This story is like a Chinese box, stories within stories. Neat plotting but the characters did not touch me in any particular way. I found some of the side plots unsatisfactory, I had anticipations that came to nothing. The build-ups were not always developed or released properly. I was a bit disappointed, to be honest.Literary agent Peter Katz receives a well written, thoughtful submission which piques his interest. It’s about a murder, but it’s not just any old fictional tale. It’s about a real life, high profile crime which took place 25 years ago. As is customary in the world of publishing, Peter only has the first few pages of the manuscript. But he knows he needs to read more. Who killed Professor Joseph Weider? Is this the author confessing? Or a complete work of fiction?I loved the idea of this book. Any book that’s, well…about books tends to grab my attention. The story is divided into three parts and the story is told by three narrators; the literary agent, the investigative journalist and the retired cop. Events take a turn for the worse when the manuscript Peter Katz is so desperate to find goes missing. But he needs to know who killed Professor Weider. Yes, his interest is professional but if he’s honest it goes much deeper than that now.I enjoyed reading The Book of Mirrors but I’m afraid it didn’t have the wow factor for me. At times, I wondered whether I had accidentally picked up a psychology textbook by mistake. It was a fascinating read but not a very exciting one. I really enjoyed the first part narrated by literary agent, Peter Katz. I’m afraid I was stating to lose interest when the investigative journalist stepped up to the plate and by the time I had reached the third part narrated by the retired cop, I was completely lost.Before I conclude this review I have to say something about Laura Baines. For me she was the character that outshone every one else. Laura is one of the characters who makes a regular appearance throughout the story. And each and every time she does make an appearance she is a completely different person. I loved that. I loved grown-up, career driven Laura. She made me shudder at one point with her icy attitude.Would I recommend this book? I would but it’s a slow burn of a novel. The beginning is great, I found the end satisfying but it lost it’s way somewhere in the middle.Three and a half stars out of five.I chose to read and review an eARC of The Book of Mirrors. Many thanks to Arrow Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.After more than 2 decades, the murder of a psychology scholar at Princeton is finally elucidated, following the unfinished manuscript sent to the literary agent Peter Katz. Reconstructed through the stories of people involved in the story, the criminal is finally found but this is not the main interest of the book, but rather the misleading games of memory.In the vein of the classical murder stories, there are no spectacular turns of events. Instead, what it really matters and fascinates in this story is the way in which each and every one of the individuals connected to the murdered professor share their own interpretation of facts. Far by being chronic liers, they might be just the victims of their own imagination and the hidden ways memory operates: distoring the facts, subjective, projective and often misleading. But who are we when not relying on facts of the past, when future is just an idea? We see ourselves and remember events as disparate pieces of broken glass and the this may be just what we have for now.However, at least when it comes to reconstructing a crime, truth can be revealed, and an experienced retired investigator goes straight through the maze of lies and omissions, but while the book is about to finish, the reader is already deep into his or her thoughts about the multiple faces of reality.The book is quite slow-paced and without spectacular page-turning events, but well written and provocative enough to make you think or challenge the way you think. The clear, shortly cut sentences was a good style choice. I also liked how the various elements of the story are filled, with small ambiance and dialogue details.Maybe the observation of one of the characters has a sparkle of truth: 'People have never been interested in reality, but in stories'. In any case, The Book of Mirrors is a good story to read.Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest reviewBestselling Romanian author Eugen Chirovici's first book in English is a fascinating thriller about the malleability of memory, that reads like entering the classic carnival hall of mirrors, where everything is distorted, shifting based on where you're looking from.Twenty seven years after a Princeton psychology professor is brutally murdered, top New York literary agent Peter Katz receives an intriguing query, complete with partial manuscript, claiming to reveal the truth behind the unsolved crime. Is it a confession, or an accusation? Can Katz believe what the author has written in the pages? What will the rest of the manuscript reveal?THE BOOK OF MIRRORS is told in three parts, from three different characters' perspectives. Each picks up the tale and moves it forward, while also muddying the waters that have gone before.Chirovici crochets together a tale that leaves readers’ minds whirring, trying to find an anchor of truth among surging tides of shifting perceptions, self-serving lies, evasions, and false memories. It's a book that is easy to get drawn into, and a quick, smooth read. At times I found myself feeling like I was admiring it from afar, a semi-detached observer rather than fully caring about the characters or what had happened. Intrigued intellectually more than invested emotionally.Overall, THE BOOK OF MIRRORS is a fine tale that's a good read, a cleverly constructed thriller that is more about character and memory than definitively solving whodunit.Thought this was a well written literary thriller. The storyline is told by three characters and at the centre of the plot are the questions, "who is lying?" and "whose memory recall is correct?"Richard Flynn has submitted the first few chapters of a 'true' story to a publisher who recognises the potential but before the publisher can assess the whole book, Flynn dies of cancer. Events of Flynn's story occurred 29 years previously and involved the murder of an eminent professor, Joseph Wieder. Peter Katz, the publisher, employs the services of John Keller, reporter/investigator to dig further, in order to find the rest of the manuscript which is missing and ascertain which facts surrounding the murder are true. In turn, Keller contacts one of the police investigators in the original case, Roy Freeman, who is now retired. Freeman uncovers evidence that contradicts the outcome of the age old murder.This is not edge of the seat excitement but it is a thought provoking tale; an old fashioned 'who done it' scenario. The author has talent and I shall look out for his next book. Certainly better than some of the alleged 'gripping' thrillers I've read recently.Probably a 3.5. Interesting premise and told from different points of view with varying degrees of difference. Could have been satisfying if all had a point to it but seemed to drift away and lacked a strong point. As well, some of the characters were very unsympathetic and never fully explained, , such as the main female character. The book was intelligently written but didn't come together at the the end and you ask "what's the point"? As well, there was little sense of emotion or catharsis. I liked it but it fell short of what it could have been.Great writer. Great read. Highly recommended!Now I know why it was rated as a best seller. I completely agree with the rating!I liked the first part very much but felt that the story slid a bit from there. I don’t normally read thrillers or crime novels, so maybe I’m not the best judge.The plot is genuinely intriguing. I was disappointed when I reached the end -not because the ending itself was disappointing but because the journey was over.