This is the follow-up to Smoke and Shadows, and while much of the prior criticism remains the same, there are some good points this time around. The plot is something one would expect to see in a really bad horror movie: while filming an episode of the vampire detective show in a haunted mansion, the crew gets trapped inside by some evil power, and must survive until sunrise. Another formula plot, though the author pulls it off as well as can be expected. The characters though, even the hero, Tony, are cardboard cutouts rather than distinct personalities.
However, like a cheesy horror movie, Smoke and Mirrors is actually mildly entertaining, as long as a reader doesn’t expect too much. The descriptions of the ghosts, whom Tony is forced to watch relive their deaths over and over, are suitably scary. Like characters in bad horror movies, these characters insist on doing phenomenally stupid things, inducing a reader to want to yell atthem. The main entertainment in reading this book - it’s very funny. Tanya Huff fires off one-liners fast and furiously; some of them real gems, until the comedy actually becomes tiring.
Basically, if you are looking for an easy read that doesn’t require any investment of thought or emotion on your part, and you like a mix of comedy and horror, this book may be an amusing option.
