Looking Glass Sound: from the bestselling and award winning author of The Last House on Needless Street

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Looking Glass Sound is one part coming-of-age saga, one part true crime drama, and one part meditation on the meaning of truth and memory, with a little bit of metaphysical horror thrown on top. It’s a complicated story with many moving pieces and a seemingly endless array of twists, that still manages to delve deep into complex emotional issues. So, so brilliant. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. Her characters, the way she weaves together all the storylines, the reveals - all of them brilliantly done, and all while my heart was banging out of my chest." - Lisa Hall Readers will question every word as Ward expertly weaves together an enigmatic story of friendship, young love, obsession, and horror." As the novel opens, we read the unpublished memoir of Wilder Harlow, a sixteen-year-old boy whose uncle has died and left his parents a cottage on the Maine coast.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. No longer able to trust his own eyes, Wilder feels his grip on reality slipping. And he begins to fear that this will not only be his last book, but the last thing he ever does.

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward | Crime Fiction Lover Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward | Crime Fiction Lover

Here are some of the themes explored, in case any are triggers for you: Identity, gender roles, alcoholism, pedophilia, homosexuality, suicide, witchcraft, and ghosts. Sorry,’ I hear her say to the fisherman, as if she’s offending him somehow. The man nods gently. The world is full of sorrow, his silence seems to say. Maybe they were lovers, I think, excited. Maybe he left her.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. An origami puzzle of a book, the mystery so beautifully crafted you don’t see the folds, with edges sharp as a paper cut. I loved it.” Not every horror story has a monster at the end of it. At least, not one that’s easily identifiable. Catriona Ward’s latest novel, Looking Glass Sound, is, in part, the story of a serial murder, but its dark and unsettling feel has more to do with the everyday characters at its center—and the various betrayals they’re capable of—than it does a killer who stalks innocent women at night. And while her book’s picturesque seaside setting masks more than its fair share of dark secrets, its protagonists’ all carried varying degrees of darkness within themselves long before they set foot on its shores. But that’s what makes psychological horror so frightening, isn’t it— the fact that, if you squint, it’s not that different from the real life you’re living right now? But when Pearl is introduced, things get confusing. Pearl is clearly connected to Harper and Wilder, but it takes a while before the whys and hows are explained. The story contains no less than five different books: The Dagger Man of Whistler Bay (written by Wilder), The Sound and the Dagger (written by Sky), Skye (Wilder’s second book), the “fictional” Pearl (written by Skye), and finally, Looking Glass Sound (written by Pearl). The characters take on various personas and seem to appear in each other’s stories, and keeping them straight isn’t easy—Wilder/Wiley, Harper/Helen, Nat/Nate, Sky/Skye/Skander—some are real and some aren’t. To confuse things even more, another character named Grace makes an appearance late in the story, and again, she’s connected to the others in some interesting ways. 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.

Looking Glass Sound - Catriona Ward - Mijnsite Review: Looking Glass Sound - Catriona Ward - Mijnsite

Vernon’s crabby,’ Dad always said. ‘Doesn’t much like women or kids.’ Uncle Vernon was the last of that side of his family. We Harlows aren’t much good at staying alive so Uncle Vernon did better than most; he made it to his seventies.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... This book will be Wilder's revenge on Sky, who betrayed his trust and died without ever telling him why. But as he writes, Wilder begins to find notes written in Sky's signature green ink, and events in his manuscript start to chime eerily with the present. Is Sky haunting him? And who is the dark-haired woman drowning in the cove, whom no one else can see?

Looking Glass Sound | Catriona Ward | 9781250860026 | NetGalley Looking Glass Sound | Catriona Ward | 9781250860026 | NetGalley

House-sitting on a remote beach on the Washington coast, Emma refuses. Then, on her screen, “another message from the author – now tinged with menace. ‘I won’t ask you again.’” Emma starts hearing strange noises at night; sees a figure in her bedroom; finds the internet down and the phone lines cut. It’s not hard to guess where this is going, but Adams, author of No Exit, is great on building suspense as Emma – a troubled, tough and intriguing protagonist – tries to batten down the hatches in her lonely hideaway. Definitely five stars (not that I’d dare to give it any less).I come to with my mother’s hand on my shoulder. ‘Come on inside, Wilder,’ she says, and I realise I’ve been just standing there, mouth open. I was reminded of The Language of Dying by Sarah Pinborough. Looking Glass Sound has that same delicate exploration of humanity and the journey we all take. I’ll no doubt be accused of being a raging sentimentalist * but it’s quite beautiful really. This is one of those novels that you know is going to stay with you. It’s the sort of thing that when I finished I’m driven by the urge to go and find someone else who has also read it so we can spend hours discussing it.