What do you think?
Rate this book
The Blind Mirror
Strolling along the beach after breaking up with the beautiful and enigmatic Sienna, David is horrified to find a woman's body half-buried in the sand - and stunned when the dead woman is identified as Sienna.
The prime suspect in his ex-girlfriend's murder, David is interviewed by an FBI agent who declares that the killing was part of a Satanic ritual. But David knows that Sienna isn't dead. She keeps leaving messages on his answering machine, messages which are mysteriously erased before he can play them for the authorities.
Desperate to find Sienna and identify the dead woman, David finds himself oddly distracted by an old crush, Julie, who has suddenly reappeared in his life and claims to be falling in love with him. But David still loves Sienna.
Though the Rev. Pomus warns him that there is true evil in the world, David continues to search for the supposed Satanic worshippers, closely followed by the FBI agent.
David's search for Sienna and the truth about her disappearance takes him from coastal California to New York City to Florida - and into the darkest night of his soul.
The prime suspect in his ex-girlfriend's murder, David is interviewed by an FBI agent who declares that the killing was part of a Satanic ritual. But David knows that Sienna isn't dead. She keeps leaving messages on his answering machine, messages which are mysteriously erased before he can play them for the authorities.
Desperate to find Sienna and identify the dead woman, David finds himself oddly distracted by an old crush, Julie, who has suddenly reappeared in his life and claims to be falling in love with him. But David still loves Sienna.
Though the Rev. Pomus warns him that there is true evil in the world, David continues to search for the supposed Satanic worshippers, closely followed by the FBI agent.
David's search for Sienna and the truth about her disappearance takes him from coastal California to New York City to Florida - and into the darkest night of his soul.
390 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
6 people are currently reading
735 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Pike
262 books5,497 followersChristopher Pike is the pseudonym of Kevin McFadden. He is a bestselling author of young adult and children's fiction who specializes in the thriller genre.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
February 5, 2021
TBM really is a strange book, one with wheels within wheels to be sure. While I enjoyed it, it felt sometimes like a slog to get through. Our main protagonist is David, a late 20s guy who paints book covers for a living. We start off with him returning from NYC after two months where he had passed his portfolio around trying to drum up work. Upon his return to his small town in California, north of Santa Barbara, he heads to the beach to walk around. Right up the beach from the town is a military base, and while officially off limits, it was a place he used to go to as a child and teen. There, he finds a decomposed body of a woman!
Pike's clipped, terse prose serve the novel well; it give the story an abrupt, disjointed feel, which is how David seems to feel. Before leaving for NYC, David had had a hot romance with Sienna, and the night before he left she suddenly dumped him. Was that the reason he left for NYC? In any case, he managed to get the rights for the cover of a hot new horror novel while there and throughout TBM he makes his way though the text. At first, we presume it is to get a good idea of what the cover should be, but later on it has a deeper meaning.
In any case, the dead woman is soon discovered to be Sienna, and David was the last person to see her alive. He becomes the instant suspect, but things get bizarre when it turns out she was killed in what looks like a satanic ritual. The FBI enters the scene as it turns out other bodies had been discovered who bore the same signs of the ritual. Even more bizarre, David starts receiving phone messages from Sienna! David has no idea what is going on, but soon finds himself in jail for her death and the phone messages mysteriously disappear...
I mentioned that TBM has wheels within wheels and hence discussing the plot any further will involve spoilers. This is only the second Pike novel I have read; he has legions of fans in the YA horror genre, but this is one of his 'adult' novels like the other one of his I read, The Season of Passage. I also mentioned that this felt like a slog at times, in part as Pike seems to keep throwing curve balls just as you thought you had some idea of what was going on. In a way, the clipped, abrupt prose mirrored David's thought process, as he discovers more and more about his younger life and the people he thought he knew well. This is also a somewhat existentialist novel as it probes what exactly does it mean to be human. 3 troubled stars.
Pike's clipped, terse prose serve the novel well; it give the story an abrupt, disjointed feel, which is how David seems to feel. Before leaving for NYC, David had had a hot romance with Sienna, and the night before he left she suddenly dumped him. Was that the reason he left for NYC? In any case, he managed to get the rights for the cover of a hot new horror novel while there and throughout TBM he makes his way though the text. At first, we presume it is to get a good idea of what the cover should be, but later on it has a deeper meaning.
In any case, the dead woman is soon discovered to be Sienna, and David was the last person to see her alive. He becomes the instant suspect, but things get bizarre when it turns out she was killed in what looks like a satanic ritual. The FBI enters the scene as it turns out other bodies had been discovered who bore the same signs of the ritual. Even more bizarre, David starts receiving phone messages from Sienna! David has no idea what is going on, but soon finds himself in jail for her death and the phone messages mysteriously disappear...
I mentioned that TBM has wheels within wheels and hence discussing the plot any further will involve spoilers. This is only the second Pike novel I have read; he has legions of fans in the YA horror genre, but this is one of his 'adult' novels like the other one of his I read, The Season of Passage. I also mentioned that this felt like a slog at times, in part as Pike seems to keep throwing curve balls just as you thought you had some idea of what was going on. In a way, the clipped, abrupt prose mirrored David's thought process, as he discovers more and more about his younger life and the people he thought he knew well. This is also a somewhat existentialist novel as it probes what exactly does it mean to be human. 3 troubled stars.
June 18, 2009
One of the most interesting horror novels I've read in a long while. I stayed up until 1 am to finish it and find out how the story would unfold.
April 12, 2020
Just home from a two-month business trip to New York City, David stumbles upon the body of a young woman on the beach who has been ritualistically murdered. He’s shocked to discover that it’s his ex-girlfriend, Sienna, who broke up with him just before his trip without giving a reason, and David is suddenly at the top of the suspect list. Yet, Sienna can’t be dead because she keeps leaving messages on his answering machine–messages that are mysteriously erased before he can play them for the authorities. Worse, he’s having trouble remembering exactly what happened the night he and Sienna broke up. David’s search for answers will take him across the country and back to that fateful night, where he discovers he may never have really known Sienna at all, and true evil lurks in his small town. Trigger warnings: death, suicide, fires, burns, drowning, disfigurement, statutory rape, abduction, some gore, violence, blood, drugging, guns, racism (mostly called out), white-washing.
I missed most of Pike’s adult novels when I was burning through his YA collection at my library growing up. I adored Sati and have mixed/negative feelings about The Cold One (I remember being creeped out by it, but I have no recollection of whether or not it’s a good novel). The Blind Mirror falls somewhere between those. I’ll never love it, but it’s a highly effective supernatural thriller that turns mighty grim by the end. I love Pike’s writing style. For as sparse as it is, he manages to do a lot with it, and no other writer “sounds” like him. The first chapter has two past suicides and a dead body, and I was there for it. That’s how you start a thriller.
It’s consistently good from there. There are both past and present mysteries that David is grappling with, and I was constantly wondering how they tied together. He’s an artist who designs book covers, so there are also excerpts from the book he’s reading for work called Vampire of My Heart (or The Heart of the Vampire if you don't check your source material before writing your review). It’s very clearly a nod to Pike’s own series, The Last Vampire, and the main character, Cleo, has a lot in common with our beloved Sita. Like The Blind Mirror, it’s much grimmer than Sita’s story, but I definitely would have read it had it been an actual novel. Pike is fond of his stories within stories, sometimes to no apparent purpose, but this one somewhat mirrors what’s happening in David’s life, and it provides an extra layer of mystery.
I go back and forth on David as a character. He’s a basically decent guy who doesn’t deserve what happens to him, but his ideas about women are prurient and occasionally a little sexist. We only know Sienna through his memories of her, and it’s clear she has a lot to hide. Actually, that’s the case for basically every character, from David’s new love interest, Julie, to the genial pot-dealing Herb, who seems to know more than he’s admitting about the suicides of David’s friends in high school, Billy and Rachel. The Reverend Pomus and his daughter, Mary, are frankly various shades of weird and creepy. There are few people David can trust aside from, strangely, the chain-smoking FBI agent, Krane, who’s trying to build a murder case against him.
If you’re worried that that’s a lot of threads to bring together, don’t be. Pike masterfully blends all three plots–past, present, and fictional–into a supernatural conspiracy that only he could dream up. I’ve encountered similar ideas once or twice and met them with skepticism, but he has a way of making things that should sound utterly outrageous seem terrifyingly plausible. It doesn’t matter if it could happen in real life; it matters if it seems like it could. The ending is much darker than I expected, with few characters saved. While with some books, I might feel cheated by that, I came away from The Blind Mirror feeling like it had the ending it needed, as grim and gutsy as the topic deserves. All in all, I’d call it an underrated supernatural crime thriller that edges into horror territory by the end. I enjoyed the hell out of it.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
I missed most of Pike’s adult novels when I was burning through his YA collection at my library growing up. I adored Sati and have mixed/negative feelings about The Cold One (I remember being creeped out by it, but I have no recollection of whether or not it’s a good novel). The Blind Mirror falls somewhere between those. I’ll never love it, but it’s a highly effective supernatural thriller that turns mighty grim by the end. I love Pike’s writing style. For as sparse as it is, he manages to do a lot with it, and no other writer “sounds” like him. The first chapter has two past suicides and a dead body, and I was there for it. That’s how you start a thriller.
It’s consistently good from there. There are both past and present mysteries that David is grappling with, and I was constantly wondering how they tied together. He’s an artist who designs book covers, so there are also excerpts from the book he’s reading for work called Vampire of My Heart (or The Heart of the Vampire if you don't check your source material before writing your review). It’s very clearly a nod to Pike’s own series, The Last Vampire, and the main character, Cleo, has a lot in common with our beloved Sita. Like The Blind Mirror, it’s much grimmer than Sita’s story, but I definitely would have read it had it been an actual novel. Pike is fond of his stories within stories, sometimes to no apparent purpose, but this one somewhat mirrors what’s happening in David’s life, and it provides an extra layer of mystery.
I go back and forth on David as a character. He’s a basically decent guy who doesn’t deserve what happens to him, but his ideas about women are prurient and occasionally a little sexist. We only know Sienna through his memories of her, and it’s clear she has a lot to hide. Actually, that’s the case for basically every character, from David’s new love interest, Julie, to the genial pot-dealing Herb, who seems to know more than he’s admitting about the suicides of David’s friends in high school, Billy and Rachel. The Reverend Pomus and his daughter, Mary, are frankly various shades of weird and creepy. There are few people David can trust aside from, strangely, the chain-smoking FBI agent, Krane, who’s trying to build a murder case against him.
If you’re worried that that’s a lot of threads to bring together, don’t be. Pike masterfully blends all three plots–past, present, and fictional–into a supernatural conspiracy that only he could dream up. I’ve encountered similar ideas once or twice and met them with skepticism, but he has a way of making things that should sound utterly outrageous seem terrifyingly plausible. It doesn’t matter if it could happen in real life; it matters if it seems like it could. The ending is much darker than I expected, with few characters saved. While with some books, I might feel cheated by that, I came away from The Blind Mirror feeling like it had the ending it needed, as grim and gutsy as the topic deserves. All in all, I’d call it an underrated supernatural crime thriller that edges into horror territory by the end. I enjoyed the hell out of it.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
September 6, 2023
This book was nothing I expected it to be, while the ending was a bit lackluster and left me wanting more closure, it was a good read.
Overall premise is that David finds a body on the beach, turns out it is his girlfriend that broke up with him in that exact spot 2 months prior. (Sienna)
David is the main suspect, but he is still getting calls and messages from her, so she can't be dead.
Throughout the story we are also taken back about 10 years to High School when David's best friend and girlfriend killed themselves, and he doesn't think they were suicides and he is trying to dig into this. This seems weird since he is being accused of murder, why would he focus his energy here?
We also have a book that David is reading for his job as an artist for book covers, this is a vampire story about Cleo and Ash who have been alive for 2500 years, but are now becoming human again. Honestly I wanted more details of that story!
Now we get into the science, what is really going on, why David doesn't remember things, why he doesn't feel like himself. What really happened to Billy and Rachel (his HS friends) and how it ties into the novel he is reading for work. The author does a decent job, but it also seems to try to hard at the same time.
Lots of disjointed pieces that fit together in the end, even if you see the seams raveling a bit.
overall good story, had me rushing to get through to the end to see the resolution. Like I stated, I wanted a bit more, but I enjoyed the ride.
Overall premise is that David finds a body on the beach, turns out it is his girlfriend that broke up with him in that exact spot 2 months prior. (Sienna)
David is the main suspect, but he is still getting calls and messages from her, so she can't be dead.
Throughout the story we are also taken back about 10 years to High School when David's best friend and girlfriend killed themselves, and he doesn't think they were suicides and he is trying to dig into this. This seems weird since he is being accused of murder, why would he focus his energy here?
We also have a book that David is reading for his job as an artist for book covers, this is a vampire story about Cleo and Ash who have been alive for 2500 years, but are now becoming human again. Honestly I wanted more details of that story!
Now we get into the science, what is really going on, why David doesn't remember things, why he doesn't feel like himself. What really happened to Billy and Rachel (his HS friends) and how it ties into the novel he is reading for work. The author does a decent job, but it also seems to try to hard at the same time.
Lots of disjointed pieces that fit together in the end, even if you see the seams raveling a bit.
overall good story, had me rushing to get through to the end to see the resolution. Like I stated, I wanted a bit more, but I enjoyed the ride.
June 11, 2009
I recently re-read The Blind Mirror after a friend of mine mentioned having read it for the first time. I realized, as I was about to ask her how she liked it, that I couldn't remember a single thing about the book other than I'd already read it. Nothing. I could tell you the plots to most of his YA novels, recite the story within a story for The Season of Passage, and yet a book I read within the last five years? Couldn't tell you anything more than I vaguely remember liking the book at the time.
Not exactly glowing praise. So, I re-read the book. And... I think I liked it a little less this time around. It didn't take me long to remember bits and pieces of the book, like Sienna calling David, and that there were more than a few double crosses going around.
It's a bit like he threw a few of his YA books in a blender [and not necessarily all of his best either:] and The Blind Mirror was born.
You've got your Pike essentials: Someone burned in a fire? Check. A high school clique that imploded? Check. Said high school clique's implosion will come back to bite someone in the arse? Double check. Vampires? Check. A story within a story? Check. The high school cheerleader who isn't what she seems to be to the male lead even though everyone else in the story can tell something doesn't add up? Oh yeah, check. Body swapping? You betcha.
But it never fully comes together, which makes sense given that David is racing against a clock he doesn't know exists.
I won't quibble with the science, the law enforcement, or hell, whatever the hell the FBI will and will not do. Mostly I just want to care about someone in the story, and the only time I really, really care for anyone is towards the end when David is trying to explain he would never hurt his friend Billy, that he loved him, and he's told, "Billy did not love you." Which sounds a bit off here and now, but in the story it works.
I don't mind the ending, as it's not like you're guarenteed a happy ending with ANY given Christopher Pike novel. But usually when the lead goes down, they go down swinging. David checked out before we even opened the book.
Oh, and even after reading the last few chapters? I still didn't remember them from before.
Not exactly glowing praise. So, I re-read the book. And... I think I liked it a little less this time around. It didn't take me long to remember bits and pieces of the book, like Sienna calling David, and that there were more than a few double crosses going around.
It's a bit like he threw a few of his YA books in a blender [and not necessarily all of his best either:] and The Blind Mirror was born.
You've got your Pike essentials: Someone burned in a fire? Check. A high school clique that imploded? Check. Said high school clique's implosion will come back to bite someone in the arse? Double check. Vampires? Check. A story within a story? Check. The high school cheerleader who isn't what she seems to be to the male lead even though everyone else in the story can tell something doesn't add up? Oh yeah, check. Body swapping? You betcha.
But it never fully comes together, which makes sense given that David is racing against a clock he doesn't know exists.
I won't quibble with the science, the law enforcement, or hell, whatever the hell the FBI will and will not do. Mostly I just want to care about someone in the story, and the only time I really, really care for anyone is towards the end when David is trying to explain he would never hurt his friend Billy, that he loved him, and he's told, "Billy did not love you." Which sounds a bit off here and now, but in the story it works.
I don't mind the ending, as it's not like you're guarenteed a happy ending with ANY given Christopher Pike novel. But usually when the lead goes down, they go down swinging. David checked out before we even opened the book.
Oh, and even after reading the last few chapters? I still didn't remember them from before.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2010
Pike's latest adult thriller, "The Blind Mirror" is a story about a man who finds the body of a murdered woman on the beach two months after his own girlfriend walked out on him, begins with a mystery (Is it possible the dead woman is David Lennon's ex-girlfriend?); piles question on top of question (Could David be a murderer? Is that really his former lover's voice on his answering machine?). In the course of trying to defend himself from a murder charge, David delves deep into his past and that of his friends, as well as into the kinky vampire novel whose cover he's supposed to paint. His release for insufficient evidence sets off a second, more gruesome, and even more sex-laden journey, which involves cultists, bootlegged organ transplants and pseudo-immortality through drug-induced personality transference.
One thing that I have usually enjoyed about Pike's young adult work is his insistence on having a dual story line told or made up by the characters in the book that metaphorically relates to the situation they are living in. Frankly, in this book the dual story was a waste of time. Too many secondary characters also drags it down in the second half. But because it was Pike I was reading, and I enjoy his direct style of writing, I read it fervently until the end, when I put it down, feeling disappointed and lost.
Not everything in this book appears to make sense, even at the conclusion. Once you find out what's going on, you will still wonder why some things happened the way they did. Sometimes the actions of the characters, particularly the main character, do not seem realistic, or things that someone would do if the events were really unfolding. The ending is an utter disappointment that stretches the most vivid imagination when the book just stops abruptly without any real closure to satisfy the reader.
Book Details:
Title The Blind Mirror
Author Christopher Pike
Reviewed By Purplycookie
One thing that I have usually enjoyed about Pike's young adult work is his insistence on having a dual story line told or made up by the characters in the book that metaphorically relates to the situation they are living in. Frankly, in this book the dual story was a waste of time. Too many secondary characters also drags it down in the second half. But because it was Pike I was reading, and I enjoy his direct style of writing, I read it fervently until the end, when I put it down, feeling disappointed and lost.
Not everything in this book appears to make sense, even at the conclusion. Once you find out what's going on, you will still wonder why some things happened the way they did. Sometimes the actions of the characters, particularly the main character, do not seem realistic, or things that someone would do if the events were really unfolding. The ending is an utter disappointment that stretches the most vivid imagination when the book just stops abruptly without any real closure to satisfy the reader.
Book Details:
Title The Blind Mirror
Author Christopher Pike
Reviewed By Purplycookie
September 30, 2013
This is one of those books you Have to think about for a few days to determine how you will write your review. Overall this was a good story with interesting characters. The way the plot is written I began reading thinking this was going to be a mystery. However, half-way through I went back and read the dust jacket and it says that I am reading a horror novel. So I finish and decide its a psychological suspense story. But then I think about is some more and it morphs into a supernatural mystery. I really can't decise what genre it fits in, which is a good thing. Four stars because I was a little disappointed with the ending. However, the writer gives many huge clues about the ending throughout the book through prose and character development. You just don't get the clues nor see how many were given until you think about it for a few days. The Story is about David, a man recovering from abad break-up with the mysterious Sienna when he discovers a mutilated body on the beach. The body turns out to be Sienna and David is arrested as the prime suspect in the satanic ritual style murder. But Sienna can't be dead because she keeps leaving messages on his answering machine. In self-defense, David begins his own investigation. He is both helped and hindered by his friends, especially by Julie, whom he had a crush on in high school, and who suddeenly reappears in his life and wants to have a torrid romance. There is also Reverend Pomus who tries to warn David of the nature of true evil. In the end, David's search for answers ends with the darkest night of his soul. A thouroughly enjoyable read yoyu will find hard to put down.
February 8, 2017
I...uh....I don't even know where to begin with this book. I love Christopher Pike but this book did nothing for me, it more confused me than interested me. It felt weird in a what-in-the-world kind of way. I didn't understand nothing about it but I finished it.
September 14, 2017
In all honesty, I have come to expect better from Mr Pike. Although the premise is extremely interesting, the novel felt fleshless, as if cobbled together from an outline and without having meat added to its bones and as such I felt slightly let down at the rushed ending.
July 20, 2014
Just finished re-reading this a couple days ago, highly recommend it! Awesome plot twist!
November 12, 2020
Full review here:
https://jamesgenrebooks.blogspot.com/...
Eventually, I'll reread some his YA fiction again and get the horrible taste of this out of my mouth.
https://jamesgenrebooks.blogspot.com/...
Eventually, I'll reread some his YA fiction again and get the horrible taste of this out of my mouth.
September 27, 2021
This reminded me a little of Black Mirror and not because of the title or the show I used to watch when I was younger called Eerie Indiana. Where everything is slightly off kilter and little bit odd. Boundaries as we know it are being pushed, twisted and distorted.
I loved the concept and for the most part the execution. I just wished David found out more through flashback and his inner voice than being told. I was lost by the meaning of the one flashback he had which I mistook for a dream. I felt the beginning and middle were drawn out and then the pace suddenly quickened and the ending felt at odds with the pace of the rest of the book. Self realisation and actualisation would’ve been more compelling in my opinion.
I’m not sure if this story inspired his short story Saving Face in the horror anthology 666: The number of the beast but I can see the parallels.
I loved the concept and for the most part the execution. I just wished David found out more through flashback and his inner voice than being told. I was lost by the meaning of the one flashback he had which I mistook for a dream. I felt the beginning and middle were drawn out and then the pace suddenly quickened and the ending felt at odds with the pace of the rest of the book. Self realisation and actualisation would’ve been more compelling in my opinion.
I’m not sure if this story inspired his short story Saving Face in the horror anthology 666: The number of the beast but I can see the parallels.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2021
I bought this when it first released and enjoyed it but found it drawn out and quite confusing. Rereading it with the basic premise in mind I got a lot more out of it. Everything is important to the plot so those drawn out moments and flash backs to the high school days are needed for the story to fully take form. There is even a conversation between 2 characters where they debate whether a good mystery book needs to leave enough clues to be solved before the reader finishes it. Seems to be a reference to how Pike thought maybe lots of people won't get all the details in one reading.
December 8, 2019
I'm giving this about a 3.75. I liked it, and read it almost straight through without stopping more than a few minutes. It's very weird though. And not amazingly well written. I won't analyze or go in depth, I feel conflicted though. It's like, it's a bad book, but one I enjoyed immensely. Give it a shot if you like Pike, or just really weird stories.
June 19, 2021
A depressing mess. While easy to read, the story is very frustrating. A lot of characters, a lot of story, a lot of mess. It does keep you entertained to some degree. There aren’t any happy moments either. Nothing to gain from it either. The ending is your typical horror movie ending.
October 25, 2024
I remember reading his books and found them very interesting,scary also and intriguing to. I still love reading his books and he knows just how to catch his reader’s
November 5, 2025
Captivating story. I couldn't put it down.
November 28, 2025
Loved this book!
May 18, 2008
I believe the world has come to a halt. Why would a movie reviewer be in the book section? Has she lost her mind?
Probably so, but something in the beginning of summer air has brought me to pick up a book and read it and so here I am, to share with you what I think.
From Publishers Weekly
In this workmanlike foray into horror from bestseller Pike (The Season of Passage), commercial artist David Lennon returns home from two months in New York after breaking up with his girlfriend, Sienna Madden, to Lompoc, Calif., where he promptly discovers the decomposed body of a woman, later identified as Sienna, in their old trysting place on the beach. He insists Sienna's not dead because she's still phoning him. The police say otherwise. In the course of trying to defend himself from a murder charge, David delves deep into his past and that of his friends, as well as into the kinky vampire novel whose cover he's supposed to paint. His release for insufficient evidence sets off a second, more gruesome, and even more sex-laden journey, which involves cultists, bootlegged organ transplants and pseudo-immortality through drug-induced personality transference.
For those who know me, I'm a huge Pike fan and have been since reading one of his young adult novels at the age of 11. Knowing how much I enjoyed his work (even titles meant for the adult audience) I picked this book without hesitation and honestly, without even reading the dust jacket. Maybe not the wisest choice on my part, but fans do what fans do.
Style: While reading this, I never quite got the feeling that it was a Pike book. Some things were common but in many ways, it felt like he was either holding back or trying to find his voice the whole time. Like someone stepped into his body, knowing how to write but not necessarily the feeling that goes with it.
Plot: Easy enough to follow but I REALLY disliked the added "book" that the main character was reading. Although it was suppose to give him hints, I honestly ended up skipping those passages and STILL knew how things would end.
Pace" I believe without the book passages it would have been a much quicker read and kept my attention during each sitting. As I mentioned skipping the passages, sometimes it would be a new chapter and I would just set the book down and pick it up later.
Characters: All characters were set up nicely and you felt some connection to each of them. Pike is good with descriptions and makes you see who he wants you to see.
So overall, not a bad book but not an excellent one either. I'd say if you have a used book shop then check there for it first......then step down to checking at the library. For Christopher Pike fans, it's a must read. Yes, you must read all of his books as I command it.
Jekyll (in her moment of book glory) gives this a 3 star rating.
Originally posted on Horror-Web
Probably so, but something in the beginning of summer air has brought me to pick up a book and read it and so here I am, to share with you what I think.
From Publishers Weekly
In this workmanlike foray into horror from bestseller Pike (The Season of Passage), commercial artist David Lennon returns home from two months in New York after breaking up with his girlfriend, Sienna Madden, to Lompoc, Calif., where he promptly discovers the decomposed body of a woman, later identified as Sienna, in their old trysting place on the beach. He insists Sienna's not dead because she's still phoning him. The police say otherwise. In the course of trying to defend himself from a murder charge, David delves deep into his past and that of his friends, as well as into the kinky vampire novel whose cover he's supposed to paint. His release for insufficient evidence sets off a second, more gruesome, and even more sex-laden journey, which involves cultists, bootlegged organ transplants and pseudo-immortality through drug-induced personality transference.
For those who know me, I'm a huge Pike fan and have been since reading one of his young adult novels at the age of 11. Knowing how much I enjoyed his work (even titles meant for the adult audience) I picked this book without hesitation and honestly, without even reading the dust jacket. Maybe not the wisest choice on my part, but fans do what fans do.
Style: While reading this, I never quite got the feeling that it was a Pike book. Some things were common but in many ways, it felt like he was either holding back or trying to find his voice the whole time. Like someone stepped into his body, knowing how to write but not necessarily the feeling that goes with it.
Plot: Easy enough to follow but I REALLY disliked the added "book" that the main character was reading. Although it was suppose to give him hints, I honestly ended up skipping those passages and STILL knew how things would end.
Pace" I believe without the book passages it would have been a much quicker read and kept my attention during each sitting. As I mentioned skipping the passages, sometimes it would be a new chapter and I would just set the book down and pick it up later.
Characters: All characters were set up nicely and you felt some connection to each of them. Pike is good with descriptions and makes you see who he wants you to see.
So overall, not a bad book but not an excellent one either. I'd say if you have a used book shop then check there for it first......then step down to checking at the library. For Christopher Pike fans, it's a must read. Yes, you must read all of his books as I command it.
Jekyll (in her moment of book glory) gives this a 3 star rating.
Originally posted on Horror-Web
January 10, 2026
I was immediately hooked by the first paragraph:
"Time to land. For most, the sensation and sounds of a descending plane signaled a fresh start or a familiar homecoming. Logic dictated as much. You were either coming or going. Yet when David Lennon tried to place himself into one of the categories, he failed. For some reason he felt lost between the cracks."
Just brilliant writing here, especially when you finish the book and read the first paragraph again.
I really liked the protagonist, David. He stands up for truth and tries to be a genuine good guy and isn't afraid to tell someone to f-off when he knows he's in the right.
There is a distinct noir tone carried throughout that really gripped me and put me in mood for several days after reading. Although there's a lot of bad things going down, David's relative normalness was reassuring, he is as curious as the reader is to figure out what the hell is going on making the book a suspenseful mystery ride.
I am not a novel expert, I don't doubt that there are flaws in the writing, still, I give this book 5 stars. I couldn't put it down and wanted to finish it in one night. I enjoyed the pace, laughed out loud several times, was constantly trying to guess the ending, appreciated its moments of insight, and is classic Pike writing. I wouldn't recommend the book to just anyone, it takes an inquisitive mind to process most of his books. I must admit that the bad guy explaining things was longer than needed and the ending is almost too dark, which has become a cliché horror genre thing to do as one review mentioned, but when it comes to endings, Pike seems to try to end a book on its most powerful conclusion whether it is dark or not, not just to fit into clichés.
I could envision an excellent sequel if Pike were up for it and I wonder what this book would look like on film. It would have to be done very carefully and allowed at least 2/2.5 hours of running time to capture the appropriate tone, delivery, layered mystery, flashbacks, novel-within-a-novel reading, etc.
At one point in the book, David mentions how a good mystery novel ought to give the reader a chance to solve the mystery before the ending. The book is called The Blind Mirror.
"Time to land. For most, the sensation and sounds of a descending plane signaled a fresh start or a familiar homecoming. Logic dictated as much. You were either coming or going. Yet when David Lennon tried to place himself into one of the categories, he failed. For some reason he felt lost between the cracks."
Just brilliant writing here, especially when you finish the book and read the first paragraph again.
I really liked the protagonist, David. He stands up for truth and tries to be a genuine good guy and isn't afraid to tell someone to f-off when he knows he's in the right.
There is a distinct noir tone carried throughout that really gripped me and put me in mood for several days after reading. Although there's a lot of bad things going down, David's relative normalness was reassuring, he is as curious as the reader is to figure out what the hell is going on making the book a suspenseful mystery ride.
I am not a novel expert, I don't doubt that there are flaws in the writing, still, I give this book 5 stars. I couldn't put it down and wanted to finish it in one night. I enjoyed the pace, laughed out loud several times, was constantly trying to guess the ending, appreciated its moments of insight, and is classic Pike writing. I wouldn't recommend the book to just anyone, it takes an inquisitive mind to process most of his books. I must admit that the bad guy explaining things was longer than needed and the ending is almost too dark, which has become a cliché horror genre thing to do as one review mentioned, but when it comes to endings, Pike seems to try to end a book on its most powerful conclusion whether it is dark or not, not just to fit into clichés.
I could envision an excellent sequel if Pike were up for it and I wonder what this book would look like on film. It would have to be done very carefully and allowed at least 2/2.5 hours of running time to capture the appropriate tone, delivery, layered mystery, flashbacks, novel-within-a-novel reading, etc.
At one point in the book, David mentions how a good mystery novel ought to give the reader a chance to solve the mystery before the ending. The book is called The Blind Mirror.
October 31, 2019
Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.
Pros: Tightly plotted, darkly atmospheric, with a brilliant and shocking twist. Effortlessly blends mystery, sci-fi and the supernatural.
Cons: Rather dry writing. Lots of unpleasant (though almost always interesting) characters.
WARNING! Some heavy gore (graphic cultist murders, among other things). Two characters get badly burned (off page). Hardcore Christians might find a certain aspect of the story deeply disturbing.
Will appeal to: Those who like books that mess with their brain.
Christopher Pike seems to thoroughly enjoy blending the supernatural with sci-fi concepts - but to be honest, he also has a flair for it. Of course, if you don't like the mix to begin with, you might not be the right audience for this one. I have to say, though, that the sci-fi aspect here is not particularly daunting...more like haunting 😉.
GHOST IN THE MACHINE
A book featuring an elusive ex-girlfriend who (allegedly) left without an explanation, and now is leaving messages on an answering machine - except she should be dead? You're probably thinking it's too dated to be worth a read. But to me, there's something to be said for the lack of technology. As much as I used to like CSI, I'm a sucker for books where cell phones, the internet, GPS and other modern devices don't make an appearance, because those stories are able to create a layer of mystery that is so hard to achieve nowadays, with basically the whole world at the top of your fingers. Even if I weren't a Christopher Pike fan, I would have wanted to read this book for the premise alone. The funny thing is, The Blind Mirror ended up being a whole different novel that I had envisioned after reading the blurb. But in a way, it was even wilder and more intense/deranged than I thought it would be, and I loved the completely unpredictable turn it took. [...]
Whole review here.
Pros: Tightly plotted, darkly atmospheric, with a brilliant and shocking twist. Effortlessly blends mystery, sci-fi and the supernatural.
Cons: Rather dry writing. Lots of unpleasant (though almost always interesting) characters.
WARNING! Some heavy gore (graphic cultist murders, among other things). Two characters get badly burned (off page). Hardcore Christians might find a certain aspect of the story deeply disturbing.
Will appeal to: Those who like books that mess with their brain.
Christopher Pike seems to thoroughly enjoy blending the supernatural with sci-fi concepts - but to be honest, he also has a flair for it. Of course, if you don't like the mix to begin with, you might not be the right audience for this one. I have to say, though, that the sci-fi aspect here is not particularly daunting...more like haunting 😉.
GHOST IN THE MACHINE
A book featuring an elusive ex-girlfriend who (allegedly) left without an explanation, and now is leaving messages on an answering machine - except she should be dead? You're probably thinking it's too dated to be worth a read. But to me, there's something to be said for the lack of technology. As much as I used to like CSI, I'm a sucker for books where cell phones, the internet, GPS and other modern devices don't make an appearance, because those stories are able to create a layer of mystery that is so hard to achieve nowadays, with basically the whole world at the top of your fingers. Even if I weren't a Christopher Pike fan, I would have wanted to read this book for the premise alone. The funny thing is, The Blind Mirror ended up being a whole different novel that I had envisioned after reading the blurb. But in a way, it was even wilder and more intense/deranged than I thought it would be, and I loved the completely unpredictable turn it took. [...]
Whole review here.
August 4, 2010
Picked this book because I vaguely remember loving Christoper Pike in my younger days and I may have to reread to appreciate but his foray into adult horror was amazing..I really enjoyed reading this book and eagerly finished in it only two days and that was nonstop reading everywhere I could..The story grabs your interest from the beginning as you meet a man on a plane sitting next to a eerily friendly doctor that leaves him with the creeps, to stretch out and air his legs he wanders to the beach and the spot where his girlfriend broke up with him only to find a dead woman there instead..the story twists and turns all over the place and drags you along to meet some interesting characters in a small town with a lot of secrets...My only complaint and the only reason I took away a star is the ending. You get so wrapped up in the mystery, the plot, the character development, the witty and intriguing story within a story element, the whole writing style and then the explanation comes in the last fifteen pages and is glossed over leaving you with a million questions..I appreciate the reveal even slightly understand it though I think the book should have been longer to support it..Recommended highly if only to have someone else to ponder this with:) Will definitely reread and research other books because he tells an awesome story and experiements so creatively with his metaphors I want to remember every paragraph...
March 8, 2011
I had expected more from this book, but was ultimately not too disappointed. Like other works by Pike, the story was abstract and paranormal. There seemed to be heavier Christian overtones to this piece than much of his other work, which has more of an Eastern Religion flavor. I was disappointed by how belabored and pedantic the actual writing was. I noticed after several chapters the absence of contractions except in dialog. Possibly this contributed to the feeling of being 'talked down to.' Metaphors seemed strained and similes bordered on ridiculous: "He was as wrinkled as a load of laundry."
It felt like Pike took one of his Young Adult titles, expanded it by a hundred pages or so and added a lot of sex and swearing. However, the idea behind the plot was good and the payoff at the climax of the text is acceptable. The first half of the book read more like a detective novel and the second half like hard core science fiction. That's a decent mix for me, but others might be put off by the rather abrupt shift.
Altogether an engaging book for fans of Pike's work.
(My husband, who was reading Pike for the first time did not like it at all. I thought it was okay.)
It felt like Pike took one of his Young Adult titles, expanded it by a hundred pages or so and added a lot of sex and swearing. However, the idea behind the plot was good and the payoff at the climax of the text is acceptable. The first half of the book read more like a detective novel and the second half like hard core science fiction. That's a decent mix for me, but others might be put off by the rather abrupt shift.
Altogether an engaging book for fans of Pike's work.
(My husband, who was reading Pike for the first time did not like it at all. I thought it was okay.)
Read
November 6, 2011No stars, this was terrible. Only a man could write a book were guys are getting seduced and hop into bed with any one that happens to be naked. Now Richard Lymon could have given this plot a real run for it's money.
Daivd, Lennon, Lemon , beatles, Seinna Sally, WHAT???? Set in California,
Probably my biggest hang up, why in the world would your parents not be written off as deceased if you were in the Town you grew up in and everyone KNEW you were in jail, and NO reason is given why your OWN parents don't come visit you!!!
and the vampire story was stupid and i hated how interwoven it was, because it wasn't. wow, bad, I guess his writing flows a little bit or something because as was pointed out the opposite of love is hate, I only hate it because i wanted to love it. and just couldn't.
Never liekd you as a teen either chris P.
Daivd, Lennon, Lemon , beatles, Seinna Sally, WHAT???? Set in California,
Probably my biggest hang up, why in the world would your parents not be written off as deceased if you were in the Town you grew up in and everyone KNEW you were in jail, and NO reason is given why your OWN parents don't come visit you!!!
and the vampire story was stupid and i hated how interwoven it was, because it wasn't. wow, bad, I guess his writing flows a little bit or something because as was pointed out the opposite of love is hate, I only hate it because i wanted to love it. and just couldn't.
Never liekd you as a teen either chris P.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2008
Unrealistic, even within the construct of science fiction. A lot of the legal and police procedural aspects of the story were implausible, presumably due to inadequate research. The suspenseful nature of the story more or less held my attention when I wasn't sidetracked by these problems. But the ending was very unsatisfying and logically implausible, even considering the genre. I mean that the protagonist acted in a very unlikely and stupid way, in my view, and out of character. I'm not a person who demands a happy ending, it isn't that. But I like my endings to tie up nicely with earlier things in the story. Too much was left unexplained and too much was left to coincidence.
August 8, 2008
I really wanted to know how happened plot-wise, so I read to the end, but the writing was TERRIBLE. A sad example of something remembered fondly from childhood (those great, scary Christopher Pike novels that I eagerly anticipated), that turned out not to be so great as an adult.
That said, you have to give him some credit for a rather original plot. I was surprised by the ending...it was weird, if nothing else.
That said, you have to give him some credit for a rather original plot. I was surprised by the ending...it was weird, if nothing else.
August 19, 2008
I love Christopher Pike. I read all of his young adult books when I was a kid, and reading his adult fiction is a pleasure. His prose is better than a lot of more popular horror writers and his plots are truly bizarre. This book kept me interested from beginning to end, although I found a lot of the smaller story lines unnecessary.
June 1, 2010
Well, that was an interesting book! There were lots of twists and turns, and the author constantly kept me guessing. I really wasn't expecting the ending. I could have sworn it would have ended like a dream sequence or something, but I suppose that would have been a disappointment. Overall, I would say that this was a really good book, even though I'm not a mystery reader.
Read
March 11, 2012Nope. Got 5 pages in but like the other reviews said, the writing in this was just atrocious.
I love a lot of Pike's YA stuff, but I'm not skimming through this in hopes of a payoff. I skipped ahead and read a few paragraphs throughout and the sentence structure doesn't get any better, so. In the "donate" pile it goes.
I love a lot of Pike's YA stuff, but I'm not skimming through this in hopes of a payoff. I skipped ahead and read a few paragraphs throughout and the sentence structure doesn't get any better, so. In the "donate" pile it goes.
August 20, 2013
The Blind Mirror
I had heard about Christopher Pike and I expected more from this book but was ultimately disappointed. The prose was amateurish as "adult" fiction, the plot turns and twists were confusing, there were too many secondary characters, and the main character, David, was unrealistic. The ride was wild but not fun.
I had heard about Christopher Pike and I expected more from this book but was ultimately disappointed. The prose was amateurish as "adult" fiction, the plot turns and twists were confusing, there were too many secondary characters, and the main character, David, was unrealistic. The ride was wild but not fun.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews