The Woman in the Mirror

 The Woman in the Mirror by Rebecca James  351 pages   

Summary from Goodreads: In 1947, Londoner Alice Miller accepts a post as governess at Winterbourne, looking after Captain Jonathan de Grey’s twin children. Falling under the de Greys’ spell, Alice believes the family will heal her own past sorrows. But then the twins’ adoration becomes deceitful and taunting. Their father, ever distant, turns spiteful and cruel. The manor itself seems to lash out. Alice finds her surroundings subtly altered, her air slightly chilled. Something malicious resents her presence, something clouding her senses and threatening her very sanity.

In present day New York, art gallery curator Rachel Wright has learned she is a descendant of the de Greys and heir to Winterbourne. Adopted as an infant, she never knew her birth parents or her lineage. At long last, Rachel will find answers to questions about her identity that have haunted her entire life. But what she finds in Cornwall is a devastating tragic legacy that has afflicted generations of de Greys. A legacy borne from greed and deceit, twisted by madness, and suffused with unrequited love and unequivocal rage. 

And here's what I thought:  I usually don't pick up this type of Gothic-suspense-haunted kind of story, but I got this book on Christmas Eve (our annual tradition) and actually, really liked it. I found the back-and-forth narrative between the past (Alice in first person) and the present (Rachel) to be really interesting. Alice is a little frustrating as a character -- I often was muttering "Don't open the door!" or "You're getting obsessive and weird!" at her when I was reading.  But, I was really curious to know what was going to happen and what was actually going on. A haunted object? A haunted house? Sociopathic children?  I will admit that when a supposed cursed object is handled, and then something is discovered later --- I had a Supernatural moment and was saying "Salt and burn it, dumbass!!!"   Overall, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this and how easy it was to get caught up in the story.  Definitely a thumbs-up!