx". I found this to be true of all the characters. I had no sense of involvement in the lives of the players, with the possible exception of Alex who was more animated than the others but had a fairly minor role. I did not at all like the way in which Peter's murderer was revealed. But on the positive side, I never came close to identifying the murderer on my own. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book.
Rating:  Summary: So Beautiful Review: This book is so amazing... It really takes you away in to a dream that we all wish we could have. I highly reccomend this book.. It's undescribable. I couldn't do it justice to describe it but you must read it..
Rating:  Summary: So Beautiful Review: This book is so amazing... It really takes you away in to a dream that we all wish we could have. I highly reccomend this book.. It's undescribable. I couldn't do it justice to describe it but you must read it..
Rating:  Summary: Good to the very last page. Review: This is the best book ever written by Kay Hooper. It's one of my favorites. It has suspense, romance, and a bit of fairy tale all between it's cover. I enjoyed it so much that I will probably read it again. If you enjoy this book you should read "Amanda" and "After Caroline", they are some of her other writing masterpieces. Kay Hooper is one of the most talented writers, she's as good as Sandra Brown and Nora Roberts, some of my other favorite authors.
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