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Looking Glass Sound
Looking Glass Sound is the newest twisty psychological horror novel from Catriona Ward, the internationally bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street and Sundial.
In a lonely cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood summer companions and the killer that stalked the small New England town. Of the body they found, and the horror of that discovery echoing down the decades. And of Sky, Wilder’s one-time best friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel, Looking Glass Sound.
But as Wilder writes, the lines between memory and fiction blur. He fears he’s losing his grip on reality when he finds notes hidden around the cottage written in Sky’s signature green ink.
Catriona Ward delivers another mind-bending and cleverly crafted tale about one man’s struggle to come to terms with the terrors of his past… before it’s too late.
In a lonely cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood summer companions and the killer that stalked the small New England town. Of the body they found, and the horror of that discovery echoing down the decades. And of Sky, Wilder’s one-time best friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel, Looking Glass Sound.
But as Wilder writes, the lines between memory and fiction blur. He fears he’s losing his grip on reality when he finds notes hidden around the cottage written in Sky’s signature green ink.
Catriona Ward delivers another mind-bending and cleverly crafted tale about one man’s struggle to come to terms with the terrors of his past… before it’s too late.
342 pages, Hardcover
First published August 8, 2023
About the author
Catriona Ward
26 books4,264 followersCATRIONA WARD was born in Washington, DC and grew up in the United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco. She read English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford and is a graduate of the Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia. Her fourth novel, the gothic thriller Sundial (2022 - Viper, Tor Nightfire) was Observer Thriller of the Month and a USA Today, CNN and Apple Books selection for best new fiction. Stephen King called Sundial ‘Authentically terrifying…. Do not miss this book.’
Ward’s third breakout novel The Last House on Needless Street (2021 - Viper, Tor Nightfire) won the August Derleth Prize and has been shortlisted for the Kitschies, the British Book Awards, the South Bank Award, and the World Fantasy Award. Esquire magazine listed it as one of the top 25 best horror novels of all time. Rights have been sold in twenty-nine territories, it was a Richard and Judy Book Club selection, a Times Book of the Month, Observer Book of the Month, March Editor’s Pick on Radio 4’s Open Book, a Between the Covers BBC2 book club selection and a Sunday Times bestseller. The Last House on Needless Street is being developed for film by Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish’s production company, The Imaginarium. Stephen King said of The Last House on Needless Street, ‘I was blown away. It's a true nerve-shredder that keeps its mind-blowing secrets to the very end. Haven't read anything this exciting since GONE GIRL.’
Ward’s second novel Little Eve (2018 - W&N, Tor Nightfire) won the 2019 Shirley Jackson Award, the August Derleth Prize at the British Fantasy Awards and was a Guardian best book of 2018. Nightfire will publish Little Eve for the first time in the US in 2022. Ward’s debut Rawblood (2015 - W&N, Sourcebooks) also won the 2016 August Derleth, making her the only woman to have won the prize three times. Her short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and have been shortlisted for various prizes. She lives in London and Devon.
Ward’s third breakout novel The Last House on Needless Street (2021 - Viper, Tor Nightfire) won the August Derleth Prize and has been shortlisted for the Kitschies, the British Book Awards, the South Bank Award, and the World Fantasy Award. Esquire magazine listed it as one of the top 25 best horror novels of all time. Rights have been sold in twenty-nine territories, it was a Richard and Judy Book Club selection, a Times Book of the Month, Observer Book of the Month, March Editor’s Pick on Radio 4’s Open Book, a Between the Covers BBC2 book club selection and a Sunday Times bestseller. The Last House on Needless Street is being developed for film by Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish’s production company, The Imaginarium. Stephen King said of The Last House on Needless Street, ‘I was blown away. It's a true nerve-shredder that keeps its mind-blowing secrets to the very end. Haven't read anything this exciting since GONE GIRL.’
Ward’s second novel Little Eve (2018 - W&N, Tor Nightfire) won the 2019 Shirley Jackson Award, the August Derleth Prize at the British Fantasy Awards and was a Guardian best book of 2018. Nightfire will publish Little Eve for the first time in the US in 2022. Ward’s debut Rawblood (2015 - W&N, Sourcebooks) also won the 2016 August Derleth, making her the only woman to have won the prize three times. Her short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and have been shortlisted for various prizes. She lives in London and Devon.
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January 27, 2024
My complete review of Looking Glass Sound is published at Grimdark Magazine.
Looking Glass Sound is Catriona Ward’s deeply unsettling literary horror that will lure readers in with its charming coming-of-age façade but leave them entangled in a web of metaphysical dread. From the retro cover design to its late 1980s northern Gothic setting, Looking Glass Sound is dripping with nostalgia for a simpler time that may never have existed.
As the novel opens, we read the unpublished memoir of Wilder Harlow, a sixteen-year-old boy whose uncle has died and left his parents a cottage on the Maine coast. Wilder soon meets two friends, also with author-inspired names: a handsome boy named Nathaniel and a redheaded British girl, Harper. The trio form a closeknit bond during their magical summer together and promise to return each year.
But the rural New England town is also home to a serial killer known as the Dagger Man of Whistler Bay. As if that weren’t creepy enough, the Dagger Man also takes threatening Polaroid photos of children as they sleep. Wilder’s summer becomes inexorably linked to the story of the Dagger Man, as illusory friendships are shattered and his parents’ troubled marriage hurls toward inevitable divorce.
Wilder is left broken and alone as he begins collegiate life, unable to cope with the psychological trauma of his summer at Whistler Bay. Enter the overly friendly Sky Montague, a Proust-obsessed aspiring author who insists on becoming roommates with Wilder. But is Sky truly the altruistic friend that he seems, or is he just pumping Wilder for information about the Whistler Bay murders?
A plot involving a serial killer in rural Maine is disturbing but, let’s be honest, standard fare for a Stephen King-inspired horror novel. However, the Dagger Man story is just a façade covering the true horrors that await in the second half of Looking Glass Sound.
The psychological horror deepens as Catriona Ward weaves layers upon layers of uncertainty to the story. The lines between reality and fiction slowly blur as Wilder descends deeper into existential crisis, making the reader question everything they believed.
Much more than a standard horror novel, Looking Glass Sound is Catriona Ward’s ode to the power of the written word. The reader becomes entranced by her prose and entangled in her circular narrative of metaphysical horror. Put simply, Looking Glass Sound is a multilayered masterpiece of speculative fiction and proof that a horror novel can reach the greatest of literary heights.
Looking Glass Sound is Catriona Ward’s deeply unsettling literary horror that will lure readers in with its charming coming-of-age façade but leave them entangled in a web of metaphysical dread. From the retro cover design to its late 1980s northern Gothic setting, Looking Glass Sound is dripping with nostalgia for a simpler time that may never have existed.
As the novel opens, we read the unpublished memoir of Wilder Harlow, a sixteen-year-old boy whose uncle has died and left his parents a cottage on the Maine coast. Wilder soon meets two friends, also with author-inspired names: a handsome boy named Nathaniel and a redheaded British girl, Harper. The trio form a closeknit bond during their magical summer together and promise to return each year.
But the rural New England town is also home to a serial killer known as the Dagger Man of Whistler Bay. As if that weren’t creepy enough, the Dagger Man also takes threatening Polaroid photos of children as they sleep. Wilder’s summer becomes inexorably linked to the story of the Dagger Man, as illusory friendships are shattered and his parents’ troubled marriage hurls toward inevitable divorce.
Wilder is left broken and alone as he begins collegiate life, unable to cope with the psychological trauma of his summer at Whistler Bay. Enter the overly friendly Sky Montague, a Proust-obsessed aspiring author who insists on becoming roommates with Wilder. But is Sky truly the altruistic friend that he seems, or is he just pumping Wilder for information about the Whistler Bay murders?
A plot involving a serial killer in rural Maine is disturbing but, let’s be honest, standard fare for a Stephen King-inspired horror novel. However, the Dagger Man story is just a façade covering the true horrors that await in the second half of Looking Glass Sound.
The psychological horror deepens as Catriona Ward weaves layers upon layers of uncertainty to the story. The lines between reality and fiction slowly blur as Wilder descends deeper into existential crisis, making the reader question everything they believed.
Much more than a standard horror novel, Looking Glass Sound is Catriona Ward’s ode to the power of the written word. The reader becomes entranced by her prose and entangled in her circular narrative of metaphysical horror. Put simply, Looking Glass Sound is a multilayered masterpiece of speculative fiction and proof that a horror novel can reach the greatest of literary heights.
May 8, 2024
Looking Glass Sound is the latest release from one of my favorite voices in the Horror space, Catriona Ward. I respect her work so much and feel she brings her own unique brand to my favorite genre.
This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023 and damn, was it impressive.
I went into this novel without knowing too much about it and I'm glad that was the case. It was exciting watching it unfold without having many preconceived notions.
I knew it was set in Maine, my home state, and involved a writer, but that was about it. I recommend you go into it not knowing much more than that.
I'm not sure I can adequately describe my time with this story, it's just something you need to experience yourself. It's definitely a bit of a mindf*ck; pardon the expression.
I can't wait to read it again someday. I think upon reread, I could end up enjoying it even more. Ward is too smart and honesty, I'm in awe of her brain. I'm probably going to dream about this one for a while...
This delivered such beautiful Coming of Age Horror story vibes initially, it hooked me from the start. Eventually, it evolves into something a little more. It's Coming of Age Plus.
Honestly, there are so many different elements contained within this story that are cause to celebrate.
For me, one of the highlights was the different types of relationships explored and the characters were all so well done. I did listen to the audiobook and recommend that format as the narration style fit the characters fantastically.
I don't want to say too much more about the actual story, I think you can tell from my reaction that I really enjoyed it. You may be wondering though, with all the accolades, why I didn't give it a full 5-star rating.
I guess I would just say that in the second half, I did find some of the perspective jumps and overall narrative shifts a little hard to track. There were moments I felt I should have been having an a-ha revelation and I was having more of a head-scratching marathon trying to connect the dots.
I would absolutely read it again though, as mentioned above. I think I would pick up more the second time through and may end up enjoying it even more. There's definitely a lot of details I would like to revisit knowing what I know now; aka. having read the end.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys, well, a literary mindf*ck, featuring great atmosphere and nuanced characters.
Also, this is a must for Coming of Age Horror lovers, or Readers who enjoy a book-within-a-book.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I'm very excited to see what other people think of this one!
This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023 and damn, was it impressive.
I went into this novel without knowing too much about it and I'm glad that was the case. It was exciting watching it unfold without having many preconceived notions.
I knew it was set in Maine, my home state, and involved a writer, but that was about it. I recommend you go into it not knowing much more than that.
I'm not sure I can adequately describe my time with this story, it's just something you need to experience yourself. It's definitely a bit of a mindf*ck; pardon the expression.
I can't wait to read it again someday. I think upon reread, I could end up enjoying it even more. Ward is too smart and honesty, I'm in awe of her brain. I'm probably going to dream about this one for a while...
This delivered such beautiful Coming of Age Horror story vibes initially, it hooked me from the start. Eventually, it evolves into something a little more. It's Coming of Age Plus.
Honestly, there are so many different elements contained within this story that are cause to celebrate.
For me, one of the highlights was the different types of relationships explored and the characters were all so well done. I did listen to the audiobook and recommend that format as the narration style fit the characters fantastically.
I don't want to say too much more about the actual story, I think you can tell from my reaction that I really enjoyed it. You may be wondering though, with all the accolades, why I didn't give it a full 5-star rating.
I guess I would just say that in the second half, I did find some of the perspective jumps and overall narrative shifts a little hard to track. There were moments I felt I should have been having an a-ha revelation and I was having more of a head-scratching marathon trying to connect the dots.
I would absolutely read it again though, as mentioned above. I think I would pick up more the second time through and may end up enjoying it even more. There's definitely a lot of details I would like to revisit knowing what I know now; aka. having read the end.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys, well, a literary mindf*ck, featuring great atmosphere and nuanced characters.
Also, this is a must for Coming of Age Horror lovers, or Readers who enjoy a book-within-a-book.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I'm very excited to see what other people think of this one!
June 29, 2023
I’m coining a new term: brain bend.
What’s a brain bend, you ask? It’s what Catriona Ward’s books do to my head. My brain has to work so hard while I read them that when I’m finished, my mind feels bent.
The mental effort of it is exhausting. But the payoff is so good.
Looking Glass Sound, her latest release, bent my brain until I thought it would break. I won’t waste time here rehashing the plot – that’s what Goodreads is for – and the less you know, the better. But know it’s a nesting doll of a novel, so multi-layered that it’s difficult to make sense of the ins and outs of the story. Ward plays with time, names, and even hides secret messages in the pages, and your brain cells must be fully charged in order to keep up.
And don’t do what I did – don’t get cocky with it. I thought I knew exactly what was going on, that I had the story straight. But then I hit the 75% mark and Ward blew my theory to pieces. Before I knew it, she had me questioning what was true, what was false, and how much fiction was inside of her fiction. (Ha! Is your brain bending yet?)
The book is excellent. It’s her most intricate, tightest novel to date – I don’t even know how she plotted it all out.
She must’ve had a hell of a brain bend afterwards.
Looking Glass Sound publishes August 8, 2023. Grab a copy then!
My sincerest appreciation to Catriona Ward and Tor Nightfire for the physical advanced reading copy. All opinions included herein are my own.
What’s a brain bend, you ask? It’s what Catriona Ward’s books do to my head. My brain has to work so hard while I read them that when I’m finished, my mind feels bent.
The mental effort of it is exhausting. But the payoff is so good.
Looking Glass Sound, her latest release, bent my brain until I thought it would break. I won’t waste time here rehashing the plot – that’s what Goodreads is for – and the less you know, the better. But know it’s a nesting doll of a novel, so multi-layered that it’s difficult to make sense of the ins and outs of the story. Ward plays with time, names, and even hides secret messages in the pages, and your brain cells must be fully charged in order to keep up.
And don’t do what I did – don’t get cocky with it. I thought I knew exactly what was going on, that I had the story straight. But then I hit the 75% mark and Ward blew my theory to pieces. Before I knew it, she had me questioning what was true, what was false, and how much fiction was inside of her fiction. (Ha! Is your brain bending yet?)
The book is excellent. It’s her most intricate, tightest novel to date – I don’t even know how she plotted it all out.
She must’ve had a hell of a brain bend afterwards.
Looking Glass Sound publishes August 8, 2023. Grab a copy then!
My sincerest appreciation to Catriona Ward and Tor Nightfire for the physical advanced reading copy. All opinions included herein are my own.
August 10, 2023
Maybe it was my mood, but I had difficulty following this one and understanding what was going on.
Ward's writing is, like usual, solid and captivating. I was engaged from the beginning. Up until about 50% in, I was fully invested and could not stop reading. I was listening to the audiobook and the narrator (the same as for The Last House on Needless Street) is just phenomenal. His ability to give each character a unique voice is fantastic.
The book starts as a memoir, written by Wilder about his time as a child vacationing on the Maine coast, where he makes friends with two other young teens, and some troubling things occur. Then the book shifts to Wilder attending college and meeting Sky. Then the narrative shifts again, and this is where the book lost me.
The plot is very layered and there are many surprises, however I had such a difficult time following what was happening. It's possibly a case of wrong book, wrong time for me. Maybe if I had read it in the middle of winter when I could buckle down and concentrate more fully I would have liked it more.
Don't just take my word for it, there are many four and five star ratings for this book. If it intrigues you, definitely give it a try because I wasn't disappointed with the book, just my ability to understand it.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own
Ward's writing is, like usual, solid and captivating. I was engaged from the beginning. Up until about 50% in, I was fully invested and could not stop reading. I was listening to the audiobook and the narrator (the same as for The Last House on Needless Street) is just phenomenal. His ability to give each character a unique voice is fantastic.
The book starts as a memoir, written by Wilder about his time as a child vacationing on the Maine coast, where he makes friends with two other young teens, and some troubling things occur. Then the book shifts to Wilder attending college and meeting Sky. Then the narrative shifts again, and this is where the book lost me.
The plot is very layered and there are many surprises, however I had such a difficult time following what was happening. It's possibly a case of wrong book, wrong time for me. Maybe if I had read it in the middle of winter when I could buckle down and concentrate more fully I would have liked it more.
Don't just take my word for it, there are many four and five star ratings for this book. If it intrigues you, definitely give it a try because I wasn't disappointed with the book, just my ability to understand it.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own
July 27, 2023
The sea whispers, faint. It sounds like pages shuffling. A seal barks. I lick a finger and test the breeze. The wind is in the east. A moment later it comes, mournful and high. The stones are singing and I feel it, at last, that I’m home. I listen for a time, despite my tiredness. I think, if heartbreak had a sound, it would be just like this.--------------------------------------
She can smell him the way wild animals smell prey.--------------------------------------
The visions don’t frighten me anymore. I can usually tell what’s real and what isn’t.Don’t get comfortable.
Wilder Harlow has returned to the cottage where he stayed as a teen, to write the book he had started over three decades before. He is not entirely well. We meet him in 1989, via his unpublished memoir, which tells of the momentous events of that Summer. He was sixteen. His parents had just inherited a cottage from the late Uncle Vernon, and opt to spend a summer there before deciding whether to sell. It is on the Looking Glass Sound of the title, near a town, Castine, in Maine. Beset in prep school, for his unusual features, particularly pale skin and bug eyes, Wilder is ready for a novel experience. (“I’m looking at myself in the bathroom mirror and thinking about love, because I plan on falling in love this Summer. I don’t know how or with whom.”)
Catriona Ward - image from Love Reading
The sound has an unusual…um…sound.
The leaves of the sugar maple whisper—under it, there’s a high-pitched whine, a long shrill note like bad singing…it sounds like all the things you’re not supposed to believe in—mermaids, selkies, sirens…’What’s that sound?’ It seems like it’s coming from inside of me, somehow. Dad pauses in the act of unlocking the door. ‘It’s the stones on the beach. High tide has eaten away at them, making little holes—kind of like finger stops on a flute—and when the wind is in the east, coming over the ocean, it whistles through.’Sure, dad, but the wind-driven whistling is not the only sound that haunts in these parts.
It does not take long for Wilder to make two friends. Nathaniel is the son of a local fisherman, his mother long gone. Harper is English, her well-to-do parents summer there. Wilder’s relationships with these two will define not only this Summer and the one after, but the rest of his life. Harper is a flaming redhead, with issues. She has been kicked out of many schools, for diverse crimes. So, of course, Wilder is madly in love with her at first sight. Nat, a golden boy in Wilder’s eyes, has a way of describing fishing with a harshness that is unsettling. The three form their own tribe for a time.
Pearl is named for her mother’s favorite jewel. She was only five when mom disappeared. They had been staying at a B&B in Castine. But Pearl’s mother is far from forgotten.
Sometimes her mother talks to Pearl in the night. She learns to keep herself awake, so she can hear her. It always happens the same way. Rebecca’s coming. It starts with the sound of the wind roaring in Pearl’s head, just like that day on the mountain. And then Rebecca’s warm hands close over her cold ears.The area has a local creep. Dagger Man is the name assigned to whoever is responsible for a series of break-ins of homes occupied by Summer people. He takes photos of kids sleeping. Then sends the polaroids to the parents.x The images include a dagger to the throat. Adding to the creepiness, there is a history of women going missing here. And a legend of a sea goddess luring people to a dark end.
The second summer in Castine, there is an accident in a secret cave, involving Wilder, Nat, and Harper. It leads to a very dark, traumatic discovery, upending their worlds.
When Wilder heads off to college, soon after, he is intent on becoming a writer, but, while there, his closest friend, Sky, steals his story, going on to publish a wildly successful novel using it. Wilder is never able to get past this, thus his final return to the source a lifetime later, to have one last go at writing his true version.
Ward employs some of the usual tricks of creating a discomfiting atmosphere. The sounds emanating from the bay are strong among these. Even underwater I can still hear the wind singing in the rocks. And I hear a voice, too, calling. In describing Harper, Wilder notes Her hair is deep, almost unnatural red, like blood. And The wet sand of the bay is slick and grey. It’s obscene like viscera, a surface that shouldn’t be uncovered. (Well, ok then. Which way to the pool?) Nat describing how his father kills seals is pretty chilling.
Ward has had some eerie experiences,
I suffer from hypnagogic hallucinations. They started when I was about 13, taking the form of a hand in the small of my back as I was falling asleep, shoving me out of bed really hard. I knew there was someone in the room and I knew they didn’t mean me well. With the information I had at the time – pre-Google as well – there was no other explanation for it, was there? I think it’s probably the deepest chasm I have ever looked into. There’s nothing comparable to it in the daylight world. - from the 9/26/22 Guardian interviewwhich find their way into the story.
So, there are two presenting mysteries, Dagger Man and the missing women. And a bit of magic in the air, whether it is a dark siren luring some to a watery grave, mysterious noises and notes, or teens fooling around with witchy spells. Are the kids just being imaginative, or is there something truly spectral going on?
A feeling of powerlessness is core to the horror genre. The main characters here share a deep sense of vulnerability. This is very much a coming-of-age novel. Adolescence is a prime vulnerable state, a transition between childhood and the mystery of adulthood. Not knowing who you are. Trying on different roles, names, behaviors, hoping for love, of whatever sort, always susceptible to rejection and/or betrayal, and/or disappointment. There is added vulnerability with their families. Any teen going through changes would benefit from a solid base of parental constancy. Wilder’s parents are going through more than just a rough patch. Nat does not seem particularly close to his only parent. Harper refers to a pet dog that protects her from her father. There are enough secrets in the world. Bad families, bad fathers. Pearl’s mother, like Nat’s, is long gone. In addition to whatever else assails them, there is self-harm.
The Dagger Man is wandering about. People disappear. The bay has disturbing aspects to engage all the senses. There are a few more stressors, as well. That certainly sets the stage for an unsettling horror tale. That would all be plenty. But wait, there’s more.
Some books have unreliable narrators This one has an unreliable ensemble, existing in unreliable worlds. Looking Glass Sound is not your usual scare-fest. The terrors here lie deeper than a slasher villain or a vengeful ghost. In addition to the external frights, these have to do with existential concerns, about identity, who, what, where, and when you are. Offering the sorts of thoughts that can interfere with a restful night, with the legs to disturb your sleep for a long time. This would be more than enough, but wait.
This is also a book about writing. A pretty common element in many novels, it’s on steroids in this one, cruising along in the meta lane.
Writers are monsters, really. We eat everything we see.
The book is a mirror and I am stepping through the looking glass.
‘Writing is power,’ she says. ‘Big magic. It’s a way of keeping someone alive forever.’
I think about our three names, us kids, as we were. ‘Wilder,’ I whisper to myself sometimes. ‘Nathaniel, Harper.’ We’re all named after writers. It’s too much of a coincidence. Harper. Wilder. Harlow. The names chime together. The kind of thing that would never happen in real life but it might happen in a book.
‘You wanted to live forever,’ Harper says gently. ‘You both did, you and Wilder. That’s all writers really want, whatever they say.She also gets into the morality of story ownership. When does your personal tale become a commodity? Who has the right to tell your story?
I cannot say I have ever read a book quite like this one. It is not an easy read. Despite some surface technique that places it in the gothic/horror realm, there is a lot more going on here. You will have to be on top of your reading game to keep track, but it will be worth your time and studied attention. There should be surgeon general’s warning on this book. Stick with it and you will get a very satisfying read, and endure many nights of unwelcome wondering.
I wake to the sound of breath. No hand caressing me, this time. Instead I have the sense that I am being pummeled and stretched, pulled by firm hands into agonizing, geometrical shapes. I scream but no voice comes from my throat. Instead, an infernal scratching—horrible, like rats’ claws on stone, like bone grinding, like the creak of a bough before it breaks. Or like a pen scratching on paper.
Review posted - 7/21/23
Publication date – 08/08/23
I received an ARE of Looking Glass Sound from Tor/Nightfire in return for a fair review. Thanks, folks, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating. Can you please turn down the volume on that thing?
This review will soon be cross-posted on my site, Coot’s Reviews. Stop by and say Hi!
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Profile – from Wikipedia
Catriona Ward was born in Washington, D.C. Her family moved a lot and she grew up all over the world, including in the United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco. Dartmoor was the one place the family returned to on a regular basis. Ward read English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. Ward initially worked as an actor based in New York. When she returned to London she worked on her first novel while writing for a human rights foundation until she left to take an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. That novel, Rawblood (distributed in the United States as The Girl from Rawblood), was published in 2015. Now she writes novels and short stories, and reviews for various publications.[1] Ward won the August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel in 2016 …and again in 2018 for Little Eve, making her the first woman to win the prize twice.
Her most successful novel has been The Last House on Needless Street.
Links to Ward’s FB and Instagram pages
Interviews
-----The Guardian – 9/26/22 - Catriona Ward: ‘When done right, horror is a transformative experience.’ by Hephzibah Anderson
-----The Guardian - 3/13/21'Every monster has a story': Catriona Ward on her chilling gothic novel by Justine Jordan
-----Lit Reactor - Catriona Ward: Learning to Fail by Jena Brown
-----The Big Thrill – 8/31/2021 - Up Close: Catriona Ward by April Snellings
-----Tor/Forge - Catriona Ward – What Was Your Inspiration for Looking Glass Sound?
-----Books Around the Corner - Catriona Ward by Stephanie Ross
-----Quick Book Reviews – Episode 206 – April 24, 2023 - Books! Boks! Books! from 26:06 to 42:30
Items of Interest
-----The Novelry – 10/2/2022 - Catriona Ward and the Power of Writing Horror
-----NHS - Charles Bonnet syndrome
August 13, 2023
You know you’ve read a Catriona Ward book when your first thought upon finishing it is “What the hell did I just read?” This is round three for me with her books after loving The Last House on Needless Street and Sundial which were both mind-bending 4-star reads for me. Once again, Ward puts her superpower for throwing the reader off balance to full effect, and that’s what I appreciate most about her writing: I never know what to expect!
Wilder Harlow meets friends Nat and Harper one summer as a teenager while vacationing on the Maine coast. They bond quickly, with Wilder and Nat both enamored of Harper, and all of them trying to frighten one another with the lore of a local killer named the Dagger Man. They promise they’ll come back the following summer to Whistler Bay no matter what - and they do. What they don’t anticipate is the dark revelations that will change the future for all of them.
That’s all I’m going to say about the plot. With Ward’s books it’s always best to go in as blind as possible, and honestly, even if I tried to explain it further, I’d end up as confused as you! That confusion is part of why I love Ward’s books so much. You really have to pay attention to every detail, because things change on a dime continually keeping you so off-kilter that you don’t know which end is up!
Ironically, that’s why I struggled a bit with this book. I usually enjoy that psychological fun house aspect of her writing, but this got almost too convoluted with a lot of past and present events getting muddled, identities changing, and book within a book (within another book?) confusion. Also, since the story started when the MCs were teens, the first part read YA to me, but even as adults they seemed childish. To Ward’s credit, though, this is an ambitious and highly creative plot, and once again, she blew my mind with that ending! As usual, her writing is stellar.
I read along while listening on audio, with Christopher Ragland and Katherine Fenton narrating. I loved Ragland’s narration for The Last House on Needless Street, but not as much for this one. Harper is a British female, but she sounded neither British nor female, Wilder often sounded angsty or unhinged and Nat’s New England accent felt like a caricature. I did enjoy Fenton’s narration of a different female character and wondered why they didn’t have her voice Harper as well. Men voicing women almost always sounds off (and vice-versa).
It wasn’t my favorite of hers, but I’d still highly recommend it to those who love a book within a book story (with a twist!) and enjoy the mental challenge of a more complex plot. Catriona Ward’s unique blend of psychological horror, mystical elements and atmospheric writing are an appealing combination!
★★★ ½ (4 for the DRC and 3 for the ALC)
Thanks to Tor Nightfire, Macmillan Audio, NetGalley and author Catriona Ward for the DRC and ALC to honestly review. It’s now available.
*************************************
Side note: I’m WAAAAY behind on commenting/rating friends’ reviews due to a combination of circumstances. Please know I haven’t forgotten any of you and will do my best to catch up as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience! 🫶
Wilder Harlow meets friends Nat and Harper one summer as a teenager while vacationing on the Maine coast. They bond quickly, with Wilder and Nat both enamored of Harper, and all of them trying to frighten one another with the lore of a local killer named the Dagger Man. They promise they’ll come back the following summer to Whistler Bay no matter what - and they do. What they don’t anticipate is the dark revelations that will change the future for all of them.
That’s all I’m going to say about the plot. With Ward’s books it’s always best to go in as blind as possible, and honestly, even if I tried to explain it further, I’d end up as confused as you! That confusion is part of why I love Ward’s books so much. You really have to pay attention to every detail, because things change on a dime continually keeping you so off-kilter that you don’t know which end is up!
Ironically, that’s why I struggled a bit with this book. I usually enjoy that psychological fun house aspect of her writing, but this got almost too convoluted with a lot of past and present events getting muddled, identities changing, and book within a book (within another book?) confusion. Also, since the story started when the MCs were teens, the first part read YA to me, but even as adults they seemed childish. To Ward’s credit, though, this is an ambitious and highly creative plot, and once again, she blew my mind with that ending! As usual, her writing is stellar.
I read along while listening on audio, with Christopher Ragland and Katherine Fenton narrating. I loved Ragland’s narration for The Last House on Needless Street, but not as much for this one. Harper is a British female, but she sounded neither British nor female, Wilder often sounded angsty or unhinged and Nat’s New England accent felt like a caricature. I did enjoy Fenton’s narration of a different female character and wondered why they didn’t have her voice Harper as well. Men voicing women almost always sounds off (and vice-versa).
It wasn’t my favorite of hers, but I’d still highly recommend it to those who love a book within a book story (with a twist!) and enjoy the mental challenge of a more complex plot. Catriona Ward’s unique blend of psychological horror, mystical elements and atmospheric writing are an appealing combination!
★★★ ½ (4 for the DRC and 3 for the ALC)
Thanks to Tor Nightfire, Macmillan Audio, NetGalley and author Catriona Ward for the DRC and ALC to honestly review. It’s now available.
*************************************
Side note: I’m WAAAAY behind on commenting/rating friends’ reviews due to a combination of circumstances. Please know I haven’t forgotten any of you and will do my best to catch up as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience! 🫶
August 8, 2023
HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!
‘Writing is power,’ she says. ‘Big magic. It’s a way of keeping someone alive forever.’ ‘Why would someone want to live forever in a book?’ ‘Maybe they don’t. Maybe the writer keeps them prisoner.’
Catriona Ward has done it again! Looking Glass Sound is another 5 star winner!
I’m trying to pick my jaw off the floor and stop my head from spinning! This twisty plot is steeped in multi-layered metafiction, constantly challenging readers to question the truth. What starts out as a rather simple narrative, morphs into something completely different. Want to know what that is? Ya, me too! Ward is a brilliant writer with unique ideas that force readers to use their brains in ways that even they don’t understand.
I’m absolutely gobsmacked from this book! It definitely begs for a second reading in order to fully absorb all of the subtle clues and details. I will not rehash the plot, as it is too complex to summarize. Trust me.
Here are some of the themes explored, in case any are triggers for you: Identity, gender roles, alcoholism, pedophilia, homosexuality, suicide, witchcraft, and ghosts.
I cannot wait to read more from Catriona Ward! Each book she writes raises the bar even higher, and I will be first in line for the ride!
5/5 stars
Expected publication date: 8/8/23
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor publishing for the ARC of Looking Glass Sound in exchange for an honest review.
‘Writing is power,’ she says. ‘Big magic. It’s a way of keeping someone alive forever.’ ‘Why would someone want to live forever in a book?’ ‘Maybe they don’t. Maybe the writer keeps them prisoner.’
Catriona Ward has done it again! Looking Glass Sound is another 5 star winner!
I’m trying to pick my jaw off the floor and stop my head from spinning! This twisty plot is steeped in multi-layered metafiction, constantly challenging readers to question the truth. What starts out as a rather simple narrative, morphs into something completely different. Want to know what that is? Ya, me too! Ward is a brilliant writer with unique ideas that force readers to use their brains in ways that even they don’t understand.
I’m absolutely gobsmacked from this book! It definitely begs for a second reading in order to fully absorb all of the subtle clues and details. I will not rehash the plot, as it is too complex to summarize. Trust me.
Here are some of the themes explored, in case any are triggers for you: Identity, gender roles, alcoholism, pedophilia, homosexuality, suicide, witchcraft, and ghosts.
I cannot wait to read more from Catriona Ward! Each book she writes raises the bar even higher, and I will be first in line for the ride!
5/5 stars
Expected publication date: 8/8/23
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor publishing for the ARC of Looking Glass Sound in exchange for an honest review.
August 14, 2023
LOOKING GLASS SOUND by Catriona Ward
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: LITTLE EVE, THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS ST
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978125086...
Release Date: August 8th, 2023 ( The same day as my book! )
General Genre: Horror, Thriller, Psychological, Suspense
Sub-Genre/Themes: Coming-of-age, friendships, coastal small towns, serial killers, college life, witchcraft, reads like a thriller, human monsters, mind-bender
Writing Style: intricately plotted, character-driven, skilled command of language, mood, setting
What You Need to Know: I think it’s best not to know too much going into this book. You can read my review. I always keep it very light on specific plot details and preserve reading discoveries at all costs, but be very, very careful reading other responses/reviews on Goodreads or other reviewing platforms. Holy hell, people give so much away. The review in GRIMDARK MAGAZINE is extremely revealing. The review at MEDIUM is even worse. The less you know, the better this book will be for you. I don’t even remember reading the synopsis to be honest. I read it just now, to be mindful of what details are freely given.
“Friendship and betrayal. Dark obsessions. Terrible secrets.”
That’s all you need to know. Oh, and also this: Don’t give up. Things will start to unravel and your brain will resist, you’ll be like, “Wait, what the fuck? I thought it was this way or that way, or whatever.” Just keep going. You will be rewarded. Trust me.
My Reading Experience: This book is like an A24 movie in the best possible way. A quiet, puzzle-like horror-thriller that creeps into your bones and unsettles you to the core.
My experience was extremely cinematic. As I type this, I can see images floating around in my mind of various scenes. I feel the mood that surrounded me and the overall tone of the work as a whole. Much like Little Eve, Ward expertly employs a distinct storytelling voice that wraps the readers up in a strong, character-driven narrative in order to painstakingly craft a path through a winding, twisting storyline EXACTLY how it is intended to be experienced.
I hope I explained that accurately. In other words, this story is very clever and Ward is able to manipulate her audience emotionally, almost scientifically (mindful of how our brain chemistry works) and works those things against the reader in order to reveal things precisely–landing every single punch.
I had actors picked out for the three main characters and even a few for some of the supporting roles. They just appeared in my mind based on their personality traits and physical features as they developed.
This is for sure a coming-of-age novel, the characters start as young adults and by the end, are much older. The story really unfolds in distinct acts: Childhood/Adolescence, College life, and Adulthood. The three main characters are bound together by an evolving mystery. And that’s all I will say about that.
Final Recommendation: I’m recommending this for readers that enjoy going on a journey. A multi-layered storytelling experience with characters you can invest in. Original, unexpected, and reads like a dark thriller but leans into some horror vibes too. This isn’t a thriller with thin, easy-to-digest plotting. It’s complicated. It has probably ruined me for all thrillers to come because I dove into a popular new thriller right after finishing LOOKING GLASS SOUND and was immediately put off. So that’s my big blurb/takeaway: Catriona Ward has just leveled-up to Gillian Flynn status for me. There, I said it.
Comps: Gillian Flynn Thrillers. Which is the gold standard, so.
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: LITTLE EVE, THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS ST
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978125086...
Release Date: August 8th, 2023 ( The same day as my book! )
General Genre: Horror, Thriller, Psychological, Suspense
Sub-Genre/Themes: Coming-of-age, friendships, coastal small towns, serial killers, college life, witchcraft, reads like a thriller, human monsters, mind-bender
Writing Style: intricately plotted, character-driven, skilled command of language, mood, setting
What You Need to Know: I think it’s best not to know too much going into this book. You can read my review. I always keep it very light on specific plot details and preserve reading discoveries at all costs, but be very, very careful reading other responses/reviews on Goodreads or other reviewing platforms. Holy hell, people give so much away. The review in GRIMDARK MAGAZINE is extremely revealing. The review at MEDIUM is even worse. The less you know, the better this book will be for you. I don’t even remember reading the synopsis to be honest. I read it just now, to be mindful of what details are freely given.
“Friendship and betrayal. Dark obsessions. Terrible secrets.”
That’s all you need to know. Oh, and also this: Don’t give up. Things will start to unravel and your brain will resist, you’ll be like, “Wait, what the fuck? I thought it was this way or that way, or whatever.” Just keep going. You will be rewarded. Trust me.
My Reading Experience: This book is like an A24 movie in the best possible way. A quiet, puzzle-like horror-thriller that creeps into your bones and unsettles you to the core.
My experience was extremely cinematic. As I type this, I can see images floating around in my mind of various scenes. I feel the mood that surrounded me and the overall tone of the work as a whole. Much like Little Eve, Ward expertly employs a distinct storytelling voice that wraps the readers up in a strong, character-driven narrative in order to painstakingly craft a path through a winding, twisting storyline EXACTLY how it is intended to be experienced.
I hope I explained that accurately. In other words, this story is very clever and Ward is able to manipulate her audience emotionally, almost scientifically (mindful of how our brain chemistry works) and works those things against the reader in order to reveal things precisely–landing every single punch.
I had actors picked out for the three main characters and even a few for some of the supporting roles. They just appeared in my mind based on their personality traits and physical features as they developed.
This is for sure a coming-of-age novel, the characters start as young adults and by the end, are much older. The story really unfolds in distinct acts: Childhood/Adolescence, College life, and Adulthood. The three main characters are bound together by an evolving mystery. And that’s all I will say about that.
Final Recommendation: I’m recommending this for readers that enjoy going on a journey. A multi-layered storytelling experience with characters you can invest in. Original, unexpected, and reads like a dark thriller but leans into some horror vibes too. This isn’t a thriller with thin, easy-to-digest plotting. It’s complicated. It has probably ruined me for all thrillers to come because I dove into a popular new thriller right after finishing LOOKING GLASS SOUND and was immediately put off. So that’s my big blurb/takeaway: Catriona Ward has just leveled-up to Gillian Flynn status for me. There, I said it.
Comps: Gillian Flynn Thrillers. Which is the gold standard, so.
October 9, 2023
I think I’m not smart enough for this one
April 19, 2023
A dark, magical and haunting story of love, murder and betrayal
A summer by the beach
Friendships
Love
The dagger man
Murder
Tragedy
Betrayal
Ah no-one is more disappointed than me, that in a tidal wave of praise, I cannot get fully on board..
There is so much good to say about this so I'll start there.
Catriona Ward's writing is exquisite! So beautiful! Her vivid descriptions transported me to Whistler bay, then to college, a boarding school and back to the bay again. I felt like I was there, I can still picture it as if it's a real place. In addition, the characters were written so well, making them believable, if not entirely likeable!
AHH the feelings her books evoke.. I felt unease, unsettled, creeped out, sad. This book has ALL the triggers!
I loved the mystery element of the Dagger Man, and the horrifying events which unfolded when Wilder, Nat and Harper were teenagers.
But then it started to go a bit off the rails for me. Part two, when Wilder decided to write a book was very repetitive. It was the same story but with slightly different names, and I didn't enjoy it at all.
The ending disappointed me also. It was just chaotic! There was just so much going on.
Ultimately, this book was a little too weird for me. Reading about a book within a book within a book?! So confusing! I'm clearly not as clever as other readers because I was overwhelmed! For a large part of the book, I didn't know what was real and what was imagined. I was confused about the characters, who wrote what and what actually happened. I'm pretty sure I know now having finished it, but this is becoming a familiar trend when reading a book by this author! Just confusing layers upon layers upon layers 😂
I feel haunted by certain parts, some of this book is going round and round in my head! And I did go back through the book, once something was revealed!
I do have to mention, that the first third of my E-ARC wasn't formatted very well. This happens sometimes, and I know I read an unedited early copy of this title and any typos or formatting issues will be edited for the final version, but in this case, I found it incredibly difficult to read. There were paragraphs missing or out of order, half sentences that I had to chase up on other pages, and strange incidents where a character would be talking to another character somewhere, and then in the next paragraph there were with someone else in a completely different place! It speaks well for part one, that this didn't make me DNF, I wanted to find out what happened!
I loved The Last House on Needless Street and my mind was a bit blown by Sundial but I still don't really know how I feel about this one..If you like twisty gothic feeling mysteries, then give it a go though! It could be a me thing, as most reviewers are loving it!
Published 20th April 2023
Many thanks to NetGalley UK and Viper, Serpent’s Tail and Profile for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
A summer by the beach
Friendships
Love
The dagger man
Murder
Tragedy
Betrayal
Ah no-one is more disappointed than me, that in a tidal wave of praise, I cannot get fully on board..
There is so much good to say about this so I'll start there.
Catriona Ward's writing is exquisite! So beautiful! Her vivid descriptions transported me to Whistler bay, then to college, a boarding school and back to the bay again. I felt like I was there, I can still picture it as if it's a real place. In addition, the characters were written so well, making them believable, if not entirely likeable!
AHH the feelings her books evoke.. I felt unease, unsettled, creeped out, sad. This book has ALL the triggers!
I loved the mystery element of the Dagger Man, and the horrifying events which unfolded when Wilder, Nat and Harper were teenagers.
But then it started to go a bit off the rails for me. Part two, when Wilder decided to write a book was very repetitive. It was the same story but with slightly different names, and I didn't enjoy it at all.
The ending disappointed me also. It was just chaotic! There was just so much going on.
Ultimately, this book was a little too weird for me. Reading about a book within a book within a book?! So confusing! I'm clearly not as clever as other readers because I was overwhelmed! For a large part of the book, I didn't know what was real and what was imagined. I was confused about the characters, who wrote what and what actually happened. I'm pretty sure I know now having finished it, but this is becoming a familiar trend when reading a book by this author! Just confusing layers upon layers upon layers 😂
I feel haunted by certain parts, some of this book is going round and round in my head! And I did go back through the book, once something was revealed!
I do have to mention, that the first third of my E-ARC wasn't formatted very well. This happens sometimes, and I know I read an unedited early copy of this title and any typos or formatting issues will be edited for the final version, but in this case, I found it incredibly difficult to read. There were paragraphs missing or out of order, half sentences that I had to chase up on other pages, and strange incidents where a character would be talking to another character somewhere, and then in the next paragraph there were with someone else in a completely different place! It speaks well for part one, that this didn't make me DNF, I wanted to find out what happened!
I loved The Last House on Needless Street and my mind was a bit blown by Sundial but I still don't really know how I feel about this one..If you like twisty gothic feeling mysteries, then give it a go though! It could be a me thing, as most reviewers are loving it!
Published 20th April 2023
Many thanks to NetGalley UK and Viper, Serpent’s Tail and Profile for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
February 18, 2023
4-5 stars
In the summer of 1989 Wilder Harlow and his parents go to stay at their late Uncle Vernon's cottage of Whistler Bay prior to selling it. The place is spooky, holes in the stones on the beach make a whistling sound that evokes sensations of the supernatural. Next morning Wilder goes for a swim and meets Nathanial (Nat) Pelletier and beautiful red head Harper who enchants him. This is the story of the ill fated summer in which they meet, a story of horrifying discoveries and ruined lives. It’s also the story of Sky, who becomes Wilder’s best friend at college but who betrays him by writing a best seller about THAT summer. That’s the simple version but of course, as this is Catriona Ward she takes you on a complex, twisty journey and at times, like Wilder, you have no idea what’s true and what’s hallucinatory.
This is an incredibly hard book to review as the deeper you get into it what starts as a mystery becomes something way more horror based and complicated. It’s a fascinating, enigmatic puzzle and just as you think you’ve got it sorted in your head you realise you haven’t! It’s as intricate as the maze at Hampton Court with just as many blind alleys! It’s extremely clever and beautifully written with a ghostly, gothic feel which becomes a stronger and stronger element the deeper you go in.
The portrayal of the central characters is excellent, they become broken people and just like us as readers, are searching for truth and resolution. The storytelling is intricately woven around them and encompasses the whole gamut of human emotions from obsessive love to grief, of friendship and betrayal with a nightmarish horror vibe swirling around and heightening the complexity of the tale. These sections are outstanding, they’re so vivid that you feel as if you are there and as unmoored as Wilder.
I’m not going to pretend that this is an easy book to read but it so worth the effort. You definitely have to concentrate (no bad thing!) and even then it can be puzzling. It’s certainly a mind bender but the quality of the writing is so good and the plot is creative and original that I recommend to fans of the genre.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Serpents Tail/Viper/Profile for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
In the summer of 1989 Wilder Harlow and his parents go to stay at their late Uncle Vernon's cottage of Whistler Bay prior to selling it. The place is spooky, holes in the stones on the beach make a whistling sound that evokes sensations of the supernatural. Next morning Wilder goes for a swim and meets Nathanial (Nat) Pelletier and beautiful red head Harper who enchants him. This is the story of the ill fated summer in which they meet, a story of horrifying discoveries and ruined lives. It’s also the story of Sky, who becomes Wilder’s best friend at college but who betrays him by writing a best seller about THAT summer. That’s the simple version but of course, as this is Catriona Ward she takes you on a complex, twisty journey and at times, like Wilder, you have no idea what’s true and what’s hallucinatory.
This is an incredibly hard book to review as the deeper you get into it what starts as a mystery becomes something way more horror based and complicated. It’s a fascinating, enigmatic puzzle and just as you think you’ve got it sorted in your head you realise you haven’t! It’s as intricate as the maze at Hampton Court with just as many blind alleys! It’s extremely clever and beautifully written with a ghostly, gothic feel which becomes a stronger and stronger element the deeper you go in.
The portrayal of the central characters is excellent, they become broken people and just like us as readers, are searching for truth and resolution. The storytelling is intricately woven around them and encompasses the whole gamut of human emotions from obsessive love to grief, of friendship and betrayal with a nightmarish horror vibe swirling around and heightening the complexity of the tale. These sections are outstanding, they’re so vivid that you feel as if you are there and as unmoored as Wilder.
I’m not going to pretend that this is an easy book to read but it so worth the effort. You definitely have to concentrate (no bad thing!) and even then it can be puzzling. It’s certainly a mind bender but the quality of the writing is so good and the plot is creative and original that I recommend to fans of the genre.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Serpents Tail/Viper/Profile for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
September 10, 2023
Holy bejebus, that was a compete mindf**k. Where to even begin with this one?
The lines between reality and fiction slowly blur in Catriona Ward’s new release Looking Glass Sound. To reveal any more of its plot, other than what’s written on the book’s back cover, would be a real disservice.
This multifaceted story is many things — a coming-of-age saga, a true-crime murder mystery, a tragic love story, and a tale of betrayal — with many moving pieces and a seemingly endless array of twists.
By its conclusion, it’s almost impossible to untangle the truth…and I was left with both a sense of deep awe and mild confusion.
This is one of those books where after you finish, you want to go back to the beginning because you’re convinced you’ve most certainly missed something.
Ward jumps around in time and also from character to character, slowly pulling back the layers to reveal an unsettling truth. In fact, Looking Glass Sound features multiple timelines, hallucinations, unreliable memories, and stories within stories.
Adding to that, scattered throughout are brief, word-game-like poems — “Hello. Hell. Help” — that materialize without explanation and lend a rather menacing feel.
Looking Glass Sound begins as a nostalgic coming-of-age tale about a trio of teenage misfits in Whistler Bay, Maine, a small coastal seaside town.
But don’t get too comfy behind your rose-tinted glasses. As you’ll soon discover, this isn’t all summer fun and campfires on the beach. We’re also treated to an exploration of the dark underbelly of this New England town.
By the way, Ward names her trio of main characters after famous writers, and that isn’t coincidence. This is a story about stories, the power they have and the magic within their pages.
Much like Ward’s other novels, Looking Glass Sound isn’t a traditional horror story. The scares here skew more psychological than bloody.
For both the character and the reader, it’s definitely a trip through the looking glass — everything you thought you understood is washed away with the tide and the truth is what remains on the shore.
“I love horror. I think it’s one of the most expressive, most empathetic genres you can work in. Everyone feels afraid at some point in their life. Reading is a sustained act of telepathy or empathy, and reading horror is even more profound than that: it’s asking people to share real vulnerabilities of yours and open themselves up to their own. It is like going down a tunnel, and hopefully the writer is leading the way with a torch, taking the reader’s hand.” ~ Catriona Ward
October 13, 2023
**Many thanks to Tor and Catriona Ward for an ARC of this book! Now available as of 8.8!**
Onions. Parfaits. Ogres.
If you're looking for a fourth to round out that group of things with layers...look no further than Catriona Ward's latest, a multi-faceted, intricately plotted, and utterly MESMERIZING read!
It all started with the Dagger Man of Whistler Bay...
Wilder is ready to write his final book, and revisit the horror he experienced during his youth. While visiting a small town in New England one summer, he met two companions, Harper and Nat, and became part of a trio that spent countless hours together. Wilder was always a bit afraid of Harper and her experiments with witchcraft, but when the three friends discovered a body, everything began to change. With the identity of the Dagger Man remaining a mystery, and residents of the area living in fear, Wilder is both fascinated and frightened by the unknown and years later, can't seem to let the past go...
Years later, his best friend from college, Sky, is also enthralled by the spooky history surrounding Whistler Bay, and Wilder confides in him...perhaps a bit TOO much. When Sky takes his friend's tale and 'makes it his own' by publishing Looking Glass Sound, a book that becomes a best-selling hit, Wilder is angry, hurt, and feels betrayed. But the past doesn't seem to quite have let him go yet either...and when Wilder starts to SEE the ghosts haunting both his waking thoughts and his nightmares, it seems as though Whistler Bay isn't quite done with him. Can Wilder discover the reason these horrifying visions keep holding him prisoner? Or will his next trip down to the depths of that fateful cove be his very last journey?
If there's one thing I've come to expect from Catriona Ward, it's this: expect the unexpected.. So often writers fall into the same tropes, the same literary TRAPS even, and it's a rarity to find a voice and a person brave enough to not only think outside the box, but to WRITE outside of it. Ward has been compared to Stephen King (and has received praise from him as well), and for good reason: her work is dazzling in its literary prowess, breathtaking in its descriptive and visceral prose, terrifying through its twisted protagonists and plots, and baffling in its intricacy.
And in the case of Looking Glass Sound...it is HEAVY on that fourth quality.
This is a very confusing book, because it's not only a book within a book, but a book within a book, within a book...and maybe within one more book? (Honestly, I don't even know if that covers it all. I think...but I can't be sure!) At first, when other reviewers warned me of this, I breezed through the first 30%-40% or so thinking "Hey, this isn't so bad," and had somehow convinced myself that I was going to keep up from start to finish. Well. By about halfway through, I not only realized that wasn't going to happen, but also realized that having to put this one down for weeks at a time while reading other books PROBABLY wasn't the best idea to maintain any sort of continuity.
While I virtually guarantee this book is plotted to the letter and error-free, I question whether I'd fully understand it even after a second read. Proof positive of this comes from Google: if you start typing "Looking Glass Sound", one of your first search results concludes with "ending explained." This is both a positive and negative for Ward: this is a high-level dose of meta fiction, with a creepy premise, memorable characters, and a burgeoning mystery that keeps you hooked till the end...BUT if you're not into mental calisthenics of all sorts...you might want to walk on by. 🚶♀️
It's a tangled web Ward weaves, full of mystery, speculation, magic, and dizzying horror that will keep your head spinning from beginning to end. And much like the Black Widow spider itself, once Ward catches you?
...Don't expect her to let you go.
🕷🕸
4 stars
Onions. Parfaits. Ogres.
If you're looking for a fourth to round out that group of things with layers...look no further than Catriona Ward's latest, a multi-faceted, intricately plotted, and utterly MESMERIZING read!
It all started with the Dagger Man of Whistler Bay...
Wilder is ready to write his final book, and revisit the horror he experienced during his youth. While visiting a small town in New England one summer, he met two companions, Harper and Nat, and became part of a trio that spent countless hours together. Wilder was always a bit afraid of Harper and her experiments with witchcraft, but when the three friends discovered a body, everything began to change. With the identity of the Dagger Man remaining a mystery, and residents of the area living in fear, Wilder is both fascinated and frightened by the unknown and years later, can't seem to let the past go...
Years later, his best friend from college, Sky, is also enthralled by the spooky history surrounding Whistler Bay, and Wilder confides in him...perhaps a bit TOO much. When Sky takes his friend's tale and 'makes it his own' by publishing Looking Glass Sound, a book that becomes a best-selling hit, Wilder is angry, hurt, and feels betrayed. But the past doesn't seem to quite have let him go yet either...and when Wilder starts to SEE the ghosts haunting both his waking thoughts and his nightmares, it seems as though Whistler Bay isn't quite done with him. Can Wilder discover the reason these horrifying visions keep holding him prisoner? Or will his next trip down to the depths of that fateful cove be his very last journey?
If there's one thing I've come to expect from Catriona Ward, it's this: expect the unexpected.. So often writers fall into the same tropes, the same literary TRAPS even, and it's a rarity to find a voice and a person brave enough to not only think outside the box, but to WRITE outside of it. Ward has been compared to Stephen King (and has received praise from him as well), and for good reason: her work is dazzling in its literary prowess, breathtaking in its descriptive and visceral prose, terrifying through its twisted protagonists and plots, and baffling in its intricacy.
And in the case of Looking Glass Sound...it is HEAVY on that fourth quality.
This is a very confusing book, because it's not only a book within a book, but a book within a book, within a book...and maybe within one more book? (Honestly, I don't even know if that covers it all. I think...but I can't be sure!) At first, when other reviewers warned me of this, I breezed through the first 30%-40% or so thinking "Hey, this isn't so bad," and had somehow convinced myself that I was going to keep up from start to finish. Well. By about halfway through, I not only realized that wasn't going to happen, but also realized that having to put this one down for weeks at a time while reading other books PROBABLY wasn't the best idea to maintain any sort of continuity.
While I virtually guarantee this book is plotted to the letter and error-free, I question whether I'd fully understand it even after a second read. Proof positive of this comes from Google: if you start typing "Looking Glass Sound", one of your first search results concludes with "ending explained." This is both a positive and negative for Ward: this is a high-level dose of meta fiction, with a creepy premise, memorable characters, and a burgeoning mystery that keeps you hooked till the end...BUT if you're not into mental calisthenics of all sorts...you might want to walk on by. 🚶♀️
It's a tangled web Ward weaves, full of mystery, speculation, magic, and dizzying horror that will keep your head spinning from beginning to end. And much like the Black Widow spider itself, once Ward catches you?
...Don't expect her to let you go.
🕷🕸
4 stars
June 19, 2023
Reading Vlog https://youtu.be/sZeRIuI83jI
I'll start off by saying that I adored The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward. BUT the first read was a 3.5 star rating for me. It wasn't until the reread that I fully understand the intricacies of the story. So, perhaps I am similarly not realizing the depth of this particular novel because I've only read it the one time. But I struggle to believe that's true. There are things I enjoyed. But the things I didn't can't be overshadowed or explained away.
I also read Sundial and was left wanting. The first half was fire. 5 stars. But then it went off the rails in a way I didn't enjoy. I say that to note that I will continue to pick up anything Catriona Ward writes. Because she writes weird books. Those are hit or miss type stories. Yes, I've had 2 misses with her but I had one resounding HIT and that will carry me on through her career. It's like Mona Awad. Yeah, I don't know if I'm going to like her next book. But I'll damn sure be picking it up because it could very well be my best book of the year.
The things that troubled me about this book was mainly the immaturity. These characters are meant to be 16 years old? I spent the first 20% believing them to be 11 or 12. Not until the Jim Beam was introduced did I start to suspect an older age group. The main character, Wilder, especially exudes Pick Me/Nice Guy/Puppy love tropes.
Also, there seemed to be 3 stories being told intermittently that didn't feel at all relative to each other. I enjoyed them somewhat separately but struggle to see why they're in the same book. The Daggerman, the throuple between friends, and the book being stolen were all wildly different tones and didn't seem to mesh well together at all.
I'm sorry. I really do think Catriona Ward is capable of great things. I've seen it. This might very well be a 5 star, favorite of the year, for someone else. It just sadly wasn't for me. But I will definitely be picking up her next book.
I'll start off by saying that I adored The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward. BUT the first read was a 3.5 star rating for me. It wasn't until the reread that I fully understand the intricacies of the story. So, perhaps I am similarly not realizing the depth of this particular novel because I've only read it the one time. But I struggle to believe that's true. There are things I enjoyed. But the things I didn't can't be overshadowed or explained away.
I also read Sundial and was left wanting. The first half was fire. 5 stars. But then it went off the rails in a way I didn't enjoy. I say that to note that I will continue to pick up anything Catriona Ward writes. Because she writes weird books. Those are hit or miss type stories. Yes, I've had 2 misses with her but I had one resounding HIT and that will carry me on through her career. It's like Mona Awad. Yeah, I don't know if I'm going to like her next book. But I'll damn sure be picking it up because it could very well be my best book of the year.
The things that troubled me about this book was mainly the immaturity. These characters are meant to be 16 years old? I spent the first 20% believing them to be 11 or 12. Not until the Jim Beam was introduced did I start to suspect an older age group. The main character, Wilder, especially exudes Pick Me/Nice Guy/Puppy love tropes.
Also, there seemed to be 3 stories being told intermittently that didn't feel at all relative to each other. I enjoyed them somewhat separately but struggle to see why they're in the same book. The Daggerman, the throuple between friends, and the book being stolen were all wildly different tones and didn't seem to mesh well together at all.
I'm sorry. I really do think Catriona Ward is capable of great things. I've seen it. This might very well be a 5 star, favorite of the year, for someone else. It just sadly wasn't for me. But I will definitely be picking up her next book.
August 11, 2023
LOOKING GLASS SOUND is a marvel.
Unfortunately, it didn't really work for me. I was engaged at first and then the story turned into a weird fever dream. The reader isn't sure what is real and what isn't. Problem is, that for me? I didn't care what happened to any of these people.
Everyone has their secrets and ever since THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET, I know that Catriona Ward likes to spring those secrets on you at the very last minute. In this case, though, I found the secrets to be disappointing. Plus, did I mention that I didn't like any of these people? I can enjoy a book with no likable characters, (WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN proved that to me), but for me, this particular book just didn't work.
The language used here is descriptive and lovely, I love Ms. Ward's style of writing. In this case, I just didn't care for or feel connected with anyone during the last half of this book.
It appears that I'm the standout here and that most everyone else loved this book. Take what I have to say with a grain of salt and try it for yourself, because your mileage may vary.
I remain a huge fan of Catriona Ward and will still be reading anything she puts out. I guess I can't love everything all the time from a certain author, but I cannot deny my disappointment here.
*Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!
Unfortunately, it didn't really work for me. I was engaged at first and then the story turned into a weird fever dream. The reader isn't sure what is real and what isn't. Problem is, that for me? I didn't care what happened to any of these people.
Everyone has their secrets and ever since THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET, I know that Catriona Ward likes to spring those secrets on you at the very last minute. In this case, though, I found the secrets to be disappointing. Plus, did I mention that I didn't like any of these people? I can enjoy a book with no likable characters, (WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN proved that to me), but for me, this particular book just didn't work.
The language used here is descriptive and lovely, I love Ms. Ward's style of writing. In this case, I just didn't care for or feel connected with anyone during the last half of this book.
It appears that I'm the standout here and that most everyone else loved this book. Take what I have to say with a grain of salt and try it for yourself, because your mileage may vary.
I remain a huge fan of Catriona Ward and will still be reading anything she puts out. I guess I can't love everything all the time from a certain author, but I cannot deny my disappointment here.
*Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!
April 4, 2024
Off the Deep End of the Sound...
LOOKING GLASS SOUND by Catriona Ward
No spoilers. 2 stars. This review will be a departure from my usual recap of the story...
The first half of this novel starts out with three teens who meet on a beach during their summer vacation...
At the end of summer, they all agree to meet again at the same time, same place every summer...
So much for the interesting half of this novel; Enter the confusing second half...
This novel covered so much ground: serial killers, substance abuse, witchcraft, bisexuality, college life, novel writing, word games at the beginning of each chapter (that the reader doesn't understand until the end of the story), and more.
The crazy plot was so difficult to follow that I felt like scrubbing my mind and jumping into my next novel just to give my psyche a breather.
I'm not going to say more about the bizarre plot partly because of spoilers and partly because by the end of the story, it was so hard to follow that I really didn't care anymore and I was ready to move on to a more enjoyable book.
My first experience with this author was with THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET, and I tried to recapture that magic by reading SUNDIAL, then LITTLE EVE. I found that each subsequent novel was progressively worse.
This experience reminded me of when I discovered Anne Rice by way of her novel INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. I kept going to her latest and greatest novel, trying to recapture the magic of her prose, but her subsequent writings seemed to go off the deep end.
LOOKING GLASS SOUND by Catriona Ward
No spoilers. 2 stars. This review will be a departure from my usual recap of the story...
The first half of this novel starts out with three teens who meet on a beach during their summer vacation...
At the end of summer, they all agree to meet again at the same time, same place every summer...
So much for the interesting half of this novel; Enter the confusing second half...
This novel covered so much ground: serial killers, substance abuse, witchcraft, bisexuality, college life, novel writing, word games at the beginning of each chapter (that the reader doesn't understand until the end of the story), and more.
The crazy plot was so difficult to follow that I felt like scrubbing my mind and jumping into my next novel just to give my psyche a breather.
I'm not going to say more about the bizarre plot partly because of spoilers and partly because by the end of the story, it was so hard to follow that I really didn't care anymore and I was ready to move on to a more enjoyable book.
My first experience with this author was with THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET, and I tried to recapture that magic by reading SUNDIAL, then LITTLE EVE. I found that each subsequent novel was progressively worse.
This experience reminded me of when I discovered Anne Rice by way of her novel INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. I kept going to her latest and greatest novel, trying to recapture the magic of her prose, but her subsequent writings seemed to go off the deep end.
August 30, 2023
I'm not sure what I was expecting from this one, but like the other 29384738974 reviews say, it's best to go in blind. I started out bored, grew more interested, and then left utterly confused. I'm not sure psychological horror is what I would label this, as I've read others that fit the bill perhaps a little more. If you're listening on audio, the accents are atrocious.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.
August 14, 2023
So here's the deal.... I'm sitting here in an airport as I write this review. I'm dead tired from losing sleep last night trying to blow through this..... 😩
The story.... hell... I don't know what to tell you. It's a book within a book within a book within a book. You get me? Of course you don't, because you don't know which story to follow. The book started slow, however, by 90 pages it became interesting. Then *BAM* story takes another turn. Oh... and I'm not done. By the last 3rd of the book.... it's all over the friggin' place. My brain hurt and was confused. And I'm totally cool with being confused, if it plans on getting somewhere. The more I read, the more stumped I became. I was so irritated that I didn't even finish the last 20 pages. Like... who cares? Right. Because I have no idea what's really happening.
--- BTW, I was a little confused in The Last House on Needless... but it HAD a purpose for it. Best book of 2021 for me. Little Eve was okay, weird. Sundial... weird and just okay. I might throw in the towel on Catriona Ward. Her stuff just gets worse. Sorry guys 🤷♀️
The story.... hell... I don't know what to tell you. It's a book within a book within a book within a book. You get me? Of course you don't, because you don't know which story to follow. The book started slow, however, by 90 pages it became interesting. Then *BAM* story takes another turn. Oh... and I'm not done. By the last 3rd of the book.... it's all over the friggin' place. My brain hurt and was confused. And I'm totally cool with being confused, if it plans on getting somewhere. The more I read, the more stumped I became. I was so irritated that I didn't even finish the last 20 pages. Like... who cares? Right. Because I have no idea what's really happening.
--- BTW, I was a little confused in The Last House on Needless... but it HAD a purpose for it. Best book of 2021 for me. Little Eve was okay, weird. Sundial... weird and just okay. I might throw in the towel on Catriona Ward. Her stuff just gets worse. Sorry guys 🤷♀️
February 17, 2023
Disclaimer: If you know who I am it's fairly obvious that I'm not going to say anything bad about the book am I, but I had the pleasure of being the book's first reader.
Looking Glass Sound is Ward at her absolute best. That strange feeling of unease, that thrill of knowing you don't know exactly what you're reading, understanding that you don't understand but sucked in for the ride of it anyway.
A brilliant cast of believable characters, plot twists that will leave you staring numbly at the page as you try to figure out what the heck just happened, and an eerie, classic backdrop make LGS a must read.
Looking Glass Sound is Ward at her absolute best. That strange feeling of unease, that thrill of knowing you don't know exactly what you're reading, understanding that you don't understand but sucked in for the ride of it anyway.
A brilliant cast of believable characters, plot twists that will leave you staring numbly at the page as you try to figure out what the heck just happened, and an eerie, classic backdrop make LGS a must read.
April 21, 2023
Y’all I’m so confused, I don’t even know how to write this review. I feel like I should give two separate ratings.
First half rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The story started off interestingly enough. I loved Wilder, Harper and Nat’s characters and the mystery of the Dagger Man. I flew through the first half of the book, I literally couldn’t put it down.
And then What. The. Hell.
Last half rating: ⭐️
Around the halfway point it got a little confusing…
Then repetitive…
Then I was confused again…
I reread a few chapters more than once just trying to make sure I was still reading the same book or didn’t skip any chapters.
The last third of this book is literal chaos and confusion. Maybe I’m just too dumb to read some “inception” shit like this.
The story is layered but in a way that over complicates it and leaves it hard to follow. I’m all for a book that you have to concentrate on, Stephen King’s my dude, but I’m not keeping a notebook to follow along.
First half rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The story started off interestingly enough. I loved Wilder, Harper and Nat’s characters and the mystery of the Dagger Man. I flew through the first half of the book, I literally couldn’t put it down.
And then What. The. Hell.
Last half rating: ⭐️
Around the halfway point it got a little confusing…
Then repetitive…
Then I was confused again…
I reread a few chapters more than once just trying to make sure I was still reading the same book or didn’t skip any chapters.
The last third of this book is literal chaos and confusion. Maybe I’m just too dumb to read some “inception” shit like this.
The story is layered but in a way that over complicates it and leaves it hard to follow. I’m all for a book that you have to concentrate on, Stephen King’s my dude, but I’m not keeping a notebook to follow along.
April 20, 2023
Unputdownable, but very difficult to review. Full of secrets. A novel that sort-of-is, sort-of-isn’t horror, perhaps best described as a contemporary, meta gothic romance. It’s a story about murder that deals with the long shadow it casts. It’s about writing and witchcraft, unrequited love, the death of the author, and not being able to move on from things that happened, or things you felt, when you were very young. Broke my heart a bit. My favourite of Ward’s books since Rawblood. Recommended.
I received an advance review copy of Looking Glass Sound from the publisher through NetGalley.
I received an advance review copy of Looking Glass Sound from the publisher through NetGalley.
May 25, 2023
I didn't adore this one quite like I have adored Cat's other books, but it was still a damn good time. RTC!
June 18, 2023
What starts as three young friends finding some dead body under water during their summer vacation, turns into some kind of fever dream which in turn becomes a chaotic, blurry identity swap between creator and created, author and character, artist and artwork. Catriona Ward turns everything upside down and after a certain point I lost track of who is who. I can't say I disliked it.
Although I adored some work of this author, Rawblood showed me that she can blow hot or cold for me and though this one was interesting, it's not one of my favorites. Not this time.
Although I adored some work of this author, Rawblood showed me that she can blow hot or cold for me and though this one was interesting, it's not one of my favorites. Not this time.
December 4, 2023
I am so fucking confused.
August 22, 2023
Quite a book with lost of twists when Wilder Harper starts to write his very last book in a lonely house on Maine's coast. When writing Wilder recalls the many nightmares of his past including his best friend Sky, who stole his manuscript to his first story and made a mint out of it. Some friend indeed!
It gets spooky when Wilder already suffering from fiction versus reality finds notes from Sky. He knows they are from her for she writes them in green ink her go to color.
This was quite a complicated tale with walked between the lines of mystery and horror and needed one's full attention to puzzle through. It unsettles you throughout and when you think you know, well you just don't
Thank you to Catriona Ward, (this is the third book of hers I have enjoyed), Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the ability to listen to this book, which comes out in August of 2023.
It gets spooky when Wilder already suffering from fiction versus reality finds notes from Sky. He knows they are from her for she writes them in green ink her go to color.
This was quite a complicated tale with walked between the lines of mystery and horror and needed one's full attention to puzzle through. It unsettles you throughout and when you think you know, well you just don't
Thank you to Catriona Ward, (this is the third book of hers I have enjoyed), Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the ability to listen to this book, which comes out in August of 2023.
April 7, 2023
TW: bullying, family death, underage drinking, language, fighting, alcoholism, teenage drama, death of sibling, stalking, toxic parent relationship, cheating, murder, smoking, divorce, anxiety, depression, self harm, suicide, abortion, adoption
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:In a lonely cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood summer companions and the killer that stalked the small New England town. Of the body they found, and the horror of that discovery echoing down the decades. And of Sky, Wilder’s one-time best friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel, Looking Glass Sound.But as Wilder writes, the lines between memory and fiction blur. He fears he’s losing his grip on reality when he finds notes hidden around the cottage written in Sky’s signature green ink.
Release Date: August 8th, 2023
Genre: Horror/thriller
Pages: 348
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.75)
What I Liked:
1. The writing style
2. How the chapters continue on
3. The characters are so beautiful
What I Didn't Like:
1. Too much happening at the end
2. Book slows down a lot once you get halfway through book
3. Didn’t like ending
Overall Thoughts:
I want to say that I write my reviews as I read along with the book. So yes, something might get explained as you read on but in the moment that’s what I was thinking about at the time.
Fucked up will save you. Fucked up will set you free.’
“I like talking about him,’ Harper says. ‘But it’s kind of a bummer to keep talking about your dead brother. It’s a way of talking about him and not talking about it, both at the same time.”Harper talking about how she pretends that her brother's death was a dog is so sad but interesting. She is so emotional and cares enough about people's feelings to not want it bum them out when she talks about him. So sad.
Seriously can I just live inside the words that Catriona Ward makes? I took my time with this book. I feel like I need to when it comes to her writing. I never want it to end. I savor every word, sentence, and page. I embrace the characters. I live along with them. I suffer when they suffer and I cry when their tears appear. I hug the book when they are in need of love. I let them be real to me. I spent the summer with Nat, Wilder, and Harper. I watched them grow the summers they returned.
The story is told so well that you go along with the characters. The author does a wonderful job at building them up that you feel so much for them. You feel for each person and everything feels believable from the beginning. I wanted to hug Harper.
Omgosh finding out that Nat's dad is the one that was killing women and taking photos of the children made me gasp out loud. Poor Nat...and then losing his hand. Now he's dead and they think he was working with his dad only to find out that it wasn't really his dad.... What are you doing to us Catriona??? 🤯
A part I didn't really care for was when Wilder finally decides he is going to write the story down of what's happened. This takes place 30 years after Sky has written "his" book. Now Wilder is writing from the perspective of Skye - a girl version of Sky - and we pretty much just get a retelling of what we already read but with some fictional elements added it. That part felt very weighed down to me and like a filler to this book. I wanted something new - not something recycled. Honestly this book kind of confused me a bit. He plans on using the same story but this Sky is a female. People know that Sky was a male as he was pretty famous from the book so wouldn't they know he's writing about him? How is this protecting what he had with him?
I just felt like once we got to when Sky stole the story the book felt sluggish and weighed down. We were still reading to a countdown for Wilder to kill himself but we knew he was going to get stopped. Around that time the book just felt like it lost its focus. We are just rereading parts of the book that was already there....
Okay so Sky is really Skye and Skye is really Pearl. Wilder really lived and he died in 1993. He killed himself with hemlock. Pearl really met Wilder in college. Harper met Pearl when she went to a new school. Nat really died. Harper lied about having an abortion and really had the child; Gracie. Nat and Wilder are really brothers because of Wilder’s dad. Pearl had Harper kicked out of school when she hid a bottle of wine under her pillow. Nat was the one that took the photos of the children. Harper kills Nat. Harper killed Wilder when he accidentally got cut with her knife she was going to use to kill herself.
Honestly the ending not a big fan of. Yeah there were twists but were they good? They were okay. Witchcraft is real in this world. Harper was able to put Wilder into the book so he can live forever and now she’s damning Pearl to the same fate. I just didn’t understand how this is a bad thing when Harper wanted the same thing and that was okay.
Final Thoughts:
I wouldn’t say that I hated or loved this book because I definitely feel like I had a beautiful journey as I read it. My problem with this book is that it’s like one of those troupes where it was ”It was all just a dream”. You’re reading a book inside a book and then another book about that book. I can get on board with that Sky wrote a book based on the town and what happened to her mother. What I cannot love is that she is rewriting the book now from her pov. I felt like I was reading Twilight when you get Edwards pov. It felt like too much for this book. Too much packed into a book that already had so much going on.
I will say that Catriona can write the shit out of a book. She writes such beautiful sentence’s that at times it was like poetry. She made me relieve how hard it was being a teen and just trying to make friends. There were moments reading when I felt as though I was on the beach with friends.
Recommend For:
• Fantasy elements
• Summer vibes
• Friendships
• Stories about writers
IG | Blog
Thanks to Netgalley and Tor night fire for this advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.
Want to read
April 17, 2023
May 3, 2023
i feel like this was doing too much and not enough at the same time
May 7, 2023
*3.5 stars
This is such a hard book to review. The plot is so multilayered that it would be difficult to write a full synopsis so here's a brief overview:
The summer Wilder Harlow turns 16, his uncle passes away and leaves his family a cottage on the coast of Maine. Wilder is an odd boy and hopes to spend the summer in the new town making new friends. Soon after arriving, Wilder meets and befriends a girl named Harper and a boy named Nate. Even though a serial killer is on the loose, stalking children while they sleep, the trio ends up having a fun and adventurous summer together. As summer ends, the trio part ways and agree to meet up again next summer.
When the trio meets up again the next year, everything changes. Horrifying discoveries are made, dark secrets come to light, and the bonds of friendships are soon broken.
In true Catriona Ward fashion, Looking Glass Sound contains an unsettling and disturbing atmosphere without being very descriptive. Her simplistic yet concise writing style creates a vivid world that's easily imaginable and exquisitely creepy.
Looking Glass Sound is not a fast and easy read. The story requires your full attention in order to fully understand what's happening. Even with your full concentration, you will still feel lost and perplexed at times but eventually, all of the pieces will come together.
This is my fourth read by the author and even though it's not my favorite by her, I still enjoyed it. Without giving anything away, I will say my only issue was with the repetition(if you've read it you will know what I mean).
There's no doubt that Looking Glass Sound will be another hit with fans of Ward’s prior books as well as horror readers. Looking Glass Sound will be available on August 8. Many thanks to Tor Nightfire and Netgalley for the gifted copy!
This is such a hard book to review. The plot is so multilayered that it would be difficult to write a full synopsis so here's a brief overview:
The summer Wilder Harlow turns 16, his uncle passes away and leaves his family a cottage on the coast of Maine. Wilder is an odd boy and hopes to spend the summer in the new town making new friends. Soon after arriving, Wilder meets and befriends a girl named Harper and a boy named Nate. Even though a serial killer is on the loose, stalking children while they sleep, the trio ends up having a fun and adventurous summer together. As summer ends, the trio part ways and agree to meet up again next summer.
When the trio meets up again the next year, everything changes. Horrifying discoveries are made, dark secrets come to light, and the bonds of friendships are soon broken.
In true Catriona Ward fashion, Looking Glass Sound contains an unsettling and disturbing atmosphere without being very descriptive. Her simplistic yet concise writing style creates a vivid world that's easily imaginable and exquisitely creepy.
Looking Glass Sound is not a fast and easy read. The story requires your full attention in order to fully understand what's happening. Even with your full concentration, you will still feel lost and perplexed at times but eventually, all of the pieces will come together.
This is my fourth read by the author and even though it's not my favorite by her, I still enjoyed it. Without giving anything away, I will say my only issue was with the repetition(if you've read it you will know what I mean).
There's no doubt that Looking Glass Sound will be another hit with fans of Ward’s prior books as well as horror readers. Looking Glass Sound will be available on August 8. Many thanks to Tor Nightfire and Netgalley for the gifted copy!
May 29, 2023
A story within a story
The setting were this takes place adds real flavor to the book. Catriona's descriptions paint a really haunting setting.
I found that the characters, especially Wilder, came across as deeply human. Almost a "coming of age" effect. We experience grief, guilt and the nature of reality. I did not figure out who The Dagger Man was and it left me pleasantly surprised. I really wished the ending had gone a different way, or maybe I just like happy ending.
The setting were this takes place adds real flavor to the book. Catriona's descriptions paint a really haunting setting.
I found that the characters, especially Wilder, came across as deeply human. Almost a "coming of age" effect. We experience grief, guilt and the nature of reality. I did not figure out who The Dagger Man was and it left me pleasantly surprised. I really wished the ending had gone a different way, or maybe I just like happy ending.
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