First off, horror is not my usual genre. I had heard amazing things about Last House on Needless Street, so I eagerly requested Looking Glass Sound.

I'll be really honest, this was not my cup of tea. I felt like I read three different stories, and my brain just couldn't work out how they linked together. I was still (very) confused at the conclusion of the story and was lost ast to how all the pieces came together. I consider myself an adept reader, but this was a struggle.

So while not for me, it was still a solid, interesting novel, but I don't think I'll be continuing on with Ward's books purely due to preference.

After reading this book, unfortunately I don’t think I will be continuing on with reading Catriona’s books. I really enjoyed The Last House on Needless Street but am wondering if maybe that was a one hit wonder for me!

Horror is not the typical genre that I gravitate towards but because this one had such an intriguing synopsis, I couldn’t help but read this one for myself. What I found within the pages was something so much more than an author pursuing his writing career! While I was very intrigued from the beginning, I couldn’t get past the overall reveal and how disconnected it felt from the rest of the story.

Catriona Ward has such a unique voice in each of her novels and this one was no different. This was a compelling, creative, original book.

I had recently finished Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street when I saw this was being published. It's been a few months since I finished the book, but I still think about it. It's definitely something I need to reread so I can pay attention to how the pieces fall. The story within a story within a story was wild - but really effective. I long for the days when I didn't know what degloving meant.

This book demands your attention, if you don’t give it large chunks of time you will miss critical points and feels like it jumps around too much. The wonder of this story are the layers: the book within the book about another book. Mind blown! Loved it.

Looking Glass Sound is a masterclass in narrative fiction. Ward's deft, hand-crafted, detailed, slow-burn narrative leaves you reeling with twists and turns.

One thing I have come to learn with Catriona Ward novels is to go in blind. I sometimes even do not want to read the synopsis for fear of ruining any thing no matter how small. She always manages to shock and awe me with her words. So I went into this novel knowing as little as possible. The story is in a way like other novels she has written where you're never really sure where they are going to end up or how they are going to get there. This one seemed especially twisty as Wilder goes back and forth on being so sure he knew what had happened in the past. The more you think you know, the less you come to find out that you do. I thought the writing was spectacularly woven to help deliver on those twists. There were some moments I could have lived without but overall it had exactly the kind of feeling I look for in thriller and horror novels. I think of all Catriona Ward's novels that I have read this one will be ranked towards the top, just behind Little Eve.

4 Stars

This complicated puzzle of a book is even better than her much-lauded debut. Thrillers don't usually end in heartbreak for the reader, but this one does.

I love horror with a coming-of-age lean, and this was SO good. Sometimes with books that have back and forth timelines (or stories within a story - two things this one has at once!), it can be easy to get confused or overwhelmed. With this, the author does it perfectly - I wasn't confused, I was always aware of what was happening (unless it was something that wasn't ready to fully be revealed), and I was completely immersed in the atmospheric, Gothic vibes of Ward's tale. Loved this.

This was my first read by Catriona Ward and wow what a ride! I really enjoyed the idea of this book and initially was very impressed and liked the story however it does go bit off the rails with a book within a book within a book. Will definitely leave you guessing and thinking about it long after you’ve finished. It’s clear Ward is very passionate and talented.

I found this book to be semi-hard to understand at times but the payoff at the end was worth it. It just wasn't my favorite.

Darkly twisted, Catriona Ward's skewed writing delivers psychological chills. "Looking Glass Sound" explores trauma, loneliness, friendship and a past that is never far away.

Sooo this sadly just wasn't it for me. The initial story was great, but then the whole rest of the book demolishes that and becomes repetitive with "book-within-a-book-about-a-book-plus-another-book" whiplash. By the end, I just wasn't invested any longer despite the soap opera drama playing out.

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward
A well crafted book of a childhood terror as a man tries to write a book detailing the summer he. Met his childhood friends and the mythical boogeyman who stalked them.
A lot of twists and unreliable narratives will leave you scratching your head and re-reading the ending. I think it’s fair to say the reader may never have a clear grasp on what happened in the end, but therein lies the intrigue. All in all I enjoyed this mind bending work.

Wilder is an author and decides to write a story about past events. A killer is on the loose in his town. Wilder and his friends discover something disturbing and the decide to keep that something a secret. He begins to write and he is trying to remember every detail of that summer. The more he searches deep in his memories, he begins to hallucinate and can’t comprehend what is going on. What is real or is it all in his mind? The author takes you on creepy ride and throws in some twists and turns. The characters are well written and plot is amazingly written. A well written horror story.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

For me this book fell right in the middle. I didn’t dislike it or like it just left indifferent. I think if I had read it at a different time I would’ve liked it more. I can’t quite pinpoint what didn’t work. I did feel quite confused at times but I liked the overall concept. It just did not click for me.

“Friends can break your heart, it seems, just like love.”

Well, well, well, WTF did I just read? That was bonkersville! In classic Ward fashion, this story serves up a delightful cocktail of confusion and plot twists that'll have you scratching your head. I read somewhere that reading Looking Glass Sound is like getting lost in a metaphysical maze of existential dread, and that's hitting the nail on the head with a sledgehammer!

I won't spill all the beans on the plot because, trust me, you want to go in blind. But imagine a bunch of unreliable narrators who couldn't find their way out of a paper bag, even with GPS. Looking Glass Sound takes you on a wild journey through the maze of coming-of-age madness, powerlessness, friendship fiascos, betrayal, and enough small-town secrets to fill a gossip column for a century.

There are lots of triggers, so check them out if this one interests you. Also, make note that this reads more like a thriller than horror.

First off, wow. I know that’s not a great way to start off a review but I’m still a bit in awe over what Catriona Ward pulled off in Looking Glass Sound.

This is yet another book I went into basically blind. I think I skimmed the synopsis when it was announced but I mean it’s a Catriona Ward what else do you need?

I’m not sure where to start with this one as everything I’d love to say would spoil it for you. The plot is immersive. It’s a bit of a slow-burn at first but has great character archs that keep you company throughout. The entire story is raw, yearning, and dissects our obsession with true crime in yet another great manner.

The story feels part coming of age, part magical, and lots of horror. Both based in reality and potentially some not. I feel like the times I actively set out to try and figure out the twists are so few and far between. I didn’t try to do that here and I’d be really curious to hear if anyone called some of these twists. Because once I made it to a certain point, I was shocked in the best way.

I loved each of these characters and their messy desires as they tried to navigate a world of secrets that weren’t all their own. It would make one hell of a TV show or movie, that’s for sure.

If you need an audiobook to get lost in, I highly recommend checking this out.

From the book description:

“In a lonely cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood summer companions and the killer that stalked the small New England town. Of the body they found, and the horror of that discovery echoing down the decades. And of Sky, Wilder’s one-time best friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel, Looking Glass Sound.

But as Wilder writes, the lines between memory and fiction blur. He fears he’s losing his grip on reality when he finds notes hidden around the cottage written in Sky’s signature green ink.

Catriona Ward delivers another mind-bending and cleverly crafted tale about one man’s struggle to come to terms with the terrors of his past… before it’s too late.”

Let me just say….my mind is blown yet again by Catrina Ward. I used the book description because I don’t even know where to begin in describing this book. How do you describe her books and their twisted storylines without giving anything away?!

The best thing to do is to go in knowing two things: You should know as little as possible, and you should be open to reading a book that’s a little different, but is worth it. Because her book are definitely “different” storyline-wise, but they ALWAYS deliver in the end, and this one was no exception.

I would not have guessed this book was going in the direction it did, and in the end I was creeped out, shocked and I want more from Catrina Ward, yet again!

Once again, Catriona proves herself the queen of imaginative horror, and I’m happy to read along!

Wilder Harlow is an author busy at work writing the last novel he will ever pen. It’s all about a killer who’s hunting ground was the small town of his childhood. It’s also about Sky, his friend turned thief after Sky stole Wilder’s previous work, a memoir, and claimed it as his own. Much to Wilder’s chagrin it became a bestseller entitled Looking Glass Sound. Retreating to a cottage overlooking the coast of Maine with the dream of finding his way to the bestseller list, Wilder soon questions his sanity when he begins to find notes hidden throughout the cottage, notes written in Sky’s distinct green ink.

I was not a big fan of this novel. I like strange, twisted novels, but this one jumped around way too much for me and I often found myself confused about what exactly was happening throughout the majority of the novel and to whom. I liked the basic concept of Looking Glass Sound, but I was just too confused too often to truly enjoy the novel the way I would have liked to.