MIRRORLAND
BY CAROLE JOHNSTONE

What did I just read? One of the best thrillers that I have enjoyed so much in probably the last five years. I really hope that my review can do this book the justice that it deserves. As I fully admit my strengths lie in reading more than they do in writing but suffice it to say that I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this deeply chilling atmospheric novel that has Gothic vibrations. From the very first sentence this wonderfully talented debut author Carole Johnstone had me hooked. I was completely sucked into this story and saying that I couldn't put it down is a cliche and a great understatement. This dark and richly atmospheric setting of the house itself was one of the most creepy and vivid houses that I have ever read in modern contemporary fiction which was in of itself one of the character's. I felt like Carole Johnstone's inclusion of the blueprints for the stone manor at number 36 Westeryk Road where most of the suspenseful and creepy plot takes place was a pure genius insight. It has all of the layout of both the rooms on the ground floor and also the rooms on the second floor. This really enhanced my reading experience and with her keen description's of each of the details describing the colors and the various furnishings gave me the opportunity to feel like I was inside them myself. The location of 36 Westeryk Road is located in a village called Leith, in Edinburgh, Scotland. There was always a sense of eery isolation in this scary house.

It begins with a terrific prologue of identical twins Catriona and Ellice at approximately twelve or thirteen year's old fleeing from what they refer to as the end of their first life and beginning their second lives where they are near the harbor.

Twenty years later Cat has been living in a condo at Venice Beach, California where she lives alone and is a freelance writer who lives paycheck to paycheck. Mostly writing for magazines and she has a blog and a verified twitter account with sixteen thousand followers. She mostly writes lifestyle articles and goes out to nightclubs at night alone. Her and her mirror twin El have been estranged for the last twelve years so she ignores her brother-in-law's 13 calls telling her that El is missing. El had gone out in her sailboat called the Redemption and never arrived to her destination that day. So Cat reluctantly books a flight back to Scotland from Los Angeles and her layover is in the John F. Kennedy airport where she consumes too much wine and doesn't eat her burger. She begins tuning into the missing person's search and rescue news broadcast from the BBC with shots of her brother-in-law, Ross with desperation and a grief stricken face. She watches two videos of two days of the search and rescue efforts on her laptop displaying images of both a tanned El and Ross. The waiter is perplexed because he confuses seeing El's smiling face with a banner saying missing woman at sea on Cat's screen. Cat explains to him that the broadcast is her identical twin.

When Cat is greeted by Ross she is jet lagged and hungover from her international flight and she is stunned to see that the house at 36 Westeryk Road has all of the same furniture as if it has been frozen in time. All the rooms are virtually the same and the windows are still nailed shut. That first day home Cat hears the doorbell chime and when she opens it nobody is there. However laid down on the doormat is an envelope that says CATRIONA in bold, black, block letters. When she opens it she sees it is a sympathy card saying: "Thinking of you." When she opens up the card it says: LEAVE.

Cat and Ross get a visit from a man and a woman who have driven up in a Mercedes. The woman is in charge and she is Detective Inspector Rafiq with a man who is Sargent Inspector Logan. Ross starts accusing them of giving up on the search for Ellice and they reassure him that they had to call it off temporarily because of the storm but they are going to resume the search with the Coastguard for one more day but that they are not giving up on the investigation. Cat tells Detective Inspector Rafiq and Detective Sargent Logan that she doesn't think that El is missing or that she is dead because she thinks El is close by in the area and then she gives them her mysterious card which is slipped into an evidence bag. Cat explains that nobody but Ross and El knew that she was in Leith so the card must be from El. Cat tells Ross, D.I. Rafiq that she finds that it is just like El to disappear only to turn up a few days later after causing all of this commotion. Besides Cat feels deep down that if her sister was dead that she would have sensed it and she hasn't. Ross says that the two of them were going through difficulties lately because El was always either spending her time painting or on that damn sailboat and he was busy working as a psychologist. He discloses that El seemed mildly depressed but nothing major. Cat walks outside to see the two detective's to their car and D.I. Rafiq asks Cat if there is anything that they ought to be aware of that Cat might've not wanted to bring up in front of Ross and Cat says no.

I didn't even get into the twin's secret hiding spot under the pantry stairs that they called "Mirrorland." There are clowns, a witch and pirates. Blackbeard and Bluebeard. Blackbeard was a monster who fed women and children into the water to the sharks and Bluebeard was a man who hung up his prey on coat hooks. There is a love triangle which adds complexities to drive the plot. Cat starts getting emails that are cryptic in nature with the subject line saying: HE KNOWS with a treasure hunt each containing a clue that only El would know about from a mysterious John Smith from a gmail account. If I could give you one piece of advice it is to read this paying very close attention to all of the details. This was such a fantastic twisty turn of a thriller with a final reveal that is impossible to see coming. This was one thrilling read that I literally read in one sitting that I never wanted it to end. The only downside is that I know for 2021 this is the top thriller for me. After this one there is no topping it for the genius of imagination that it took to write a masterpiece like "Mirrorland." I am so grateful to have read something soooooooooo great. Definitely buying this as a pre-order as it will remain that special favorite in the thriller genre. And to think that this is Carole Johnstone's debut. She is an author to keep my eye on and I look forward to reading anything that she writes in the future. Enjoy! Highly, Highly recommended to fans of this genre.

Publication Date: April 20, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Carole Johnstone and Simon & Schuster--Scribner for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#Mirrorland #CaroleJohnstone #Simon&Schuster-Scribner #NetGalley

I am shocked that this is a debut. This type of story is not my usual cup of tea- fantasy, adventure, but...it reminded me of The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman, which I love.
The prologue takes us to 1998, Scotland. Ellice(El) and Catriona(Cat) are twins and as children, they created their own world called Mirrorland which is a magical (imaginary) realm in the cupboard full of clowns, pirates, witches, and anything else their minds can come up with. We soon learn that for 12 years, since they were 19, the twins have been living separate lives on different continents, El remained in the family home in Scotland and Cat went to Venice Beach. There's no real contact between them, just memories and even those vary from person to person. El disappears one afternoon on her boat and is presumed dead, which prompts Cat’s return. This entire time El has been married to the love of their (both twins) life and that marriage may not have been all that perfect, according to people who knew El.

Cat soon begins to suspect that El's husband is not who he portrays himself to be and this makes her begin to question everything as the past and present converge and real-life and fantasy become more confusing, and long-suppressed memories from the fantastical Mirrorland begin to emerge. This book was a beautiful portrayal of sisters, dysfunction, trauma response mechanisms, and how far our own minds will go to protect us. I absolutely loved it and will be buying a physical copy upon publication!

I really wasn't sure if I was going to like this book initially. It's very descriptive and initially there's a lot of content about pirates, being on a ship, etc. and I was a bit bored.

However, around 20% of the way through, I was fully invested. I'm really glad I stuck with it because it's a really great book. As the action picked up, I started to enjoy the detailed descriptions and fantasy elements.

It's not exactly a traditional thriller until closer to the end, but I like the combo of styles. I would definitely recommend this book to friends!

A sad story about a very disturbed family. Inventive, but icky. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

A woman returns home to Scotland when her estranged identical twin goes missing. I always expect an Evil Twin, but they were both just kind of unpleasant. To be fair, they suffered quite a bit of trauma during their childhood and beyond. 'Mirrorland' refers to a place where they felt safe in their childhood fantasies, which the remaining twin must now go back to in order to figure out what happened to her sister.

The story didn't draw me in right away, in part I think because I found the narrator so off-putting, but I became more intrigued as the elements started to fit together and make sense, and the last section was a real page turner. A promising debut psychological thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

This is one of the most twisty, different, and unpredictable thrillers I've read in a long time. It's weighty and thought-provoking with a strong sense of place and excellent character development.

Cat and El are what their mom calls "mirror twins" because their personalities are opposite. Their childhood reality was filled with stories of pirates and princesses and an imaginary world called Mirrorland filled with a wide range of rascally characters.

They’ve always been able to feel what each other feels, so when Cat gets a call that her estranged twin is missing, she’s sure she’s not dead or she’d know. When Cat begins to get scavenger hunt clues like old times, she’s sure that her sister must just be in hiding. Or is something more sinister afoot?

The author creates a real sense of place and character from the beginning. You can easily imagine the house where the twins grew up with its Clown Cafe, Kakadu Jungle, and Princess Tower.

The characters are real pieces of work. And when you discover their true natures, you find yourself with conflicting feelings. Have they made terrible decisions or are they justified?

There’s no way I would have guessed some of the twists of this novel. They really seemed to come out of left field. I thought the main story was over around 80%, but there were still far more plot twists left to unwind. I loved the very fitting comparison of some of the characters in the story to the characters in A Tale of Two Cities.

I feel like this is a book that I’m going to be thinking about for a long time to come.

This was my first time reading this author. The book held my attention and it was an interesting read. I would recommend this book. I will read this author again.

Mirrorland is a book where you’re thrown into the story. I initially had a hard time finding a rhythm but once I hit the 20% mark, I became very invested. ⁣
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After being estranged from her twin sister for 12 years, Cat finds herself back in her childhood home after she learns that El, her twin, has gone missing. Oh, and she’s in this house with Ross, her sister’s husband who she was/is in love with. Their mother did not let them watch television as children, limiting them to books, so through their imagination they created an alternate reality, Mirrorland. ⁣
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This book shifts between their time as children in Mirrorland, to present day with little to no warning. I have read some reviews where they said this book has a magical realism element, but I kind of disagree (although I can see where they’re coming from). I thought Johnstone did a wonderful job leaving hints without really knowing they were hints, until the reveal. I became very invested in Mirrorland, their childhood, what happened to El, and of course Cat and Ross.⁣
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Where the book completely lost me was the end. I thought the book was over. I was satisfied. And then there was another chapter, and then another, and then another. It felt like the book was never going to end. I kept wondering how many revelations could possibly be revealed? It felt like it was trying to do too much, and I didn’t find it effective. ⁣
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A lot of early readers thought this book was mind blowing, so if it sounds interesting, I say give it a go. This is a slower paced read, and dealt with some darker themes that I wasn’t expecting.⁣
★★★☆☆⁣
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Wow, what to say about this amazing debut thriller? I really, really enjoyed reading it and it flew right by! This is a very interesting novel of "mirror twins" Cat & El, who grew up in Scotland and lived in their own little "fantasy world" (there is a heavy "magic realism" element at play here). They grow up & one stays home in that house & one goes to Cali - but "Mirrorland" comes calling for them. Very atmospheric and creepy at times, this story really keep me flipping pages! Highly recommend. My thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the ARC.

Really enjoyed this book! It was filled with so many twists and turns, you must stay in track of the book by how fast paced it feels. I particularly liked the authors style, after only a few pages in I was interested. Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this on exchange for an honest review.

All I can say about this one is HOLY HELL. I love a guilty pleasure thriller - the easy read #whodunnit - who doesn’t? This one is in an entirely different category. Think #KarinSlaughter, #GillianFlynn, and #StephenKing level, but almost better. This #psychologicalthriller #horror #suspense debut novel is an absolute masterpiece. Full body chills all the way through. I am mindblown and in awe of the brilliance of this one.

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This one hits bookstores in April, and you CANNOT miss it. This is one of the best books I have ever read in my life, and that is not an understatement. I am still recovering.

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The story follows Cat Morgan, as she returns to her childhood home following the disappearance of her estranged, identical twin sister, El. While attempting to unravel the mystery of El’s disappearance, a series of clues and anonymous emails under the subject line of “HE KNOWS” take Cat on a treasure hunt through memory lane, and as she begins to put into place the pieces of the past, the truth of her disturbing, dark, and deranged childhood threatens to return to her memory.

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In the house, Cat also rediscovers Mirrorland, the fantasy world of escape she and her sister invented to escape and mask the horrors of their childhood and home, and as memory and present collide with lies and truth, the line between imagination and reality is blurred, as Cat searched desperately for answers while trying to deny the truth she knows.

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Her unbreakable bond with her sister, their shared love for the same man, the mystery behind a cast of characters that haunt their every waking moment: the tooth fairy, clowns, bloodthirsty pirates, the infamous Witch, and more, are as haunting and terrifying as anything I have ever experienced, real or imagined.

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This is a #GoneGirl like plot that will leave you screaming in shock and your jaw dropping from start until finish. Absolute perfection.

This book was very interesting. It was all about a pair of twin sisters who were once very close in the past however they drifted apart and are no longer in touch. Then the unthinkable happens and one of the sisters (Ellice) is missing and presumed dead. This brings the other one (Catriona) back to her home town to try to find out what happened to her sister but also back to the fantasy that they once created as children. I was a little disappointed at all of the fantasy elements in this book that it took me out of the story and was not at all what I was expecting. If you like lots of dark fantasy with mystery than this thriller is your book to read. I however found this book had a little bit to much filler and it made the story a little hard to follow.

First-time book author Johnstone creates quite a story with twists and turns and head-scratching events. I suggest you stay very alert as you read, because the plot takes sharp turns and frequent swerves. The story bounces from past to present and back again, as we learn the life story of identical twin girls living in Scotland with their mother and their grandfather in a large mansion that becomes a character itself in the story. In the present, the twins are estranged, and the married one is missing and presumed dead. Stephen King's Shawshank Redemption story is quoted often, with its plot being used throughout the story. The story is a terrific mystery but is slowed a bit by the sometimes confusing plot. Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for providing an ARC.

I loved this book.! It had so much in it! Mystery, magical realism, psychological thriller, relationships, etc. This isn't a normal easy thriller read, you need to pay a little more attention than normal and it pays off to do so -it is VERY twisty and delightful to read.! If you don't think you like it at first because it's not your "style", keep reading, because you will understand why it is written the way it is as you read along and try to figure out who is truthful, who isn't, what happened to the twin girls when they were little and the people that were in their lives.. I think this book is beautifully and brilliantly written. It is a thrill ride!! I would give it 4.5 stars if there was a way to do so.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.. It was a privilege. I look forward to more novels from this author!

This book didn't grab me at first but did make me curious about where it was going. After the first 15 or 20 pages, I was totally engrossed and couldn't put it down. The twist and turns throughout kept me engaged and the ending made me both happy and sad.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This amazing debut novel opens with 11 year old twin girls cold, scared and alone late at night at a Scottish harbor in Edinburgh. All they will say are their first names and that they are waiting for a pirate ship. Twenty years later one of the twins, Catriona, is back in Scotland, for the first time in over 10 years. She is there because her twin, Ellice, has disappeared at sea and is presumed dead. Cat is sure that she would know if El is dead, even though they had not spoken in 10 years. She has come back to see what games El is now playing, because El was good at playing games and getting what she wanted. Cat’s search for answers takes her back to their childhood and the fantasy world of pirates, witches and clowns that she and El created in a hidden part of their house which they called Mirrorland. Memories which Cat thought were all part of their fantasy world suddenly become part of her current reality and in order to find out what happened to El she must finally face the reality of their tragic childhood, and separate out fiction from the facts she has refused to remember. Mirrorland is a modern day gothic where every page brings a new surprise. A surprise which will have you wondering what is real and what isn’t in this unusual, scary and surprisingly atmospheric novel which touches on horrible abuse, a mother’s desperate efforts to save her children, love, betrayal and above all else the bonds between sisters – especially twins.

A strong debut. Its an escape from reality. Mystery filled read with turns i did not expect. Would highly recommend reading .

This book did not hold my interest. Twins and one twin disappears. But I was so lost by the way the story was very slow. I did not finish this book because I lost interest. I was looking for so much more from this book. *This book was given to me for free at my request from Netgalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

This is beautifully written debut.....(combo/ infusion mix of genres) > stunning blend of literary fiction and mystery thriller. I loved the book. There are a lot of descriptions— (which often can be too much), but I found the descriptions in this book exhilarating, birthed from a wonderful imagination.
I WAS THERE...TRANSPORTED....into the different rooms > spooky, eerie, dark....with stories of clowns, witches, and pirates. What’s sooooo unusual for me is I’m just not a witchie-clownie-pirate type of girl. BUT THIS WAS DIFFERENT....( very different)... balanced with suspense...love...betrayal...revenge...and redemption.

Carole Johnstone is a writer to keep an eye on....her talent is spellbinding noticeable. An author I might compare her to is Daphne Du Maurier.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE STORY....[ but NO SPOILERS]
“Cat lives in Los Angeles, about as far away as she can get from her estranged twin sister El and No. 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing Gothic house in Edinburgh where they grew up. As girls, they invented Mirrorland, a dark, imaginary place under the pantry stairs full of pirates, witches, and clowns.
These days Cat rarely thinks about their childhood home,
or the fact that El now lives there with her husband”.

Cat returns home to the grand old house - after El had mysteriously disappeared after going out on a sailboat.

I loved the contrast descriptions between modern city condo living in sunny Southern California, (Venice Beach), and the grand old house, in Edinburg...with it’s landscape, windy swaying of the green orchard surrounding the mansion...
and the old house (a main character), itself.

At the beginning of the story, we get a photo of the layout of the house in the UK...
On the ground floor we see the kitchen, the pantry, the drawing room, The wash house, the exercise yard, and the orchard and grounds that surround the house.
On the rear end of the house,
there is a Princess Tower, The Clown Café, The Kakadu Jungle, The Donkshop, The Landing, and a bathroom.

THE OLD HOUSE .....LIVED LIKE A MAIN CHARACTER FOR ME

The story begins with the prologue September 5, 1998
An enchanting tidbit that tickled my pleasure bone right away was that El, was the nickname for Ellice.
I loved it.
With my name being Elyse...
I think I would have enjoyed friends calling me El sometimes ( god knows my name was dissected in so many other ways growing up)

Ok... back to our story...
I was hooked immediately!
Teeth chattering, bodies shivering, choppy waters, a loud splash, chilly winds, a sweater, a smell of blood?, a smile....
El and Cat smiled at each other. They said they would never leave each other.
“We will not leave each other”.
It was the day that their second life began.

I WAS CURIOUS....and/but....as I said before ‘because’ the descriptions were so interesting themselves ...( very creative storytelling)... I never felt rushed to need to know the final result to ‘the mystery’.... but OMG....I’m sure no reader saw that ending coming. I enjoyed being surprised....but it was the ‘entire’ crafting-storytelling I enjoyed.

So.....
After a long flight from Los Angeles to the UK ( lots of wine for Cat while on a seven hour layover)...
Cat is back home. She is greeted by Ross, El’s husband.
Ross was in London - when El took the sailboat out alone.
Ross, a clinical psychologist, was at a psychopharmacology conference. By the time he got back home, El had already been missing for at least five hours.

It was definitely odd - with mixed emotions—Cat being back in her old house - filled with childhood memories.
“The Clown Cafe was solely El’s invention: a richly imagined roadside American diner, with walls of red and white and glass tubes of pink neon. An Old record player was a jukebox playing fifties Elvis”.
As kids, Cat and El played in the Clown Cafe. It was their their favorite hiding places in the world—they played dress-up, made up stories, ate fried donuts.

As Cat looks around the house all these years later— many memories come strolling back.
Their grandpa was deaf enough that’s the entire house new every single football result by the end of a Saturday afternoon.
He listen on a radio
There was never a TV in the house only their grandpa‘s radio.
“Mum had many rules, but that we should read, that we could learn everything we ever needed to know in life from Books, was absolute and never wavered”.

Ross thinks El is dead. The search team thinks she’s dead. Cat knows she’s not.
Cat knew El ( her twin) in ways nobody did. Cat would have felt it — if she was dead.....(?)

A few facts...
....El hasn’t accessed either of her bank accounts since she disappeared.
....she hasn’t contacted anyone or turned on her phone.
....Ross found El’s passport exactly where it always is.
....El, Ellice MacAuley, was first reported missing by the Royal Forth Yacht Club’s Bomann at approximately 6:30 PM on April 3rd.

There are more few ‘questionable’ facts:
....El loved both her sister, Cat, and her husband, Ross.
....Neither shame or grief can erase Cat’s memory of El’s cleverness, her sometimes casual cruelty. Cat doesn’t trust El.
....many more ‘questionable’ to untangle.

There is an investigation. We meet Detective Inspector Rafiq ( Kate), and detective sergeant, Logan.

We contemplate Cat’s thoughts about El, often wondering if she has reliable character or not.

This is a very intelligent mystery thriller....very atmospheric & visual....
One, I think would make for a great movie.

A couple of excerpts:
“The house was more than old memories. It was like a museum, a mausoleum. Or a moment of catastrophe, preserved like a body trapped under pumice and ash”.
It’s where Cat, El, Mum, and Grandpa lived.
“I’m smiling as I look around at the wonky beige wood units. At the old boiler, it’s silver flue plugged into a hidden chimney that was forever trapping birds. Are used to listen to them, scratching and flapping, that sounds muffled as if they were underwater. Beneath the old hanging clothes rack, there’s a new Smeg fridge-freezer, an incongruent sapphire blue. I am beyond the towering Georgian window, with its many small glass panels framed with hardwood glazing bars, the old apple trees sit and sway”.

Bedrooms 12345
Every room in the house apart from the kitchen had a bell pull: a brass-and-ceramic lever connected to long copper wires hidden inside the walls.
Whenever El or Cat wanted to guess which room’s bell pull had been pulled by the other, they would stand inside the entrance hall instead.
“A rudimentary telepathy test that convinced no one because each bell also had a distinctive peal”.
They had their, “There’s a monster in this house”, games.

Towards the beginning of the book there was a quote by Alexandre Dumas from his book, “The Count of Monte Cristo” ( on my list to read this year)....
“When you compare the sorrows of real life to the pleasures of the imaginary one, you will never want to live again, only dream forever”.

5 very enjoyable stars
Thank you Scriber, Netgalley, and the talented Carole Johnstone