Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone is part mystery laced with a lot of fantasy. El and Cat are identical twins who as children invented their own place of escape called Mirrorland. Cat is living in California when she receives news that her sister El is missing. She returns to Edinburgh even though believes this is all an act. El always did things to get attention. There is a lot of fantasy and make believe in this story about pirates, clowns, even a jungle! Cat believes El is leaving her messages that take her on quite the scavenger hunt to try to find her. A lot of twists and turns that really keep you guessing right until the end.

To understand what has happened to her missing twin sister El, Cat is challenged, forced by clues from her sister and fragments of memories, ​to go back to that which she does not remember.

What is true, what is imagined, and how does imagination (or the brain?) protect you and even lead you out of harm? MIrrorland poses these questions via a story of identical twins, El and Cat, told from Cat's experiences trying to find and figure out what has happened when her estranged sister goes missing. The story goes back and forth in time to examine a complicated childhood, filled with stories of Mirrorland and a seemingly atypical childhood, and Cat's current day attempts to understand clues her sister seems to have left her about her disappearance.

Do not let the start of this book fool you into thinking it is fantastical and let that guide your approach to thinking if this book is or is not for you... For me this book was a suspenseful mystery; a complicated, and dark, story, one that generally comes together to provide meaningful resolution to a series of events, relationships, and secrets that held the girls together and yet kept them apart as adults.

This book fascinated me at times, and I have an appreciation for how the author allowed the experiences of children to matter, to show their resilience, and to also offer in a way an appealing, if dark, feminist approach to how women are treated by (some) men. The book would appeal to readers who do not mind a dark story, a challenging and non-linear mystery, and a mystery that to me was mostly internal, more about Cat’s struggle to process events around her and in her past than it was about what happened to El (this is to say that while Cat’s process was to understand what had happened to El but it felt more like Cat’s story than it was about El’s disappearance, to me anyway). I think the novelty of the storytelling in terms of how the author created Mirrorland and how it was used to help Cat, and El, during their childhood and then how memories were used to help understand El's disappearance is worth the time of a mystery lover who can appreciate a challenging (in a good way) narrative structure.

Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone is a twisty dynamic suspense novel filled with intertwined past and present narratives. Narrated by Cat, an identical twin, who is pulled back into the past when she receives word that her twin is missing and possibly dead after a boating accident. As she enters her former childhood home and works with the investigators to try to learn the truth of what happened to her twin, her memory loops back to the past and to the secrets she had long since blocked out.

I initially thought I had the plot worked out, but that proved to not be the case at all. It is a book that will keep you guessing all the way to the end. I'm rating it as 5-stars for the complexity of the story, but deducted a half star with how the story unravels, as at times I was unsure whether I was in the present or past and had to reread a paragraph or two for context. Beyond that though, it is a fantastic novel and one I highly recommend.

Advanced copy provided courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

CW: abuse, mental illness

My first impression of Mirrorland was seeing the maps of the house at the beginning. I was so intrigued! What books have maps of houses? Why do the rooms have such odd names! I immediately wanted to dig into the book to learn more.

Mirrorland felt like a fever dream. It reminded me of a darker, more adult version of Alice in Wonderland. It partly existed in present-day Cat is back in her childhood ("first life") home after her sister (El) goes missing, partly existed in the past and we got to learn about Cat and El, and another part that was Cat and El's imaginary world of Mirrorland full of adventure and pirates and clowns and secret codes. Now, I usually get super frustrated when flashbacks aren't clearly defined but intentionally Carole Johnstone wove all these parts together into this purposeful haze of time and child-like imagination. It worked so well for ME and for THIS STORY. (Now that I think about it, it felt more Sylvie and Bruno than Alice in Wonderland). This is the aspect of the book that really stuck out to me. It was unique and trippy and I enjoyed how it all blurred together for both the reader and for Cat.

Anyway, I loved the mind-trip of these different layers and the suspense of learning about Cat's past and what happened to El in the present. There were so many twists that I want to go back and re-read it all knowing what I do now to see all the foreshadowing. Some sections were a little slower than I wanted them to be, especially at the beginning when I was getting used to the writing style.

I think this would be perfect for anyone looking for a psychological thriller and doesn't mind blurring timelines. I'm excited to read whatever Carole Johnstone writes next!

A wild, eerie, twisting ride through the minds of twins whose imaginative childhood was not what it seemed. The conclusion piles on so much, but it's entertaining for those who like their reading material to start moody and atmospheric and end dark.

While I really enjoyed this book, I'm not sure the typical fast-paced thriller lover will give this book enough of a shot before setting it down. It is marketed as a thriller, but it feels more like a mystery/fantastical/slow-burn story with a few thrilling elements. It's very dark and tense; very gothic in feel.

If you like dark, slow-burn stories with a few twists; if you like fantasy and imaginary play, I think you'll like this. Even those who read literary fiction may even like this if they also enjoy mystery/thrillers.

Cat and El (mirror twins) have a very vivid imagination as children, encouraged by their mother, which lends very heavily to the fantastical elements. There are even times where Cat as an adult leans in to what she knew as a child which made the house seem to take on a life of its own. When I first started reading this, I was slightly confused, but I'm used to reading 1000 page fantasy novels. I was willing to ride it out and see where this story would go. I'm really glad I did.

There were some moments in the story where Cat would be narrating the story and she goes back to a childhood memory as a flashback of sorts which can be a little confusing for some because you aren't told "this is flashback, and okay now, we're back to real time". I didn't mind that once I saw the author using that technique more and more. The writing style was simple without being overly simplistic and was easy to read and imagine what was happening within the story. A really good debut novel!

I highly recommend this book for the type reader I described above. Thank you to Netgalley and Scribner books for this free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

My brain! My precious, precious brain has been blown away by Mirrorland.

Twin sisters running away to join a pirate ship.
Twin sisters, now grown, and somewhat estranged.
One sister is missing and presumed dead after a boat trip.
One sister knows the other isn't dead.

Difficult childhood, imaginary worlds, one man, a terrible mother. This book has it all and yet, AND YET, still becomes something I've never read before.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Took me a little while to get into Mirrorland, but once I did it gripped the heck out of me and wouldn't let go. Terrific writing, comepletely engaging story and the twists! All is definitely not what it seems. Even a few creepy spots as well. Thank you so much, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

What a rollercoaster of a ride! There were some serious twist and turns! A little slow in the beginning reading on my kindle, I probably would have felt differently if I had the actual book in my hands.

Definite suspense!

I was really looking forward to this book after reading the synopsis. But sadly, it didn't delivery. I was unaware of how much pirate talk there would be in this book, which I truly disliked.

I was really excited to read Mirrorland when I first got it but I was promptly let down. The characters fit into certain boxes that we've seen featured heavily before in the genre. In concept, I loved the idea of the story, but in practice, it did not translate.

Many thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I tried multiple times to get into this book and eventually had to put it down. I didn’t like the characters, the timeline was all over the place. I can see how many people would connect with this but it didn’t do it for me. Way more fantasy / mystery than thriller in my opinion.

Mirrorland is a creepy thriller portrayed through the eyes of children and their imagination and a sad escape from a dark childhood full of physical and emotional abuse. When Cat and her twin sister El wanted to feel safe, they created from their imagination a place called Mirrorland located behind the cabinets consisting of different rooms with pirates, witches and even scary clowns. Sometimes it was confusing as it allowed you to float between the walls of fantasy and the real world.
As young adults, El captures the heart of Ross and marries him, although he had also been seeing Cat. The two have a falling out, so Cat moves away to California never looking back, until her sister El is missing from an apparent boating accident.
Cat returns to the dark scary house she grew up in to inquire about her sister's disappearance, which she feels is just an act, as El was known to do before. While the search is on, Cat immerses herself into a shady scavenger hunt, and she thinks it is courteous of El. While receiving threatening messages asking her to leave, she finds a rekindling comfort in Ross. A deep dark story of deception and betrayal with nothing as it seems. Look for redemption and revenge to play out in this psychological thriller, immersing yourself into some crazy technique of writing. Good job, Carol Johnstone.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book completely surprised me and I absolutely loved it. It kept my attention from start to finish and was hard to put down. The writing was so well done with both suspense and fantasy intertwined. I was able to connect with the characters and the story as a whole. I will definitely be recommending this book to friends and family.

Your twin sister that you hadn't seen in 20 years is missing?

Cat couldn't believe it, but she headed to Scotland to the family home even though she didn't want to.

When she arrived, she was very uncomfortable, and she could just feel that her sister was not missing or dead.

Could a twin know that? If so, how could she know that for sure? The boat and El had been gone for four days.

We go back and forth in time as we follow Cat and El in their childhood and during the search.

Cat stays in the family home with El's husband Ross - not sure that was a good idea.

Too many memories and ghosts along with the odd things that are happening while she is in town and in the house.

The house seemed to be a character as you hear about all the rooms and Mirrorland the girls had when they were young. Mirrorland was actually pretty creepy and wasn't my favorite part of the book.

It took time to connect with the story, but it will have you wondering just what is going on so you will keep reading.

The writing is very descriptive with a creative story line but a little too out there for me. 3/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

i had mixed feelings about this one, parts i liked alot. esp the storyline in the present, there was too much of the fantasy childhood parts, way too much description and it took away from what i think the author was trying to tell us. overall the thin line between truth and lie, sanity and mental health issues was explored with some interesting twists.

Great read! Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of this book. This book was full of suspense. All about twin sisters who have been living totally different lives and them bam. Wow. Crazy story line and the twists were insane. You really have to pay attention in this book to understand the full meaning behind all the twin characters and ways of desertion.

Wow! This story was nothing like I was expecting but it was a wild ride right up until the end. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say I highly recommend it.

A genre bending mystery with elements of magical realism and dark fantasy. The novel weaves between alternating time lines and can be difficult to follow. Atmospheric, slow build that will appeal to lovers of unique reads.

Mirrorland

Identical twins. What must it be like to see yourself but you’re not looking in a mirror, share each others thoughts and vow to protect each other from the outside world. What better way than to invent a magical world that is necessary to survive in your family. As a reader there were times I was very confused about their “Mirrorland”. Some of the characters they created that lived there seemed creepier than one would expect for children who were trying to escape the real world; and their real world is nowhere anyone would want to spend any time.
This thriller takes you into their twin connection as adults and how those mystical days continued to affect their adult lives.
The author journeys down a very dark path with no escape because there are too many twists and turns to be found on the way to an ending that will make you rethink what you thought of the characters.
A good read for the thriller/can’t put it down set.