3 stars

The word that keeps coming to mind with this one is "effortful." It's clear the author has gone to great pains to construct a complex web, but the reader also has to put in a lot of effort to maintain the care they may have felt when the strong start moves into that - at times - exhausting web.

When the novel begins, there's a great entry point into a young friend group and their relationships, experiences, and traumas at the nonfictional version of Looking Glass Sound. The characters struggle, make mistakes, and discover some pretty dark details about themselves and others. It's easy to get invested in their experiences.

As the novel progresses, this all changes. There are intentional reliability issues, new details coming forward all the time, and generally just what feels like complication for the sake of being complicated. I am all for twists and turns when they further the plot and character development, but this book made me feel like I was in a not so well-designed escape room. At various points, unfortunately, I just wanted to get out.

I'm sorry that this was my first exposure to this author because I've heard great things for a long time. I'll try other works but can't imagine recommending this one too often or heartily.

Thank you NetGalley, McMillan Audio and Catriona Ward for the audiobook version of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The cover of this book portrays the story. It’s dark, the cave mysterious just as the sea can be mysterious. At first glance you might see a woman’s face. And you find yourself trying to decipher what’s real and what’s not. I’ve just finished this book and tempted to listen again because this story starts out as a strange boy meets another boy and girl his age on summer holiday. All three of them are a little odd with baggage and secrets of their own. Then we start throwing in witchcraft and murder and ghosts and Polaroid photos of a knife being held by a sleeping child’s neck.

But, as far as unreliable narrators go, our narrators aren’t just unreliable, they are writers. And, of course, writers create their worlds. So it might have a fleck of honesty, it might be based on reality, but as the audience we don’t know.

It’s still not quite clear at the end of the novel what parts are “true” and “fiction” but if you are a fan of funhouses and the dark and mysterious I definitely recommend this book. I may have missed some of the answers or maybe they were intentionally not answered, but I’d give this one a reread.

The one issue with the audiobook is with the fragment chapters. There are sprinkled chapters throughout the novel inspired by a word game. You take a word and change one letter to make a new word. Word. Sword. Sworn. Worn. Torn. However, it’s revealed in the late chapters of the book that there is supposed to be a coded message in this fragments - the last words in a line should relay a phrase. But since there is no visual grouping- we miss that. It might not even matter too much, but I did want to see it.

Overall a good read! I popped onto my library app and added another book of the author’s to my hold list.

It pains me to rate this, because The Last House on Needless Street is a five star, recommend to everyone type of book for me!

This book started off strong, I loved the friendship in the beginning and I felt like the characters were super well rounded, all with their own problems and traits, but eventually it just went off the deep end and not in an entertaining way. I felt for Wilder, especially after the betrayals he faced, as a self labeled wallflower, I could relate to him in a way, and he was probably my favorite character. I’m also a sucker for a serial killer book, so I enjoyed that element.

Where it fell flat for me was the last half of the book, there were so many twists and turns, that I felt like didn’t make sense and the explanation for things felt messy and not well thought out. You mean to tell me police discovered a certain serial killer in one part, but failed to recognize someone’s murder in another?

In the last hour, I felt like the book should have ended and I wasn’t really satisfied with the final ending.
I would also say this book was more of a mild suspenseful thriller than horror.
Either way, Catriona is still a top author in my mind, this one just wasn’t a defining book for me.

Please check TW’s for this one as this is lots of talk of murder and suicide.

Rating: 3.25/5
Ebook: the formatting was off, but I’m sure it’ll be fixed once it’s released on ebook platforms. I just found it hard to follow.
Audiobook: the narrator did a good job portraying the characters, accents were weird at times, but I would still listen to other books of theirs

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and TorNightfire for the ARC & ALC of this book. All opinions are my own.

First, thank you so much for a copy of this for review.

I had both ebook and audio. I was having a hard time with the formatting in the ebook, so when the audio dropped, I jumped at it so that i could give this book a fair shot.

Both the male and female narrator were great, excellent accents, really made the story.

Unfortunately, this really really fell flat for me. I found myself bored, then completely confused. And not confused in a fun way, confused in a way that was making me irritated.

Ward is an excellent writer, I just think after this one (I've read others), she just isn't for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this audiobook Arc! I went back and forth with rating this one 3 or 4 stars. I really enjoyed the narration by both narrators! They both added a lot to this story. I felt the first half of this book was wonderful, but I struggled with the second half. Without giving away too much, I felt the switching back and forth POV (especially towards the end) was very confusing. I listened to the last few chapters multiple times and I’m still not exactly sure what happened in this book. I loved the build up, but I felt it crumbled by the end.

All that being said, I think fans of Ward’s other books will love this one! This is the 3rd book by her I’ve rated 3 stars and at this point, I think it’s me not you Catriona! She’s an incredible writer and there’s no disputing that I was entirely hooked on this book and wanted to know the outcome.

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward is certainly a mind bending and twisty tale of the loss of innocence in late adolescence.
The novel opens with the character Wilder writing a memoir about his summers spent at Looking Glass Sound and his experience with the Daggerman. We’re taken back to the summer of 1989. Wilder, Harper, and Nat meet the summer WIlder’s dad inherits a cottage from a recently deceased uncle. The three bond over the shared feeling of being the odd man out in their ordinary lives and become fast friends. They talk about their fear of the Daggerman, the person who breaks into homes and takes pictures with sleeping children with a dagger held to their neck. It’s all talk until a photo is uncovered a little too close to home. Add in fearful cave explorations and witch craft, the trio have an unforgettable summer. They vow to return annually but the following summer proves to be more than their bond can handle. Family secrets unfold, lies are told, and truths are buried.
Wilder heads off to college where he meets an overly eager fellow student, Skye. Once again, Wilder finds himself surrounded by lies and deceit.
Enter part two and this is where we board the crazy train and find out the first half of the book is a book within a book. I’m not going to lie; there were sections I had to go back and listen again to figure out what was going on. This character is actually that character; this character is actually dead; this part never happened. When everything is unraveled at the end, I was left scratching my head thinking, “well I certainly didn’t see that coming.”

Thoughts: This is a book that you must pay close attention to. Because of that, you had to stay engaged and engrossed with the story which was easy to do considering it’s Catriona Ward. She is not an author who is going to write anything simple and straightforward which I appreciate from time to time. If you enjoy puzzling things out, if you enjoy unbelievable story telling, and if you’ve enjoyed other novels from Ward then you don’t want to miss this one!

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed how the narrators were able to breathe life into the characters in a three dimensional manner. They were excellent!

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook ahead of its release in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for this audio ARC.

I don't know why I keep trying to read and like Catriona Ward books. For some reason they just aren't my style. I have nothing against individuals that love her reading. This book was really promising and slowly fell apart for me in the second half. There were so many twists and turns, that I found myself not caring about what was going on.

OH MY GOSH, CATRIONA WARD, YOU FRIGGGGGGGGGIN WIZARD. I am so shell-shocked, and I have so many questions simultaneously, but thank goodness for buddy reads and discussion groups because I'm so excited to dive deeper into the murky waters with @thrillerfriendsunite on May 17.

I am so thankful to Catriona Ward, Tor Nightfire, and NetGalley for sending an advanced physical copy and digital access to the book before it's projected to publish on August 8, 2023. I've read so many of her books; I'm sure this is her best.

Wilder Harlow and his family are flying to Maine to inherit a family home after his estranged Uncle Vernon died. This sleepy, oceanside town is home to a series of folk-lore frightened townspeople who all believe in The Dagger Man, a cryptid-like stalker who photographs children as they sleep and then sends the polaroid evidence to their families... very welcoming.

One summer, Wilder and his two friends, Harper and Nat (Nathaniel), come across a cave that's said to possess otherworldly powers, coming alive and suctioning its prey to her depths -- a story to distract the fact that many women have gone missing from the waters. Soon the trio finds out the actual murderer of these women has been living amongst them all along, destroying their friendship and leaving Wilder with tons of PTSD and trauma to work through.

Flash forward to college, and Wilder meets a peculiar guy named Pierce, who goes by Sky that takes a liking to his well-being and life. The sky begins to help Widler with his night terrors and anxiety, helping him work through the Dagger Man's traumas. Still, Sky has alternate plans because he, too, was impacted by this islander drama and wants to claim his retribution. As Sky and Wilder grow closer, Sky whips the rug out from Wilder's stance, jets away, and steals Wilder's manuscript and research to write a plagiarized book about Wilder's childhood memories on the island. And for that, Wilder intends to kill Sky.

Later in life, when Wilder finally gets the chance to off his former friend, he finds himself back in Maine for a time-warped affair that will keep readers guessing and confused for time after time.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC! Looking Glass Sound has a twisting, compelling narrative that will leave you feeling haunted. The book starts in the early 1990's where Wilder Harlow goes (along with his parents) to a Maine coastal town where his recently deceased uncle lived. His parents have a strained marriage and Wilder feels out of place. He ends up meeting handsome local boy Nat (Nathaniel) and Harper (a beautiful Brittish girl and instant crush for Wilder). The three share local horror stories and end up uncovering a brutal serial killer. Wilder attempts to escape the trauma of this past in college and his new friend and roommate, Sky. Wilder confesses the whole truth of his friendships, the murders, and the Dagger Man to Sky who then leaves him betrayed, and Wilder sets off on a quest for revenge. But this is where the story takes a wide turn and the questions of what is real and what is fiction take over. The characters are authentic, the voice is powerful and moving, and the twist is ground-shaking. Christopher Ragland and Katherine Fenton add a sympathetic air to the characters through their emotional narration. Fantastic all around.

It much can be said about this book without giving too much away. While the synopsis is one thing that really drew me in, it’s a bit misleading… in a good way. I had no idea what I was getting into.

I will ALWAYS gravitate towards books set in my home state of Maine, so the setting was a huge note for me. Also, I love books within books, so this is right up my alley. Add in this speculative supernatural thriller element that Catriona Ward always does so freaking well and I knew that I was going to love this.

Set in a coastal town, with this fantastically eerie atmosphere, a teenage Wilder meets two people who will alter the fabric of his world, knitting them all together. Later, when his story of his time in Maine is stolen and published by a close confidant, Wilder begins to plot. Not only a book, but how to get back at this boy who took his story. But that is kind of just the beginning, though by the time you, as the reader, reach this point, you start to see that nothing is as it seems. As you peel back layer after layer, page after page, you’re fully immersed in this strange story within a story.

I chose to listen to the audio along with reading the physical copy and I found it narrated to perfection.

Ward moves her brand of weirdness to the Maine coast, where author, Wilder Harlow is writing his last book, Based on his own past and the killer that terrified his community, Harlow returns to the town to help jump-start his memories. Instead, he sees things that cannot possibly be real, leaving him to wonder if he will survive the writing of his fictional memoir. Ward's books can be a little like string theory, interesting, but also very confusing if you look too closely.