This is my first time reading Ward, and after hearing so much about her previous book, I was keen to be an early reader of this one. Chaotic, dram.atic and experimental are words i'd use. Sadly not for me, but I know her fans will absolutely love it

I realise this is going to be an unpopular review but this book just didn't gel for me at all. It was quite long winded and I felt the plot was quite thin. There were some brilliantly horrific moments, horror induced terror but the build up to this was just too long for me. Strange family dynamics, twisted people, and seriously wrong parenting made for quite a picture but I just didn't get from this what others seem to be getting.

That's the beauty of book blogging though as this will be great for the right reader.

Having read "The Last House on Needless Street" by Catriona Ward, I was delighted to be able to read an advanced copy of "Sundial" on NetGalley. This is a very different story but still seriously twisted. You aren't sure who the "good" characters are, what is real and what is imaginary, and the horror of Rob's upbringing. Seriously addictive stuff!

Absolutely mesmerising, chilling and tragic. Catriona has managed to top The Last House with another immersive story. Utterly emotional, spooky and chilling, I highly recommend

"You put a screwdriver in my neck," she says.

You know those books which promise so much in the blurb, then don't deliver? This IS NOT one of them! Instead, this has delicious darkness in spades with blood, gore, psychological suspense, perverse twists and a can't-put-it-down feel. With cruelty in marriage, twins, sisters, mother-daughter bonds, murder, dodgy experiments, ghosts and mad dogs it ought to feel over-packed with sensational elements but actually Ward dials down the extravaganza expertly and knows precisely where to drop in a gasp-inducing twist while somehow making the whole thing feel oddly credible (at least while we're reading!). The extracts from Rob's books was one step too far for me and I started skimming those as they're not as illuminating of the main story as I'd have liked. But the characterisation binds us to the story with enough of the everyday to bring the whole thing down to earth. Be warned, this is probably not for the faint of heart - but me, I'll be checking out Ward's back catalogue for when I need some dark and devious page-turning entertainment!

Catriona Ward writes some weird stuff.
Weird and thrilling and so incredibly good.
As with the previous book,it's difficult to review without giving too much away,but this book was tense.
So many things hidden,and I flew through the pages waiting for all to be revealed.
This book does not disappoint at all after the huge hype of Needless Street.