I really don’t know what to say about Look in the Mirror. Did I like it.. yes I think so. Was I confused for much of the time… yes I was. Was it nuts…absolutely. It was nothing like the book that I thought I was reading, but in a good way. If you liked The Family Game, you will love this crazy ride.

We read about 2 women in the same house on a remote island in the British Virgin Islands. Maria, a worker and nanny, and Nina, whose father built the house and has left it to her in his will. But this is no ordinary house. Strange things start to happen and both women fear for their lives.

It is a faced paced and shocking story that will keep you hooked until the very end.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Ballantine for the advanced copy to read. Publishes on July 30th.

This felt like a short story expanded into a wheel-spinning novel. It's alternately dull and absurd, with chapters routinely navigating away from the action to give us more introspection and questioning, until we arrive at an ending so out-there, so unbelievable, so silly that it almost didn't matter what came before. There are some likeable characters here (more Maria!) and the writing doesn't suck, but I just wanted the plot to make more sense and be more consistently thrilling.

There were a lot of elements of the Escape Room films, and it was very similar to Will Dean's The Last One (which I hated).

I was caught up in Look in the Mirror from the beginning when it became apparent early on there were two stories taking place centered in the same house. A suspenseful vibe is built at the expense of one woman trapped in the house and the other inheriting it. I frequently was brought to mind the movie The Game with Michael Douglas, which I loved.

Look in the Mirror could also be classified as horror-light. Suspenseful, and at times, propulsive, I ate this book up. I also love a book when you genuinely don't know who to trust and who will make it out alive.

My only caveat was the ending which was a bit chaotic for me, if not confusing. But the suspense and spooky vibe more than made up for that.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for an early e-copy. All opinions stated are my own.

Catherine Steadman writes dark, twisty thrillers. Her novels are well-written and entertaining and take readers to unexpected places. When this reviewer began reading Look In The Mirror, I thought the story from Nina's point of view was headed in a particular direction, but found sharp turns that led the book along entirely different paths. Maria's story led to equally surprising turns of events. Both women are thrust into life-threatening danger in what otherwise seems to be a peaceful island retreat.

The novel's seemingly disjointed cover art became clear when I realized the picture represents the overarching plotline perfectly. Nothing in this novel is as it seems at the beginning. I can't say more without spoilers, so you'll have to read the book to find out what happens to Nina and Maria on a remote spot in the British Virgin Islands.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing an advance copy of this book to read and review. This review will post to Bayside Book Reviews at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. Follow us! *NetGalley Top Reviewer*

[Snack-Size Review] Look In the Mirror by Catherine Steadman

Quick Bite: Solidly OK.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

What It’s About: Nina, grieving the recent death of her father, is shocked to learn that he owned a mansion in a tropical paradise. Maria, at another point in time, stumbles on the house’s horrific secret.

A Word From The Nerd: This book was good. Not great, not terrible. The characters were all right, and although it didn’t go exactly in the direction I was expecting, it relied on far too many tropes & cliches to get there. Mostly predictable, but enjoyable enough.

The Nerd’s Rating: The Nerd’s Rating: THREE HAPPY NEURONS (and some Morse Code water.)

This was another great thriller from Catherine Steadman. It was very suspenseful and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

If you are looking for a binge-read sit by the beach page turner, look no further than Look In The Mirror. I could not put this one down and the action was non-stop. At no point did I really know where the story was going, which made it unique and FUN.

We have two different characters, Nina and Maria and the whole time you spend trying to put the puzzle pieces together and figure out their connection. Nina, grieving her father, discovers he owns this secret, beautiful home in The British Virgin Islands and travels there to figure out what this is and why he hid it from her? Maria arrives to The British Virgin Islands working as a nanny in a secluded home that has plenty of amenities, as long as she doesn't enter the locked basement.

This story is fast-paced suspense, a puzzle that continuously unravels, short chapters that keep you engaged and (I'll admit) some far-fetched explanations, but overall I enjoyed this wild, unique ride.

I wish we got a little more information as the story concluded- a lot happened in the last 20% and I would've liked a more depth explanation after such build up, so landing at 4 stars for this one!

Definitely a great summer beach read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Catherine Steadman and Random House Publishing / Ballantine Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. Pub Date 7/30!

Genre: Escape Room/Mystery and Thriller
Publisher: Random House
Pub. Date: July 30, 2024

“Look in the Mirror” is a dark, escape room horror thriller. The story revolves around two seemingly unrelated women: Nina is a 34-year-old Cambridge professor who unexpectedly inherits a mysterious, luxurious house in the British Virgin Islands. In alternating chapters, we meet Maria. She’s taking time off medical school to save money by working as a nanny for the ultra-wealthy. When she arrives at their home, which is more like a vacation hotel, she waits for the two kids she will be babysitting to arrive. But as days pass and they’re still not here, she begins to enjoy herself and hangs out at the pool, overlooking the magnificent ocean views. There is a blurring between illusion and reality. The reader understands that both of them share a similar terrifying experience, but the reader does not know whether they are taking place in the same house or in an alternate reality. The premise is interesting enough; however, the far-fetched twists bothered me. Yet, not enough so that I didn’t want to keep reading to figure out what was happening to Nina and Maria. This is a good beach read if you don’t mind the creepiness.

This book was SO cool. It’s going to be hard to put together a spoiler free review. More than just your typical thriller. As a big puzzle person, this was right up my alley. Alternating between different POVs can be tricky, but it was done well and I was able to get invested in each of our main characters. Once the story hit 40%, it went WILD. I really enjoyed this one. The irritating people that expect every book to be “believable” will probably not like this one as much as I did, however.

Honestly....why are billionaires the worst?

Don't read any further if you don't want spoilers.

[
Nina is full of daddy issues. Maria is a survivior. Yang Joon-gi just wants to move to Miami. But they are all stuck in a SAW nightmare. Is this torture porn-y? A little. I've read/seen worse. Is there a point? Is there ever? Regardless, this is a story about a house and people who want to torture people.

That's it. That's the premise.

(hide spoiler)]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I loved “The Family Game” by Catherine Steadman, so to get her new one early was an absolute treat! This book was not what I expected in all of the good ways. She actually puts her hat into the horror ring a bit for this one, and I loved it.

This story is told from a couple of point of views, but mostly the story is told from the perspectives of Nina and Maria. Please be forewarned here - I’m giving nothing away in my review here - that would take the fun out of this one.

Nina just lost her father, and she is a university professor. She is lost in the world, and then she finds out that her Dad left her a beautiful vacation home that she knew nothing about. Maria is a former medical student, and is now a nanny to the super-rich. What could these two women possibly have in common?

This story is wild! I flew through the pages because I had to know how it all turned out in the end. Throughout this story I was scared, confused, claustrophobic, relieved at times, and always on high alert. This book is a puzzle to be solved and it was fun.

The house is a character all by itself. I love when that happens. This book is so descriptive and atmospheric. It truly is the perfect beach read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this one! It releases on July 30th. If you love puzzles, mysteries, and a little bit of horror, this one is for you. I highly recommend it!

The middle half of this book is great-- a really fast-paced mystery with lots of questions and surprises and mysterious characters. Unfortunately, it really fell apart in the end. As we're racing to the finish, suddenly everything stops and we're in the future, completely skipping the denouement. What the heck? I get that it's often the least interesting part of a book, and might feel like a waste of time and energy, but it's simply so unsatisfying to be taken through, moment by moment, only to reach the pinnacle and then get shoved out of the world. Also, small quibble but... every male character's name started with J. Very confusing.

I honestly could not get into this for the life of me, which is disappointing because I really like Catherine Steadman's books. It was just very up and down, hard to follow, and I was just confused. I do really like Steadman so I definitely will be reading her next book, but this one was not for me.

Definitely not what I was expecting when I read the synopsis. Nina is still reeling from the death of her father when she finds out he had a home in the British Virgin Islands that he never mentioned. When she goes to unravel the mystery of the house, she begins to receive notes warning her to leave. Maria, on the other hand, is a nanny for the uber wealthy, but when she takes on a weird client, she realizes that things aren't always what they seem.

While this book is pretty short, Catherine Steadman fit a lot of action into the book; however, I felt the ending was incredibly rushed and didn't give the reader a real resolution. There were a quite a few questions I had after finishing the book, that could've easily been flushed out more. I've enjoyed some of Catherine's other books, but this one was a miss for me. It read more as a locked escape room than a thriller, which I didn't love.

Thank you Catherine Steadman, Ballantine, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Look In the Mirror is another fun thriller from Catherine Steadman. The story is told from the point of view of three different characters who are all connected to the same house in the Caribbean. I thought that it was a fun locked-room mystery, but I also found the mystery to be a bit predictable. Overall, I would recommend this book as a fun light thriller.

Not sure if this book was really good or really unhinged - much like The Family Game. Look in the Mirror follows two main characters, Nina and Maria. Nina’s father has died and mysteriously left her a villa in the British Virgin Islands. Once she reaches the house, though, Nina realizes that all is not as it seems. Several months earlier, Maria was hired on a too-good-to-be-true nannying job at a villa in the British Virgin Isles and finds that it really is too good to be true. The story weaves between past and present, with both women fighting the same entity - the House: state of the art, full of mirrors, and seemingly sentient. Fast paced and at times terrifying, Look in the Mirror is a surefire thriller.

This one blew my mind, it did NOT go the way I expected at all! It’s hard to explain this story without giving out spoilers. I suggest going in blind and enjoy the ride! I will tell you what to expect. The book opens very intriguingly and you start coming up with theories about where it’s going. The suspense continues to build and takes you to places of complete and utter disbelief. I whispered “noooo” and “can’t be” to myself many times over. You will not understand what is happening until the ending chapters but it is a terrifying journey. Be aware that this story is over the top, but not completely off the rails. That’s what made it fun! At first the ending seemed abrupt but after thinking about it, I like how the author wrapped it up. Put this on your TBR if you love surprises! Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on July 30, 2024

This book was a chaotic and fun thriller set in the gorgeous British Virgin Islands. Nina inherits a house from her recently deceased father. When she arrives to see the place, wild things begin to occur. The story is told between two points of view, Nina and Maria, and that really kept the pace moving for me. I was interested to see how the plot came together. There is a twist at the end that definitely surprised me. I will say some parts of this story felt a bit intense (almost horror genre for me) but I don't think that will affect most readers. The pages fly by and keep you guessing! Thanks to Catherine Steadman, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Catherine Steadman serves up another intriguing mystery in Look in the Mirror. I've enjoyed every Steadman book I've read and have been looking forward to this one. I was glad to have had the opportunity to read it early via NetGalley. It's twisty, so I won't say much other than that it's a great read.

OKAY this book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! I felt like it was going to drag through the middle but it wasn’t enough for me to lose interest and thank goodness for that! This played out like a movie in my head that was SO good! Loved it! Definitely recommend!