Category: Fiction
Publisher: Miramax Books
ISBN: 0739436798
Pub. Date: July 2003
Date Read: June 2008
The sign on her door reads, Trompe L'Oeil, Inc. and for a reasonable fee, Faith Crowell will create illusory images to amuse the viewers. She has a good business, a studio in a brownstone in Manhattan and overall is content with her life.
"I stopped expecting too much from life. I began to think of my time on this earth as one leg of a long journey, and view myself as a person in transit. I began to accept life's odd turns and disappointments as the seasoned traveler accepts the surprises and inconveniences which are an inevitable part of any trip."
But her peace is about to be disturbed when Frances Griffin, a wealthy and legendary figure of the New York social scene steps into her studio to commission a painting. Frances wants Faith to paint the ballroom of her Long Island mansion, The Haven.
Faith is taken aback but after discussing this with her friend and mentor, Harry she knows she has to take the commission. So she lets her clients know she won't be accepting any new work and sets off to The Haven.
But Faith soon learns that she will be painting the grand ballroom that was only used once; for the coming-out ball for Cassandra, Cassa, Griffin. A party Cassa didn't even attend. As Faith starts to piece together the life of Frances Griffin she learns that Cassa, her only daughter, was brutally murdered and the crime remains unsolved. If the ballroom holds so many painful memories for Frances why does she want to recreate it?
Lots of warning signals abound for Faith, as she learns that her employer had her followed, her employer keeps telling her how much she resembles her daughter and other bits but Faith can't back away from this any more. She feels an affinity with the murdered Cassa and resolves to find out the truth.
A great psychological thriller that slowly draws in the reader into a complex web where nothing is what it appears to be.