In Her Shadow

In this uninspired update of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca from romance bestseller Miller (Dangerously Red), Colleen Roper, once the assistant to wealthy Michael Harris, discovers she’s pregnant with his child. Michael invites Colleen to move from her tiny San Francisco apartment to Ravenwood, his mansion north of the city, where her arrival is met with a frosty welcome from the housekeeper and the chef, both of whom were devoted to Michael’s wife, Joanna. Joanna and her mysterious disappearance six months earlier still haunt Michael and everyone at Ravenwood. Colleen becomes increasingly obsessed with Joanna as she struggles to measure up to Joanna’s image as a woman renowned for her looks, poise, and grace. When Joanna’s body is found in a grove near Ravenwood, Michael becomes the prime suspect in her murder and Colleen must prove Michael innocent or lose him forever. Miller neither creates characters to care about nor builds up any sense of terror. An unexpected plot twist can’t save this flatfooted remake of a classic. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Apr.)