MIRRORS is the kind of big juicy read that's hard to find. It's got it all... passion, betrayal, the triumphs and glamour of Hollywood in all its glory. Plus amazing research that brings every moment to life.

This three generation Hollywood saga, from the Silent Era to the Golden Age of the 1940's to the Oscar Age of the 1970's, covers the lives of silent screen siren, Crystal Rivers, her two daughters Leanna and Shelly, and her granddaughter, Dana. Crystal is caught between scandal and passion for a stunt star, Hart Ferrell, whom she truly loves, and her Svengali director and future husband, Garret Sinclair.

As seen through the eyes of Crystal, Kay Klem paints a vivid picture of what the movie world of Hollywood must have been like in the early 20's. Her characters spring to life from her canvas of words. It was a dusty grimy place of outdoor studios where stars and extras alike were at the mercy of the elements and rickety barns converted to the first primitive sound stages. Here young star struck country girls and runaways came looking for fame and fortune only to barely eke out livings as extras or worse. Crystal was one of the lucky ones who was befriended by the tragic Virginia Rappe, whose death put comic Fatty Arbuckle on the stand accused of murder in the most sensational trial of the twenties. When Hart refuses to marry Crystal, Garret marries her to save her career from scandal, but in the process and ensuing rivaly of the her stuntman lover and director husband leads to catastrophe.

There is a nearly seamless transition as the reader moves from the life of Crystal Rivers to her daughters, Leanna and Shelly, who follow separate paths. Leanna claws desperately to win her mother's success on the screen. She latches onto a bigger-than-life (in more ways than one) singer, but leaves him for a West Coast mobster and tragedy.

A nurse in the war-torn Pacific, Shelly casts everything aside for flying ace, Brady McKay, including the man who hoped to marry her. Kaye Klem's descriptions of the Pacific Island of Vella Lavella are a stark and realistic look at conditions of an Island in the front lines of World War II. There are only a couple of minor technicalities regarding aircraft, which are inaccurate, but nothing that distracts from the story line.

The third generation sees Leanna's daughter, Dana, facing her own demons--in love with her astronaut cousin, she careens into a violent marriage where she is accused of murder. And yet, she finds redemption in a talent greater than Crystal's, and the unexpected healing power of love.

This is a wonderful read. Kaye Klem keeps the reader turning the pages with her magnetic characters and engrossing story line. I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys the glitz, glamour and scandals of Hollywood.