Thrillers & Suspense
![Jayne Ann Krentz - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B000APVKX6.jpg)
Lightning in a Mirror (Fogg Lake)
The final installment in the chilling Fogg Lake trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz.
Olivia LeClair's experiment with speed dating is not going well. First there was the nasty encounter with the date from hell who tried to murder her and now the mysterious Harlan Rancourt-long believed dead-sits down at her table and tells her she's the only one who can help him locate the legendary Vortex lab.
This is not what Olivia had in mind when she signed up for the Four Event Success Guaranteed package offered by the dating agency. She doesn't have much choice, though, because her psychic investigation firm works for the mysterious Foundation and Victor Arganbright, the director, is adamant that she assist Harlan. There's just one problem-no one knows Harlan's real agenda. His father once ran the Foundation like a mob organization, and Harlan was destined to be his heir. There's a real possibility Harlan has returned to claim his inheritance.
For now, however, it's a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend because others are after the secrets of the long-lost lab. Unfortunately for Olivia, the one thing friend and foe have in common is that everyone is convinced she is the key. Her unique psychic talent is required to defuse the ticking time bomb that is Vortex.
Neither trusts the other but Olivia and Harlan soon realize they must work together to survive and unlock the Bluestone Project's most dangerous secrets before more innocent people die.
Olivia LeClair's experiment with speed dating is not going well. First there was the nasty encounter with the date from hell who tried to murder her and now the mysterious Harlan Rancourt-long believed dead-sits down at her table and tells her she's the only one who can help him locate the legendary Vortex lab.
This is not what Olivia had in mind when she signed up for the Four Event Success Guaranteed package offered by the dating agency. She doesn't have much choice, though, because her psychic investigation firm works for the mysterious Foundation and Victor Arganbright, the director, is adamant that she assist Harlan. There's just one problem-no one knows Harlan's real agenda. His father once ran the Foundation like a mob organization, and Harlan was destined to be his heir. There's a real possibility Harlan has returned to claim his inheritance.
For now, however, it's a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend because others are after the secrets of the long-lost lab. Unfortunately for Olivia, the one thing friend and foe have in common is that everyone is convinced she is the key. Her unique psychic talent is required to defuse the ticking time bomb that is Vortex.
Neither trusts the other but Olivia and Harlan soon realize they must work together to survive and unlock the Bluestone Project's most dangerous secrets before more innocent people die.
Editorial Reviews
"Bestseller Krentz wraps up her Fogg Lake trilogy in dazzling fashion with this paranormal tour de force…Krentz delivers a first-rate set of characters while masterfully ratcheting up the tension on the way to a powerhouse finale. Readers will devour this smart, sexy story."-Publishers Weekly
"Best-selling Krentz expertly wraps up her Fogg Lake trilogy by smartly leaning into her preferred literary wheelhouse of paranormal-tinged danger, sizzling desire, and zippy dialogue. All these elements are expertly distilled into a fast-paced plot that includes some fun references to other books in the Jayneverse delivered to readers in lively writing imbued with a generous dose of bracing wit."-Booklist, starred review
"Best-selling Krentz expertly wraps up her Fogg Lake trilogy by smartly leaning into her preferred literary wheelhouse of paranormal-tinged danger, sizzling desire, and zippy dialogue. All these elements are expertly distilled into a fast-paced plot that includes some fun references to other books in the Jayneverse delivered to readers in lively writing imbued with a generous dose of bracing wit."-Booklist, starred review
Readers Top Reviews
Kindle eiyiyiJIA Ha
Awesome Awesome Awesome Alway enjoy your books. Please don't ever stop writing. Always a good time with your books. Once I start one of your books I can't ever just stop. I will always read it until the end. then I can't wait for the next.
Sunita
Love the final installment of the Fogg Lake books. Olivia and Harlan have great chemistry. Ms. Krentz does not disappoint, with her clever dialogues and twists and turns In her plot. Interestingly enough there are some intriguing threads left dangling for the reader. Why was the wider world of the paranormal introduced? Might we revisit some of these characters later on? Could there be a crossover, or spin-off?
DeidreRain
This long awaited final book of the series I found lacking. I was not surprised by anything in the story and in fact at some points throughout I wondered if Ms.Krentz had recycled some sections from another story...de ja vu feeling was definitely how I felt reading this and there was no tension or true chemistry between the hero and heroine. It felt very formulaic. I feel cheated. The 5 star ratings given to this book I find incredible, but to each their own. By far not her best work.
KerrieS
A great story that finished the series - I very much enjoyed this book. Harlan Rancourt gives Olivia LeClair the right answer (for the wrong reason) at a speed dating event and she is intrigued enough to leave with him. He tells her he is on the hunt for Vortex and needs her help - as an incentive he tells her he can help her find the man who killed her mother while they're at it. I love the paranormal vibes to these stories. Vortex is after her as they're convinced she can provide them with paranormal help they need. It was good to see Harlan was not the bad guy previously portrayed in the previous two books. Read the whole series!
Kindle
I love my kindle! I woke up first thing this morning to find Lightning in a Mirror waiting for me. I have spent the day reading this great book. I had prepared for this release by reading the first two books in the series again and refreshing my memory helped with Lightning. Although I am sure it could be stand alone, but half the fun of these books is immersing myself in Jayneverse. Others have dealt with the plot so I will just say I loved Olivia and Harlan. Their conversations had the JAK sparkling touch and they had me hooked on their relationship from their speed dating interaction. Great book that I literally spent the day reading. A day with a great book is a great day indeed.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Chapter 1
Olivia LeClair was halfway across the parking garage and thinking about getting a cat when she realized the man coming toward her intended to murder her.
"Hi, remember me?" the killer said. "Brian. Brian Gatewood. We met at that speed date event last week. I didn't realize you lived in this apartment building. What a coincidence. I just moved in. I'm on the tenth floor."
As if she didn't have enough to deal with, given the new wave of nightmares that had been robbing her of sleep lately. The dream images came in whispers and ghostly fragments: A voice she almost recognized told her to run. A cobalt blue mirror stood in the way. Unseen monsters chased her. And now she was about to confront a very real killer. She needed a vacation.
Brian Gatewood was good-looking in an open, Mr. Nice Guy way, and he was smiling, a friendly, ever-so-slightly flirtatious smile. The misty Seattle night had dampened his jacket. His running shoes were leaving footprints on the concrete floor. He had a grocery bag cradled in one arm and a key fob in his hand. A baseball cap was angled low over his eyes.
"I remember you," she said. "Welcome to the building. I think you'll like it here. The amenities are terrific."
She accompanied the warm words with a dazzling smile. In the months since she and Catalina had opened Lark & LeClair, she had discovered she possessed a talent for acting. It came in handy in the private investigation business.
"That's why I signed the rental agreement," Brian enthused. "The amenities. What floor are you on?"
Killers were often excellent actors, too. The problem for Brian was that no matter how smooth and polished his performance, he could not disguise the faint, almost invisible wavelengths that sparked in his aura. To a woman who could read energy fields as easily as she read books, the shafts of pale radiance spelled one word: blank. It was the paranormal community's slang for sociopath.
That information, while chilling, was not what signaled Brian's intention to attack-not all sociopaths were violent. A lot of them were content to lead relatively quiet lives as con artists and fraudsters. They broke people's hearts and ripped off their money, but they didn't slice open jugulars.
But there was the other kind, the sort that fed on people's fear, pain and, in some cases, blood. Brian Gatewood was one of those. The warning blazed in his aura in the form of hot currents of bloodred energy.
"I'm on the ninth floor," she said. "You'll love the gym. It's on the top floor."
"Looking forward to trying out the equipment," Brian said.
She calculated the distance back to the relative safety of her car and then estimated how many steps she was from the locked doors of the elevator lobby. It didn't take a mathematician to know she was trapped. She didn't stand a chance of escape in either direction. Even if she could outrun Brian-doubtful, given that she was in heels-he would have no problem overtaking her while she was in the process of trying to unlock either the car door or the lobby entrance.
She stopped, careful to keep smiling. "Lucky me. I'm so glad you're here. I just remembered I left my key fob on the kitchen counter. You can let me into the lobby. I won't have to call the concierge desk and ask someone to rescue me."
Brian hesitated for a split second, just long enough to confirm her suspicion that the fob in his hand wouldn't open the lobby doors. Things were not going quite the way he had planned.
He recovered quickly. "Sure. Hang on." He glanced at the vintage camera hanging from a leather cord around her neck. "That looks like an antique."
"It is," Olivia said. "Mid-twentieth century."
"Do you collect old cameras?"
"Just this one."
He lost interest in the camera and went toward the door. The path he was following would bring him very close to her. She stepped aside as if to get out of his way. He altered course ever so slightly, just enough to ensure he closed the distance between them.
She took another step back and let her handbag slide off her shoulder onto the concrete floor.
"Damn," she said. "I just bought that bag. Now it's going to have garage dirt on it. That stuff never comes off."
She bent down, trying to appear as if she was intent on retrieving the handbag.
"I'll get it," Brian said. "So, what did you think about the speed date event? Any luck?"
H...
Olivia LeClair was halfway across the parking garage and thinking about getting a cat when she realized the man coming toward her intended to murder her.
"Hi, remember me?" the killer said. "Brian. Brian Gatewood. We met at that speed date event last week. I didn't realize you lived in this apartment building. What a coincidence. I just moved in. I'm on the tenth floor."
As if she didn't have enough to deal with, given the new wave of nightmares that had been robbing her of sleep lately. The dream images came in whispers and ghostly fragments: A voice she almost recognized told her to run. A cobalt blue mirror stood in the way. Unseen monsters chased her. And now she was about to confront a very real killer. She needed a vacation.
Brian Gatewood was good-looking in an open, Mr. Nice Guy way, and he was smiling, a friendly, ever-so-slightly flirtatious smile. The misty Seattle night had dampened his jacket. His running shoes were leaving footprints on the concrete floor. He had a grocery bag cradled in one arm and a key fob in his hand. A baseball cap was angled low over his eyes.
"I remember you," she said. "Welcome to the building. I think you'll like it here. The amenities are terrific."
She accompanied the warm words with a dazzling smile. In the months since she and Catalina had opened Lark & LeClair, she had discovered she possessed a talent for acting. It came in handy in the private investigation business.
"That's why I signed the rental agreement," Brian enthused. "The amenities. What floor are you on?"
Killers were often excellent actors, too. The problem for Brian was that no matter how smooth and polished his performance, he could not disguise the faint, almost invisible wavelengths that sparked in his aura. To a woman who could read energy fields as easily as she read books, the shafts of pale radiance spelled one word: blank. It was the paranormal community's slang for sociopath.
That information, while chilling, was not what signaled Brian's intention to attack-not all sociopaths were violent. A lot of them were content to lead relatively quiet lives as con artists and fraudsters. They broke people's hearts and ripped off their money, but they didn't slice open jugulars.
But there was the other kind, the sort that fed on people's fear, pain and, in some cases, blood. Brian Gatewood was one of those. The warning blazed in his aura in the form of hot currents of bloodred energy.
"I'm on the ninth floor," she said. "You'll love the gym. It's on the top floor."
"Looking forward to trying out the equipment," Brian said.
She calculated the distance back to the relative safety of her car and then estimated how many steps she was from the locked doors of the elevator lobby. It didn't take a mathematician to know she was trapped. She didn't stand a chance of escape in either direction. Even if she could outrun Brian-doubtful, given that she was in heels-he would have no problem overtaking her while she was in the process of trying to unlock either the car door or the lobby entrance.
She stopped, careful to keep smiling. "Lucky me. I'm so glad you're here. I just remembered I left my key fob on the kitchen counter. You can let me into the lobby. I won't have to call the concierge desk and ask someone to rescue me."
Brian hesitated for a split second, just long enough to confirm her suspicion that the fob in his hand wouldn't open the lobby doors. Things were not going quite the way he had planned.
He recovered quickly. "Sure. Hang on." He glanced at the vintage camera hanging from a leather cord around her neck. "That looks like an antique."
"It is," Olivia said. "Mid-twentieth century."
"Do you collect old cameras?"
"Just this one."
He lost interest in the camera and went toward the door. The path he was following would bring him very close to her. She stepped aside as if to get out of his way. He altered course ever so slightly, just enough to ensure he closed the distance between them.
She took another step back and let her handbag slide off her shoulder onto the concrete floor.
"Damn," she said. "I just bought that bag. Now it's going to have garage dirt on it. That stuff never comes off."
She bent down, trying to appear as if she was intent on retrieving the handbag.
"I'll get it," Brian said. "So, what did you think about the speed date event? Any luck?"
H...
