This book wasn’t really what I expected. The synopsis makes it seem like Sky stealing the story is going to be present throughout but you don’t get any of that until about halfway through the book. You also don’t meet Sky until a good while in (although lesser). I think it could’ve been more flashbacks throughout/a different structure to really build that up well. Because of the lack of the other book/other main character from the synopsis I was left a bit confused for a while, which took me out of the suspense. Others might be ok with that and thus get more suspense than I did.

Catriona Ward has become an auto-buy author for me. Her books are all unhinged in the best way, and Looking Glass Sound is no exception. You never know what sort of book you're reading until the very end. Looking Glass Sound begins as a queer coming of age story and ends up...something else entirely.

Told mostly through excerpts of a memoir, Looking Glass Sound tells the story of one fateful summer in the early 1990s when teenagers Wilder, Harper, and Nat discover some horrifying truths about their small coastal town. Like any coming of age story, it deals with themes like budding love/sexuality and the growing, uncomfortable awareness of your parents failings and flaws.

While the three teens are inseparable that summer, we learn that their friendship is not without its own dark secrets. Their summer ends with disaster, death, and betrayal, leaving Wilder completely shaken.

To cope, he commits his memories of that summer to paper, writing the memoir that comprises much of the book. Framing the memoir, the book introduces other time periods, perspectives, and details that make it clear that there is far more to the story than is written in Wilder's recollections.

The challenge in reviewing this book (or any Catriona Ward book) is that it's so tough to describe without giving away its secrets, and its secrets are absolutely worth savoring.

In Looking Glass Sound, Ward writes the unreliable narrator(s) in a way that I've never seen them before.

By the book's end, it's completely unclear who is being honest, who even knows the truth, and whether the source of the confusion is magical or mundane. I felt markedly less sane after reading it (in a good way).

This is a difficult book to review. My first Catriona Ward book was The Last House on Needless Street, and I was a bit disappointed because I figured out what was going on pretty early in the book. I figured I'd give her another try, and I definitely found Looking Glass Sound to be in a similar style, but I had no clue where it was going... Well, it went to a pretty unique place. Looking Glass Sound definitely breaks the mold and blurs several genre lines, which adds to the suspense. Overall, a decent thriller with a twist I definitely didn't see coming.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced listener's copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Catriona Ward is such an amazingly awesome storyteller. I admit sometimes picking up her books and reading for a 2nd time I enjoy them even more. Sadly, Looking Glass Sound did not work for me. I know I’m in the minority here. But even though this was a miss for me I will hands down pick up her next read.

I struggled with the immaturity of the characters in this book. I thought we were dealing with children not 16 year olds. This was a strange book for me to even finish. A book within a book, within a book. Maybe I just wasn’t smart enough for this read. I will say I enjoyed the first 1/3 of this book the best. By the last 1/3 of this book i was just confused and lost and thinking what did I just read, lol. Maybe because this was an audiobook, it was harder to follow along Maybe at a later time I will give the physical book a try as I may enjoy that reading experience better. My confusion was not because of the narration but solely on the story itself.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook and e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Wilder is a strange kid. His escape from school is when his family spends their summers on the coast in a small beach town community. But the community is hiding something dark. As that darkness is revealed Wilder’s safe haven becomes a place of nightmares.

This one is dark and twisty and I enjoyed it. The pacing was great and the mystery was real. I did have some trouble keeping track of some of the timing/storylines but that may have been a kindle formatting issue. I love how this one delved into trauma and the ramifications felt for years to come.

A very trippy book that demands multiple readings. It is the sort of book that demands the reader revisit in order to see all the puzzle pieces fall into place. The way the book was written, you constantly feel off kilter and disoriented, which heightens the terror. I adored the characters, and found myself sad to find Wilder's ending was not the happily ever after Pearl wrote for him. Or did he?

'Looking Glass Sound' is a puzzle box of a story that will trap you until the final pages. Many books follow the trope of a coming-of-age story, with a tragedy far in the past and an adult character returning to the scene of their trauma to reconcile with it. We are introduced to characters in the present, and revelations about the past events are glimpsed through flashbacks and time jumps.

In Ward's newest novel, we actually start at the beginning. Wilder arrives at Whistler Bay as an awkward teenager with his parents, and quickly makes friend with Nat and Harper. Their relationships grow, ebb, and tangle while the community seeks the identity of the Dagger Man of Whistler Bay, who breaks into homes and photographs sleeping children. As Wilder grows up and goes to college, and then becomes a married adult, revelations about his summer at Whistler Cottage start to catch up with him. By the time Wilder makes his way back to Whistler Bay, well into the meat of the book, we have already lived out the events of the past with him.

Ward expertly nestles psychological horror and mystery into layer upon layer of narratives that are simultaneously inextricable from one another and conflicting in their delivery. I took my time absorbing this one and every time I thought I had a theory about the impending resolution, a new chapter would dismantle it entirely. Like Wilder, as a reader I could not differentiate between the truth and perception, real and unreal. Just read it!

This book was a little hard for me to follow. I usually love this authors books. It went back and forth and I couldn't figure out where I was. Not one of my favorite books.

Up until about 70%, this was probably a 3 star read, but the final portion saved it for me and I think I would give this 3.5-4 stars.

I had a NetGalley e-arc of this book and there may have been some organizational/structural elements that made this book more difficult to follow than if I had a complete or even a physical edition, so my review will be based upon the content in hopes that it is easier to follow in final format.

In true Catriona Ward fashion, this book is twisty and convoluted in so many ways and you are left guessing and puzzle-piecing up til the very end.

What I loved:
•The way the ending pulled everything together and connected all the dots. Ward’s books always seem like they would be even better during a reread and this one is no different.
•The foundational premise of The Dagger Man is very interesting and lends a great hand at supporting the rest of the main plot revolving around Wilder and his book.
•The characters have a lot of depth and even knowing as much as we do about them, there is still so much mystery about them all and how they intersect throughout the different timelines.
•The final 30% of the book saved it for me. The twists appeared and the pieces began to fit together. Finally the confusing elements of the book began to make sense (this is something I’ve learned is a staple of Ward’s writing and so far it has worked for me).

What I didn’t love:
•The first half of the book built up very slowly. It took me a long time to even make it to the 50% mark. Based on the description of the book, it felt almost like I was reading a completely different book for a while.
•The second half of the book contained a very exhausting retelling of events that had already been detailed heavily previously in the book. Until later when you learn how the retelling fits the overall plot twist, it just feels unnecessary and was a bit difficult to get through after already having read the events earlier.

Looking Glass Sound is creepy, atmospheric, and has lots of layers to it. The layers all sort of smashed together in the last half of the book, making it tough to sort out whose perspective is “real” and which bits are the book-within-a-book bits. The writing is gorgeous and the characters are interesting, but ultimately the story became overly convoluted and confusing.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

There’s a dark secret trapped in the coves off of Whistler Bay. A secret that Wilder, Harper, and Nat discover and completely alters the course of their lives.

This was so creepy and twisty that there came a point where I didn’t trust anything I was reading. Wilder, Harper, and Nat’s story is intertwined unlike anything I’ve read in a very long time. Catriona Ward has a way of pulling a reader in from the first few chapters and holding their attention hostage until the story is over.

This book is a mind bending psychological thriller. It has so many elements that I loved. Serial killers. Coming of age story. Twists.

I gave this book 3.5 stars

So let’s dive into the review.

Overall the writing is beautiful! This is my second Catriona Ward book and I’ve really found that I get sucked in by the writing. It’s ominous and creepy.

The first half of this book feels like a coming of age story (reminiscent of IT). I flew through chapter after chapter all in the span of hours. It was hard to put down.

The second half is where the book fell flat for me. It became repetitive. I won’t say too much to keep this review spoiler free, but a good portion of the last 50% of this book is one of the main characters writing about the events that took place in the first half of the book. So the scenes have already happened with some minor detailed changed.

A lot of plot twists happened in the second half. They were rapid fire, one after the other and I found myself getting a bit lost trying to follow along.

Still, I really liked this book. I just wish the second half was a bit stronger.

Also, the synopsis is kind of deceiving. I thought we’d be jumping into the story with the main character writing about his past in the cabin. Instead we don’t get there until the 50% mark. And the synopsis spoils events that actively take place in the first half of the narrative.

I would suggest going into this one blind! I had skimmed the synopsis, just getting the main idea and thankful missed the spoilers.

Catriona Ward never fails to break my heart and dazzle my senses. She seems to have an especial affinity for the misfits, the outliers who hide on the fringes and long for the "normal" life they see all around them but can never quite grab onto. She's also one of those authors that leaves me wondering "is she...you know...okay?"

You'll think you have this book figured out but you'll be wrong. Its a story about growing up and coming to grips with the failings and failures of those we love most in the world. Its a story about monsters and murder and the depths people can sink to when given the chance. Its a story about falling in love with the wrong person for the right reasons and continuing to love them even when they break your heart in two. Its a story about stories and who gets to tell them, who earns the right to tell them.

Ms. Ward's writing is like wine that's been in the cellar just a touch too long. Its rich and full of complex flavors but sometimes the bitterness threatens to overwhelm, then it goes to your head and you wake up with a wicked hangover but man was it worth it.

I keep trying to read books by Catriona Ward. I want to like her so badly because she is local to me. But I just do not like her books. This is the thrid book I have read by her and I just did not like it. I do not think I am going to read anything else by her. Nothing against this author. Her writing style and ideas are just not for me.

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward by all appearances looks to be a coming-of-age novel, but it is, in fact, a literary fantasy horror story that requires readers to pay close attention and to read between the lines.

Wilder is spending the summer at his recently deceased uncle's cottage in Whistler Bay. He makes friends with Nat and Harper and his summer is both exciting and tragic. He learns about love, about betrayal and about murder.

Every review will mention this, but this is a book inside of a book inside of a book. The last 25% moves the story into a territory that is hard to accept, hard to understand....at first. Then, slowly, the whole story unravels into a beautiful and terrifying resolution.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and Catriona Ward for the opportunity to read and review this fantastic story.

One of my favorite Ward novel's to date. The story was a winding and creepy mystery that had me guessing all the way up till the end.

I really enjoyed Catriona Ward's previous novel, Last House on Needless Street, but I think I enjoyed this one even more. Like Needless Street, this one took me a couple chapters to really get into, but once it hooked me I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading more from Ward in the future!

Looking Glass Sound is one hell of a novel. I’m a Catriona Ward super fan, so I’m automatically going to buy anything she puts out. I was genuinely giddy when I got approved on NetGalley for this one. And honestly, this is an incredibly ambitious novel. Did it work for me? I still don’t entirely know. The story follows Wilder, a teen who visits a coastal Maine town with his family. There he meets two friends- Harper and Nate- and the events of that summer alter the course of all of their lives forever. The novel takes quite a few abrupt shifts in how the story is being told and the timeline of events, mostly centering Wilder. I absolutely adore the first half of this book- everything that happens when Wilder is a teenager. It’s a perfect, creepy, atmospheric coming of age story, but once the shifts start happening it kind of loses me for the middle portions and then gets me again at the end. Plus it’s so beautifully written that I don’t even care that I was confused. I enjoyed reading this so much, even if I didn’t love the plot. I think this was a really ambitious way to write a novel, and even if it’s not my favorite from this author, it’s certainly a unique reading experience.

My review will be posted on my Instagram closer to the publication date- @boozehoundbookclub

Catriona Ward is a beautiful writer, no doubt about it. The way her sentences flow together; it's true mastery.

It's less horror than her other books, and more mystery. It's the perfect summer read (especially the first half), but not necessarily for the beach or poolside - you need to be PAYING ATTENTION to understand what is going on.

Like I said - this one might require a re-read just to fully grasp the intricate details of what truly happened. A buddy-read might be required to hand-hold one another through this one!


I'm not gonna spoil it for you. Let's just say, Catriona Ward did it again.

(Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!)

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the Advanced Copy of Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward. This is definitely going to be a hot title!