Laura Sutherland, a commercial artist with aspirations of becoming a professional painter, reluctantly accompanies her best friend Cassidy to an estate auction at the home of the wealthy Kilbourne family. Laura is thrilled to find an interesting hand mirror to add to her large collection. She has always been drawn to mirrors, without really understanding the reason behind her obsession. While her new acquisition appears to be an antique, she doubts that it is a valuable one.

The pretty redhead is surprised, therefore, when Peter Kilbourne, playboy scion, appears at her apartment and offers her a ridiculous sum of money to buy the mirror back. When she refuses, he makes a half- hearted pass at her and then leaves.

But she hasn't seen the last of the Kilbournes. Peter is murdered that very same day, and the police know that Laura was one of the last people to see him alive. The hotel clerk where Peter was killed recalls seeing him with a redheaded woman. Finding herself a suspect, Laura decides she must clear her name. She believes that the mirror Peter sought could be the key to solving his murder, and she makes a daring appearance at the Kilbourne estate to get some answers.

Her next major surprise is that the family matriarch, Amelia, welcomes Laura and hires her to paint her portrait, despite Laura's lack of experience. In stark contrast to Amelia, Daniel Kilbourne's attitude towards Laura ranges from mistrust to hostility. Despite his behavior, Laura finds herself immediately and inexplicably attracted to this undisputed dominant male of the family who has none of his brother Peter's glib charm.

Laura is soon sucked into the Kilbourne dynamics, and she meets the other family members who live under Amelia's thumb, including young turk Alex, rebellious Anne and shy widow Josie. In her search to understand the importance of the mirror, Laura hires a researcher, who slowly uncovers its interesting history. But its link with the Kilbournes remains obscure until it is almost too late.

Hooper knows how to tell a good story, but she pads the book's length and drags out the plot. There are too many characters -- primarily Kilbourne men - who know pieces of the puzzle but who refuse to reveal them because they are "not ready to" yet. This lets the mystery plod along for another few chapters. I found more evidence of padding (or just sloppy writing) when Daniel's features were described as "compelling" twice in three pages.

Daniel was not a strong leading man, rarely rising above the stereotypical aloof, rich tortured hero. Of course he is a financial genius who runs a computer/electronics conglomerate. He's also a bit of a grouch, although he mellows a bit as he and Laura become intimate. I wish Hooper had given him something heroic to do to fully redeem his earlier behavior.

Laura was a more likable character, as was Josie, whose clandestine romance with Alex involved more character development and had more spice than Laura and Daniel's affair.

The best part of Finding Laura was the denouement, which was surprisingly clever. It tied together a lot of loose ends -- and after the padding, they certainly had been hanging for a while -- with several unexpected twists. I wish getting there had been a little more rewarding.

If Finding Laura were a movie, I'd advise you to wait for the video. Unless you're a big Kay Hooper fan, I'd borrow it from the library or wait for the paperback. And make sure you don't skip ahead to read the ending -- you'll hate yourself for it.

--Susan Scribner