From the moment I started reading this book, I was completely captivated by the haunting atmosphere and gripping storyline. The author, Catriona Ward, is a master of suspense, and she skillfully weaves together a complex web of intrigue that kept me guessing until the very end.

One of the things I loved most about this book was the way that Ward built the tension slowly, gradually revealing the secrets and motivations of her characters in a way that felt natural and realistic. The characters themselves are richly drawn and multi-dimensional, each with their own quirks and flaws that make them feel like real people rather than mere caricatures.

The story itself is suspenseful, wild and full of unexpected twists and turns. The author is a master at building tension slowly, allowing the reader to become fully immersed in the world of the story before unleashing a series of shocking revelations. I found myself constantly on the edge of my seat, eager to see what would happen next.

I will read every book the author writes. Highly Highly Recommend.

Thanks to the publishers and net galley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was just too weird for me. I tried her first book and wasn’t impressed but I thought I would give her another shot. She’s not an author for me. To paranormal for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for a copy of Sundial in exchange for an honest review. If you are a fan of Last House on Needless Street or any kind of thrilling novel, you are in for a ride with Sundial by Catriona Ward.

'You can't escape what's in your blood...
All Rob wanted was a normal life. She almost got it, too: a husband, two kids, a nice house in the suburbs. But Rob fears for her oldest daughter, Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her too much of the family she left behind.
She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice.
Callie is worried about her mother. Rob has begun to look at her strangely, and speaks of past secrets. And Callie fears that only one of them will leave Sundial alive…'

This story is filled with mystery, intrigue, and supernatural elements that will leave you flipping the pages faster and faster wanting to know what happens next.

I’m not really sure how I feel about this book. It’s a story so unlike anything I’ve read before that there’s nothing to compare it to and it’s difficult to categorize.

This plot was easy to follow and I found myself sucked into the story early on. The story is told mostly from the point of view of Rob, with chapters in the present and many chapters that are part of a flashback story that she is telling her daughter Callie. There are also some chapters from Callie’s point of view.

The tale as a whole is very dark and twisted. I wanted to keep reading in order to see what happened and to get answers for things that were revealed as the story progressed. I was disappointed in the way a few things panned out, but mostly I didn’t care for the ending.

The setting was well developed and perfect for the horror aspects of the book. It’s definitely somewhere I have no interest in spending any time.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Nightfire for an eARC of #Sundial by #CatrionaWard - 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

I did not finish this book. It was very much a me problem rather than the book. The writing and characters did not grip me into the story. I also found it too slow initially, which is another reason it did not grab me. I will definitely pick up Catriona Ward's other book to see if her works are for me.

Here's my review for the audiobook of Sundial. This one really disturbed me. https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/sundial-2149376

wow !! this book was too good !! This was my first book by Catriona Ward and it definitely wont be my last. I loved the characters- creepy kids in books are just the cherry on top for me. I also really love the atmosphere and how the author made you feel uneasy while you were reading it ! The character development between mother and daughter was also really amazing to watch unfold... over all a great story !

I love a good weird psychological thriller, but the pay off in this one was much more predictable and not as good as Needless Street for me.

Full review on my channel https://youtu.be/z9KtE9qD-Ac

Another fantastic tale woven by a master. While I liked Last House on Needless Street slightly better, Sundial held me captivated with every page. The characters were sympathetic and scary AND compelling all at once. The story had constant twists and turns that kept me intrigued and guessing. Unreliable narrators aren't my favorite because they're often not done well. In this book, we had two unreliable narrators and they were handled amazingly. The horror aspect was extremely haunting and got under my skin. It's going to be in my head for a long time. Can't wait to read more by Catriona Ward!

This is the second by the author that I‘ve tried out, and I think Ward’s books just aren’t for me. The story was fine, the cultish themes were fine, everything was overall fine, but I didn’t love it.

This was such an enjoyable read! Catriona Ward really knows how to suck readers in. As usual, the voice was stellar. Uncovering the mystery was fun and such a ride! I look forward to the next book of hers.

I had really high expectations going into this one. Unfortunately, Sundial felt more like a thriller to me than a horror novel. It started out with so much promise, but it ended up losing me after the first quarter or so and I found myself really having to push to the finish.

I loved how dark and disturbing this book was, but there was just way too much going on. Dysfunctional family turns abusive family and then we add in some unnecessary animal abuse, tons of maggots, and weird science experiments.

I really enjoyed parts of this story, but the middle slowed down, lost me, and then I feel the author tried to jam too much into the ending.

This was a really really difficult book for me to get through. And I honestly would not have finished it if I didn't have it as an ARC on Netgalley. There needs to be a huge trigger warning for the experiments on animals that occur in the book. As someone whos number 1 trigger is animal abuse, this is a hard pass for me. I love Catriona Ward's other books. But this one was just too much for me.

Catriona Ward writes like she’s made of magic. I loved the setting and the flow of this one and the characters each were interesting!

This was a weird story and I wasn't sure how Catriona Ward was going to bring it all together but she made it happen by the end of the book. I found it a little slow at times and I am still unsure who pale Callie is but the story was good overall.

5 stars
Absolutely loved the now and then flashing back. Really enjoyed the writing and the overall story. Very unique with many twists, typical Catriona Ward. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. The ending left me hanging and wanting more but damn did I love it. Great psychological horror. Author is a genius. Just an overall brilliant book. Disturbing yet brilliant.

TW: animal death, animal experiments

This book is chilling but engrossing. It shows the lengths a mother will to to to try to save even a severely disturbed child.

There is s lot of crazy in this book, but somehow the author manages to create an interesting but disturbing story.

While I was revolted by the animal abuse, this is a horror story which contaiins horrific things.

I appreciate the ARC given to me by Netgalley and the publishers. This is my honest review.

Wow... yes! FIVE STARS!

This was utterly horrific and utterly fantastic!

If you like suburban domestic suspense and horror about dysfunctional families, domestic violence, with a "I SEE DEAD PEOPLE" touch of supernatural, then YOU GOTTA READ THIS BOOK!

I don't even know what is more horrific:

(1) What these family members do to each other (narcissistic, sociopathic and plain psychopathic personalities, generational trauma, domestic violence, and alike), or...

(2) the atmosphere (think suburban house surrounded with unexplained gutted animal corpses and then an isolate house in the desert surrounded by ancient burial places and abandoned lab and other research complexes where sinister animal experimentation an rituals used to take place) or...

(3) the haunting supernatural. Now imagine the spirits of all the dead people sacrificed in those rituals roaming everywhere,

I just know that these three things together make for a fantastic horrific ride into the dark depth of the evil human mind and the cursed realms afterlife.

Cannot recommend it enough!

At about 63% I realized I just did not care about this story. I was genuinely bored, and not interested, it felt like it was taking forever for the story to get anywhere. I kept getting the characters mixed up, the voice of teenage Rob felt more like a child then a teenager. I hated all the spousal abuse, animal abuse, child manipulation, nothing at all screamed scary, unless you find those elements I mentioned to be scary, I just felt them to be relentlessly frustrating. I wanted something scary and even the moments of the sisters attacking each other wasn't hitting that scare factor, I wanted something to happen or be revealed but it just droned on and on and on, with nothing really happening, minus seeing how terrible Rob's life was and how she made terrible choices to spite her family.

Thank you netgalley for Providing me an ARC

I really loved The House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward, so I was very much looking forward to reading Sundial. This book is an interesting read with that anticipation for what might come at the end, A lot darker than I anticipated.