Wow! Sundial is crazy! Catriona Ward takes situations and adds so many different layers to them. Every page feels like a discovery. I was both freaked out and completely immersed.

Let’s start by talking about this cover. It is both beautiful and creepy in the best way. This cover had me adding the book to my TBR before I even read the synopsis.

Now on to the actual review:

This is my first book by Catriona Ward, though I do own a copy of her previous book (thank you to Tor for sending me a finished copy!) that I am excited to read. I’ve heard so many great thing about The Last House on Needless Street, that I had high expectations for Sundial. It lived up to most of them.

I wasn’t a fan of the time jumps, I wish we would have stayed in modern day. But it did do a good jumó of building up tension and the story had some good twists that kept me hooked.

This book is very violent, so make sure to check the trigger warnings if you decide to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC!

"Sundial" is to "The Last House on Needless Street" as "Into the Water" is to "The Girl on the Train." Disappointed face.

"I believe that everyone has one story that explains them completely."

This one, told in the present in a dual narrative before alternating with the past and breaking five times within the story to tell what is stated as four fictional stories, is convoluted.

It begins as a domestic drama put to horror, with more family dysfunction than one can shake a stick—or, rather, throw a bowl of maggots—at. There's Rob, an unstable wife, mother, and fourth grade teacher in therapy for disassociation; Irving, her alcoholic, abusive, unfaithful husband ("making the bad monkey with" their next-door neighbor); and their tween daughters, Annie and Callie (who, among other quirks 👻, speaks in emojis. Eyeroll face). One of them is a bad seed.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, we learn, as the story progresses to Sundial, the farmland where Rob and her twin sister were raised. It digresses at points to Arrowood, a boarding school in the "private stories" that Rob writes (using the characters' names but in different relations to each other. Confused face).

Unevenly paced and covering far too much ground, it best can be summed it up as a spin on "Baby Teeth" (there's a Hanna(h) in this story, too) that turns "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" on its head, and makes the ending of "When No One Is Watching" and the whole of "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves" seem tame. This tale lacks the emotional tug of the latter.

"Everyone has one story that explains them completely."

But not everyone's is as uncompelling and—save for its factoids, and life questions that are ripe for a book club discussion—as unsatisfying as Rob's.

💓🌟🔌🏜🕰🍎💭🦴🕳👨‍🔬🎮♟🌹🌳🥤
CW: not mentioned above: DOG ABUSE (a lot); domestic violence; self-harm; drug abuse; overdose; miscarriage; child abuse

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Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

I will read anything Catriona Ward writes. This is absolutely brilliant and the perfect horror book. Sundial is truly absolutely perfection - blending psychological elements with horror and reminding us that humans are the scariest monsters.

I enjoyed some aspects of this book, but I felt like the twists were way too obvious and the main story dragged more than it needed to.

I loved The Last House on Needless Street but I've gotten 50% of the way through this and can't care enough to go on. I even got the audiobook version from the library and quit again after 50%. I think the flashback stories are too long for me and seemingly without a point. I wish more was happening maybe more explicitly stated what was happening since I wasn't getting it. I'll read Catriona's next book,but I was disappointed by this one.

I found this book incredibly slow and boring. I was looking forward to reading about a creepy kid (something I enjoy in horror), which I did get. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the build up or pay off.

Catriona Ward can do no wrong! The Last House on Needless Street is one of my favorites so I knew I had to prioritize this book. Not only do I absolutely love this cover but I absolutely loved the story. Her writing is beautiful and haunting. I will read anything she writes.

Sundial may only be Catriona Ward's fourth novel, but she isn't playing around you guys! Her prior book (and my first time reading her) The Last House on Needless Street was so twisty and engrossing, and that is exactly what this one was like as well. It takes a while to get to the twists, but it is totally worth it and the ride to get there is a RIDE. There are 2 viewpoints in the story, one being Rob and the other being Rob's daughter Callie, as well as parts of the book Rob is writing. The weirdest things for me were probably Callie's POV and Rob's book, and you better believe there is exceeding weirdness throughout this entire story. That is one of the things I love most about Ward's writing, and she never ceases to surprise me. As the story progresses, we also get Rob's backstory and that could be the most shocking thing of all.

Sundial is also a winner on audio and Katherine Fenton not only blew me away with her narration but completely enhanced the story as well. If you want to listen to someone do a kid's voice it is definitely Fenton, and I just cannot say enough great things about her. Ward is certainly not for everyone, but I am always impressed with her creativity and the unique stories she can weave. I don't know if I really needed the book within a book for this, but it also didn't take away from the general amazingness of the story for me. This is definitely outside of the box storytelling, and there are some parts with dogs that rather broke my heart, but don't worry because there is plenty of violence and craziness too. And I am saying don't worry in a totally facetious way. Another standout from Ward and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with after this.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

In what I can now say is definitely Ward fashion, I had no idea what was going on for most of this book. There’s an insidious sense of violence, an undercurrent of instability, paranoia, and distrust. What’s real and what’s not?

The idea that a mother would be afraid of her child and for her feels so surreal and darkly alluring. At the same time, the idea that a child and her ‘imaginary companions’ would be afraid for and of her mother due to her mental health is equally unsettling. The psychological suspense and tensions are high, creating anxiety in the reader to try and piece things together.

While the reveals kept coming in waves around the 75% part, there never felt like there was a reprieve. This was a mind fuck from start to finish and truly, I never want to see Ward’s inner thoughts and nightmares. I can’t say I was wowed as much by this as by Needless Street, but this is still an example of pure creative genius. Truly no one is writing stories like this, and maybe that’s a good thing because….the horror and creepy vibes are real.

Cannot say enough how remarkable this novel was. Ground breaking, unique, horrifying, chilling, it gave me nightmares but in the best way. The mother-daughter relationships were vibrant and emotional, the blove and betrayal between sisters was palpable,p. We had a common enemy in our lead’s awful husband. The twist at the end was unexpected, but somehow also intuitive. I’ve never read anything from this author before, but I expect to stalk all additional novels and suggest their purchase at my library with overwhelming enthusiasm.

WOW!! I fell in love with Catriona Ward’s writing last year when I picked up THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET and SUNDIAL completely solidified her as an auto-buy author for me.

Let me preface this review with, SUNDIAL will not be for everyone. This book is dark and disturbing, but there is so much layered meaning within the pages that it makes it worth the journey. There’s a broad range of topics covered, ranging from interfamily relationships, abuse (both human and animal), and mental health, to name a few. Perhaps one of my favorite parts about Ward’s writing is her ability to weave psychology and the workings of the human mind into her stories. Through the eyes of Rob and her daughter, Callie, the reader experiences not just the events of their lives today, but the past and the effects that past can have on people. Nature versus nurture has long fascinated me and this book truly digs into that concept.

It’s way too hard to talk about the details of this book without spoiling something, but it’s one I’m going to be pushing on everyone. This book is an experience and it’s a story that will stay with me for a long time. You’ll be seeing it again at the end of the year in my top reads stack.

A huge thank you to Tor Nightfire for my gifted copy!

4.5 stars. This was an exceptional horror novel that focuses on the psychological deterioration of two generations of sisters. There are twists and turns in this novel that I was not expecting because the synopsis gives nothing away. This novel is a fun romp that deconstructs many things in the concepts of trauma and being evil. There are triggers for animal cruelty- tons of it actually because Sundial was a dog testing farm- as well as domestic abuse and child abuse. I was pleasantly surprised and walked away loving it, but I needed 30 more pages and more from Callie's perspective to fully give this a 5 star. Review to come.

This is an incredible book about sisterhood, motherhood, and what it means to be and to raise a daughter. I loved this book so much and the alternating perspectives between Rob and her daughter Callie kept the story moving at top speed. The tension and pacing of this book is perfect, and when the final reveals fall into place, I gasped out loud. Definitely recommend this book to fans of horror and fans of fiction centered around unhinged women.

Catriona Ward never fails to satisfy and surprise, with each new work bringing new page-turning dread. What I love most about her recent work is how deftly she wields the inversion. Cliffhangers and twists at the end of every chapter can become cheap, but Ward is so talented that this never happens. Each turnabout is entirely earned and nothing about the way to that turn feels forced. She can emotionally devastate with uncomplicated language; the flow is impeccable. I will say that one of her stock tropes involves bringing up hideous animal abuse only to have it later surmounted or subverted by equally hideous child abuse. But in the hands of so skilled a writer, none of it comes off as gratuitous.

I absolutely loved The Last House on Needless Street, but found Sundial far less enjoyable and much more of a slog to get through. Don’t get me wrong, Sundial is an original and unique psychological thriller worth a read, and it touches on many of the same themes as TLHoNS, but in contrast to her prior book, it takes a bit too long to draw the reader in and the plot twists fail to land with much oomph. Good not great, but I’ll still be sure to follow Ward’s future writing with interest.

Unsettling. That’s the best word I can find to describe Ward’s latest novel. It’s told in multiple POV’s in a nonlinear narrative which some readers found hard to follow, but that I personally love because it allows for the story to slowly unfold, the secrets to slowly be revealed for the picture to finally come into view, although the reader’s perspective will continuously change because much like The Last House on Needless Street, the heroes and villains aren’t so easily distinguishable.

Ward takes us deep into the Mojave Desert (a place that I already find creepy due to all the real-life disappearances that occur there every year). Rob and Jack are twins living with their research scientist parents Mia and Falcon. They live a somewhat hippy-ish life, isolated from anyone of their own age. Something terrible occurred in that desert and initially the reader isn’t sure exactly what it is or how it all ties in with Rob’s present – now married to a professor whose equal parts charming and terrifying in his subtle cruelty. But what’s got Rob worried is her older daughter Callie, who displays the typical signs of serial killers and thinks that the only way she can save her daughter is by taking her to the one place she vowed to never return to: Sundial. And so a terrible family saga unfolds.

I read this book in a matter of days, because I was so invested with wanting to know what exactly happened at Sundial, because from the very first page the prose is steeped in blood and dread and you know that the journey you’re about to embark on will be a dark one. It’s difficult to use the word “enjoyed” in terms of reading this book because of the unsettling things that occur that leave you cringing or feeling sick, but I did want to know more so it kept me flipping the pages well into the night.

There’s a story within a story, and I wish I understood the symbolism behind it because I’m quite unsure exactly what it revealed (if it revealed anything at all).

Overall I loved the darkness of this novel but if you’re a reader who detests any forms of animal cruelty in literature, then steer clear of this read – you’ve been warned.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Rob’s daughter Callie is exhibiting some disturbing behavior. Tension is high between Rob and her husband Irving. To work through the situation and take a break from her marital troubles, Rob takes Callie to her childhood home in the California desert that she inherited from her parents. The trauma that unfolds takes an alarming turn that defies the imagination as memories come to the surface and Rob reveals her fears for Callie.

This novel was a suspenseful rollercoaster ride as Rob viewed her past through a new lens and came to understand the truth of her origins. The multiple narrators helped the mystery unravel ever so slowly while keeping me on edge. It was difficult to put this one down and impossible for me to predict where the story would end. A truly unsettling story that reels you in until you can’t escape without knowing Rob and Callie’s fates.

If you love psychological horror and suspense, this one’s a must-read. This is the second work from Catriona Ward that I’ve read, and I can’t say enough about her atmospheric writing and gift for suspenseful storytelling. She is a master of this genre.

This is my second book by Catriona Ward and I loved it just as much as Needless Street. The elements of mental health wrapped into Ward’s stories make them so much more than horror to me. One thing is for certain and that is that this book will keep you guessing. You’ll be constantly on the edge of your seat and not knowing what comes next.

A twisted phenomenon.
Many thanks to MacMillan Tor/Forge and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.