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spacecomics's review
5.0
Almost gave this 4 stars due to a couple minor "flaws," but it's such a page-turner and satisfying in the end, I think the author's skill overcame them. The characters are well drawn and interesting and the suspense starts in the first few pages, when you know Clara is up to something.
One of the flaws, in my view, was that what she's up to (not a spoiler because it's so early in the book) -- murdering her doppelganger, Solda, to take her place, thus faking her own death to come back and blackmail her husband for (she predicts) bigamy later -- is so complicated and unpredictable she probably could have much more simply just found a way to divorce him and get half his money. The author explains this as her superstition compelling her with the remarkable, opportune coincidence of meeting Solda.
The second flaw, in my view, is another coincidence providing a major plot twist later on; two coincidences are too much for one novel -- but the author again handles that skillfully enough I could easily overlook it considering the overall entertaining style, suspense, and satisfying conclusion.
I found this book in my parents library with books that belonged to both my maternal aunt and my paternal grandmother; one of them read it before me.
One of the flaws, in my view, was that what she's up to (not a spoiler because it's so early in the book) -- murdering her doppelganger, Solda, to take her place, thus faking her own death to come back and blackmail her husband for (she predicts) bigamy later -- is so complicated and unpredictable she probably could have much more simply just found a way to divorce him and get half his money. The author explains this as her superstition compelling her with the remarkable, opportune coincidence of meeting Solda.
The second flaw, in my view, is another coincidence providing a major plot twist later on; two coincidences are too much for one novel -- but the author again handles that skillfully enough I could easily overlook it considering the overall entertaining style, suspense, and satisfying conclusion.
I found this book in my parents library with books that belonged to both my maternal aunt and my paternal grandmother; one of them read it before me.
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