Lizette Henry wakes up one morning and makes a
terrifying discovery: She doesn’t recognize the face she sees in the mirror.
She remembers what she looks like, but her reflection is someone else’s. To add
to the shock, two years seem to have disappeared from her life. Someone has
gone to great and inexplicable lengths to keep those missing years hidden
forever. But the past always finds a way to return.
Strange memories
soon begin to surface and, along with them, some unusual skills and talents
that Lizette hasn’t a clue about acquiring. Sensing that she’s being monitored,
Lizette suddenly knows how to search for bugs in her house and tracking devices
in her car. What’s more, she can elude surveillance—like a trained agent.
Enter a mysterious
and seductive stranger named Xavier, who claims he wants to help—but who
triggers disturbing images of an unspeakable crime of which Lizette may or may
not be the perpetrator. With memories returning, she suddenly becomes a target
of anonymous assassins. On the run with nowhere to hide, Lizette has no choice
but to rely on Xavier, a strong and magnetic man she doesn’t trust, with a
powerful attraction she cannot resist. As murky waters become clear, Lizette
confronts a conspiracy that is treacherous and far-reaching and a truth that,
once revealed, may silence her and Xavier once and for all.
**************************************
“Turning back to the
mirror, she fought through confusion and terror, studying this new person as
though she were an adversary rather than …rather than what? Or, who? This
didn’t make sense. Her breathing came in swift, shallow gulps, the sound
distant and panicked. What the hell was going on? She didn’t have amnesia. She
knew who she was, where she was, remembered her childhood, her friend Diana and her other coworkers, what clothes were in her
closet and what she’d planned to wear today. She remembered what she’d had for
dinner the night before. She remembered everything, it seemed— except that
face. It wasn’t hers.”
-Linda Howard, Shadow Woman: A Novel
What would you do if you did not recognize the person
looking back at you in the mirror? One morning Lizette Henry wakes up, takes a
shower, and is ready to start her day when she looks into the mirror and does
not know the face of the woman staring back at her.
Lizette attempts to figure out the missing pieces of the
puzzle. But it is hard because there are two years of her life that are missing
from her memory. With the help of Xavier, her ex, she starts to remember some
things from her past. But why and how
did Lizette loose her memory in the first place?
What I
liked:
Lizette is a tough, determined, and smart woman. It is not
easy to get her to back down, and she is willing to do whatever she must in
order to find out the truth. Even though Xavier in a relationship with Lizzy at
the time, he was still supportive and protective of her. He was willing to help
her no matter what. Once Lizzy and Xavier finally came together, it was nice to
see how well they worked and interacted with each other. I wasn’t completely
sold on their “strong” love connection, but it was nice to see Lizzy and Xavier
happy together.
What I
didn’t like:
Once Xavier enters the picture, she first thinks that he
is out to hurt her, but she quickly starts to remember their past and trusts
him completely. (Perhaps a little too quickly for me) It was a little disappointing that Lizzy and
Xavier did not spend very much time together in the story. I wish I could have
experienced their journey of falling in love. The story was told with mostly Lizzy’s POV
with Xavier’s POV showing up occasionally along with some other characters to
take note of.
Final thoughts:
I have not read any other books from Linda Howard, so I
cannot compare this with her earlier works, but Shadow Woman was a book that was easy to read and fun to watch as the
events with Lizzy unfolded.
There was a good amount of suspense, twists and turns that
I liked. I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
** I received this book from Random House/ Ballantine Books in exchange for nothing, but my honest review. Thank you!**
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