Great summer mystery/horror read. Starts off pretty relaxed with a good mystery but the horror ratchets up as the story goes on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for sending me an audiobook arc of this title.

Looking Glass Sound is a hard book to talk about because it feels a bit like reviewing several books at once. It is a book about a book, but also that book is about a book. As a result, there are a lot of twisty layers at work, and honestly by the end so much of what we know or think we know has been called into question that it’s hard to say for sure which bits did happen in the story. Of course, part of the point seems to be asking us what makes up a story and how it is made up, so what did happen isn’t really the focus. The narrative begins with Wilder, Nat, and Harper and their youthful friendship in Whistler Bay, Maine. The characters are compellingly drawn throughout.
It took a while for Looking Glass Sound to take off, especially if you came to it for the spooky factor. It feels like it might be a coming-of-age novel for a pretty large first portion of the book. As the young people start telling ghost stories about a woman lost at sea named Rebecca (strong gothic throwback vibes here), it becomes clear that the novel will take a more sinister tone as it continues as we learn more about the Dagger Man of Whistler Bay. And then it gets even creepier from there…
I simply loved Christopher Ragland’s reading of House on Needless Street, but was less impressed with his voices for Nat and Harper in Looking Glass Sound. I thought both the accents didn’t quite work, although I’m no accent expert. However, as the book continued I eventually forgot about this problem since he stopped voicing those characters, and I remembered why I had liked his work on House on Needless Street so much. Katherine Fenton did great work.

Mind boggling, book within a book, psychological horror following a group of friends in small town costal Maine. There's a killer, a stolen manuscript, and a ton of "WTF is going on" moments. I'm a massive Catriona Ward fan, and while this was very different from her previous work, it had the same powerful tension and impressively layered storytelling. She is truly top tier weirdo author. If you're ok with being confused and willing to put in some brain work, they payoff is well worth it.

I was very thrilled to receive an ARC of this audiobook. I am a huge fan of Catriona's writing and this book did not not disappoint! She is able to weave amazing storytelling, thriller and horror all into one. A tale of three teens and how those bonds can last a lifetime. Very cool concept of how our memory works..

3.5 Stars

This story centers around three teens that form a bond during a summer in a small , coastal New England town. The trio are from very different worlds but are all struggling as they approach adulthood. This summer finds them facing danger and tragedy that will leave a mark on them forever. Years later Wilder, one of the trio finds himself back in Maine to write the story of that summer and the killer of Looking Glass Sound. He finds himself questioning everything and everyone including himself as he faces the demons from the past.

Catriona Ward knows how to weave an intricate tale that keeps you guessing and questioning everything until the last page. This one was the most detailed of her books so far. It definitely messes with your head!! I enjoyed it a lot but take your time reading it. There is a lot to unpack!! That being said as with all of her books it is best to go in without knowing too much and let the mind bending commence!!

The audiobook was perfectly narrated and helped create the perfect atmosphere for the story. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 🌟

#NetGalley #LookingGlassSound #CatrionaWard

This has to be my most fascinating read of the year so far. I started the audio while driving on an extended road trip and I was so transfixed with he audio and complex plot that I nearly missed my exits several times. Riveted from the opening chapter, this book is a JOURNEY. The opening coming of age plot line about three teenagers spending a summer together in coastal Maine was full of nostalgia, awkwardness, love, pain, and even revenge. Catriona captures this transformative summer with such nuance that I felt as is I was experiencing the summer with them. When their world is shattered the following summer with the uncovering of a serial killer in their midst, the book then morphs into something completely different and the teens and the serial killer’s victims families grapple with how their lives were changed by Whistler Bay. Some of the 2nd and 3rd parts of the book have almost a ‘fever dream’ quality to them making the reader doubt the narrator(s) voice or identify. If the reader is rushing through I could easily see how one might get lost. But if you proceed with care, your jaw will be hitting the flow as the book quickly reaches a conclusion. I loved it! The writing, the characters, the plot lines, and the lingering emotions after the book was finished. I’m still thinking about it and am forcing my husband to read it when it publishes just so I can have someone else to discuss it with; buy this book and add it to your book club list today!

Catriona Ward's Looking Glass Sound started off as a home run for me. Wilder and his parents go up to their late Uncle Vernon's house in Whistler Bay, Maine. There, Wilder meets two new friends, Harper and Nat, and he becomes enamored with them both. The town has been haunted by ghosts and the Dagger Man and Wilder and his friends get tangled up in mystery and murder and lives are changed forever. When Wilder goes to college years later he is still feeling the effects of what happened to him that summer. While in college Wilder befriends Sky, who helps him deal with his nightmares, but in the process steals something extremely precious to him. As the second half of the story unfolds, the story becomes more and more twisted and supernatural. It's hard to tell what is really happening and what's not. Ward's writing is outstanding, but my one warning would be you really need to pay attention especially in the last third of the story!

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward is intriguing and mysterious and well written, soooo well written! This story pulled me in immediately and I didn't want to do anything but read it. The prose were spectacular, the sequencing was perfect and the characters and plot points were well-developed. The audiobook narrator was great and the audio was clear.

This is my second book by this author with my first one, The House on House on Needless, being one of my favorite books. I can't wait to read more by this author and dig into their backlist.

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

I was really looking forward to this one after reading the author's previous book, and in some ways, it definitely lived up to my expectations. Looking Glass Sound retains the quirkiness and unconventionality of The Last House on Needless Street, which are it's best qualities. The ending felt a little forced and unnecessarily prolonged though, almost like the author was trying to see how many times there could be another layer of the onion to peel back. But still, definitely worth the read if you're a thriller fan.

I started this book really wanting to love it. Catriona Ward absolutely rocked my world with The Last House On Needless Street and pretty much her entire backlog is on my TBR, so when I got this approval I just about lost it. Unfortunately, this one fell really flat (and weird, and convoluted, and slow, DID I SAY WEIRD?!) for me. The synopsis also does it no justice at all - it only describes the last 30% of the book when our main characters are older, but the majority of the book is slogging backstory about their younger years together, then it switches to our main character Wilder falling in love with Sky who ends up stealing his book? It just gets weirder from there. It felt like reading 3 separate stories in 1 book and none of them were very compelling. I appreciate what the author was going for with themes of identity, who your friends truly are, do we give our creative works life when we create them? but I really just wanted a twisty tension-y ride like Needless Street, and this wasn't it. Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Tor Nightfire books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

I started Looking Glass Sound with some trepidation. After having had a lukewarm response to two of Catriona Ward's previous books, The Last House on Needless Street and Sundial, I was starting to think that her stories just might not be for me. But it appears that the third time was the charm, because wow: Looking Glass Sound completely blew my mind.

At its most simplistic, this is a story about three teenage friends and the summer they spent together in a coastal Maine town -- a summer that would send shockwaves through the rest of their lives. But really, that description is just scraping the surface; Looking Glass Sound is not an easy book to summarize, because nothing about it is straightforward. It's a book that ebbs and flows and evolves, morphing from one thing into something else completely.

Ward is writing at the top of her game as she plays with place, time, and metafictional elements while also telling a deeply heartfelt coming-of-age story -- a journey that includes loves, losses, betrayals, revenge, and ultimately redemption. Her characters and writing always feel off in some unexplainable yet fascinating way; she keeps the reader off balance because you aren't certain where she will take you, or what her characters will do, next. Looking Glass Sound is such an intricate story; the way Ward nestled all of the elements of her plot into the narrative is nothing short of brilliant. I always keep a list of quotes in my Notes app when I'm listening to an audiobook, and it wasn't until I'd finished reading and reviewed that list that I noticed just how many clues Ward snuck into her writing.

This is not lite reading; it requires patience and concentration from the reader, and even then you'll probably still feel perplexed and wrong-footed at times. But it all, brilliantly, comes together in the end. I listened to the audiobook read by Christopher Ragland (who narrated Needless Street) and Katherine Fenton (who narrated Sundial), and they both clearly have a feel for how Ward's work should be read. They completely captured the off-balance nature of the characters and the writing in a way that made this an immersive, riveting reading experience.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the early listening opportunity.

Thank you to Macmillan audio for the audio ARC of this book! The first thing I want to mention is that this book contains graphic descriptions of self harm and suicidal ideation. I hadnt really seen that mentioned anywhere before reading the book and I think it needs to be mentioned. I have read books with these topics before but this just really took me by surprise and did hinder my enjoyment of the book at some times. I think that trigger warnings should definitely be mentioned.

I really enjoyed the first half and was intrigued by the mystery of the Daggerman and the three teens the story centers around. However, I found the second half to be a bit repetitive and it fell a bit flat for me. I thought the twist at the end was pretty cool and definitely unique but it didn’t really click for me or give me that “omg!!! No way!!” moment like I hoped it would. I still will definitely read more from this author though!

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.

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 and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I thought I would like this book. The beginning reminded me of Stephen King. Kids bonding in a weird place. However, by the midway point I had not idea what was going on.

I'm a huge fan of Catriona Ward and her take on horror/thrillers. While I can understand why some people won't enjoy this, I found this to be so well written and wildly multilayered! I couldn't put this down. All the twists at the end of this book where brought together so well! I feel that (as like many of her books) this is better going in not knowing too much about the plot and going in blind.

Thank you Netgally for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Three young friends begin the story by discovering a dead corpse while on vacation, but the story quickly develops into a fever dream and a confusing identity switch between the creator and the creation, the author and the character, and the artist and the piece of art. Everything is turned upside down by Catriona Ward, and after a while I lost count of who was who.

This book! This was a "What did I just read?" book in the best way! I wanted to sit with it and let it sink in when I was done, and I wanted to start it over and read it all again. There are so many layers to this book, I'm sure I missed things that I would catch in a reread. All I can say is she's done it again, grab this book now!

I never want to hear the word frick again!

Last House on Needless Street was a confusing whirlwind that I became obsessed with and I’ve been chasing that high ever since. Little Eve and Sundial also entertained me. I was ecstatic when I was approved to listen to the audiobook for Catriona Ward’s latest book, Looking Glass Sound.

I don’t read book descriptions when I’m already in love with the author so I had no idea what the book was about. I really enjoyed the first half of the book. The town, Wilder and his friends and the Dagger Man were right up my alley. I honestly would’ve loved the book if the first half had been the entire book. I think more detail could’ve gone into the story and made it a great horror book.

But that’s not what Catriona Ward does. The second half of the book reminded me of Dawson’s Creek. Forever making a movie about his life spent trying to make a movie about his life. I found Wilder tedious and while I rooted for him at the beginning I fell out with him once he went to college. I listened to the audiobook and I hated Wilder’s use of frick. I just don’t know why anyone would use that word.

I feel like the story also unraveled at the half. Things became too confusing to tell what was really happening. And I get that the author likes to make us question our narrators but sometimes you just want to enjoy a story!

I’ll still continue to read her books because I find them interesting even if I don’t love the whole book. Thank you to NetGalley, Catriona Ward and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read/listen to Looking Glass Sound. I have written this review voluntarily.

This book ensnared me from the beginning and I loved getting to know the characters and the juicy mystery. It’s actually my favorite of Ward’s books. I really enjoyed the transition to college and meeting Sky. However, as the book got on in Wilder’s adulthood, it really began to drag. The supernatural elements did no favors for this book, in my opinion. The plot ends masterfully and I do feel a bit spooked and disturbed, which was the point of the story, so I would say the authors earned these four stars! Thankyou to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.