Member Reviews

This is a locked room type thriller that introduces us to Nina, who just lost her father and found out that she inherited a home in the BVI that she didn't know he owned. We then learn about Maria who is hired to nanny for a wealthy family, and when she arrives at the home the client doesn't show up.
The premise of the story is unique, and I did enjoy the fast pace, as well as the alternating POVs and trying to figure out how the characters were going to connect, but I did find that the twists did get a little too far fetched for me.
Overall the story was enjoyable and I would recommend.
Thanks you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy to read and review.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Wow. This was a bit of a crazy ride. The first half had me a little confused trying to figure out the timelines going on with Maria and Nina. Then the electrician Joon was thrown in as well. Eventually they do all make sense and you are able to follow them along in this bizarre and twisted thriller where nothing is as it seems.
I felt the last 1/4 of the book was where I really couldn’t put it down and had to see how things ended for each of the characters.
A very bizarre book that would have left me a bit frustrated if it wasn’t for the ending.

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I could not put this book down! I read it in one sitting as I tried to figure out where the twists and turns were leading me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to enjoy this book.

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Upon the death of her father, Nina inherits a vacation home in the British Virgin Islands, a home she never knew existed. How did her father afford this modern home, and how didn’t she know about it? She may not like the answers she finds. Look In The Mirror is quite a book. with a totally unique and unexpected plot, a dual story to keep you off-balance, and enough suspense to have you furiously flipping the pages. Revealing too much of the story would ruin the fun, but suffice to say the plot goes where you least expect, and the claustrophobic atmosphere only adds to the uneasiness. This was a good one! I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Thank you to Random House and Net Galley for the digital ARC of this 5 star book! Fast paced and intense thriller that takes place in a gorgeous setting. My favorite book of Catherine Steadman’s so far.

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One of my favorite books of the past few years was the family game so I had very high hopes for this book. Although I didn't like it as much as the Family game the mystery and twists were all there and kept me on my toes. I just didn't want the story to end. I can't wait to get a copy of this book because the cover is beautiful

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Not my favorite from this author but all in all a decent mystery here. Stalled a little in the middle but was enjoyable still. Thank you NetGalley for this arc

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This is a tough one to review without spoilers, but I was thoroughly entertained and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good thriller. The author of "The Family Game" brings us another tale of twisted rich people shenanigans and this one is a doozy!

After Nina loses her caring, cerebral father to cancer, she receives a message that she's inherited a home in the Virgin Islands, a place she's never even heard her father mention. Her journey to find out exactly how and why he would have built a second home and left it to her drops her into the middle of something much darker and more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.

I enjoyed the alternating perspectives throughout the novel and the pacing was consistently compelling. I thought the storyline came together seamlessly and my jaw dropped multiple times while I was flying through the pages.

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Heart pounding thriller! You don’t even know what is happening until it’s too late! The story follows 2 women primarily as they try to figure out why there is a room in a house they are not supposed to enter. What could possibly happen if they just take a peek? A lot. A lot can happen.

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4.5 stars out of 5!

I really enjoyed reading this sinister book! It left me on the edge of my seat and I could not devour this quick enough. I have not read anything like this and thought the book had a great plot with well developed characters. It's perfect for fans of twisted, psychological thrillers. I was not expecting a lot of the twist and turns of the book and that end, wow! The story is told in multiple point of views so you really get a good idea on whats going on in the characters mind. Overall, I would highly recommend this book!

I don't want to give much away but, in Look in the Mirror, we meet Nina. Her father has just passed away but she ends up getting a call saying he left her a house in the BVI. She never knew her father owned the house which left her wondering about who her father really was. She ends up going to the BVI to check the house out and finds something shocking.

In another timeline we meet Maria who is a med school drop out, but currently a nanny for the rich. She gets an assignment in the BVI for a family with children that needs her for 10 days. She gets to the house and gets the tour from a lady that helps the family and then patiently waits for their arrival. A few days pass and still no one shows up but the lady insists she should stay and wait.

Both Maria and Nina figure out there is something sinister going on at the house. Read on to find out!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Look In The Mirror is about two women with seemingly unrelated stories. Nina, a British woman, has just learned that her father, who recently died, left her an island property in the British Virgin Islands. Maria, who works as a nanny for the rich and privileged, has just landed a nanny job at a beautiful island property with a pool and a sauna. The property Nina inherited is a smart house of sorts, with voice activated controls and a locked door in the basement that begs to be opened. Meanwhile, Maria soon learns that her family that is supposed to come will not be coming, and begins to enjoy her stay, until she finds the locked room in the basement. Catherine Steadman does a masterful job of weaving the two stories together, making the reader fit the story together like a jigsaw puzzle. I love her books because she creates such a unique and tense atmosphere every time. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

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I have read and loved all of Caroline Steadman’s previous novels, so I was very excited to obtain an ARC of her latest thriller, “Look in the Mirror.” It does not disappoint. In this novel, the main protagonist, Nina Hepworth, a 34 year old “literary academic” in Cambridge, England, is clearing out her father’s house in West London following his funeral. While at his house, she discovers a letter in his mail from a solicitor in the British West Indies which informs her that she inherited a house from her father on one of the islands there. She is surprised, because she and her father were very close and he never mentioned owning a second home, nor had she ever known him to leave England, much less live in the British West Indies. Moreover, although he was fairly well off financially, he was not extremely wealthy.

Her curiosity piqued, Nina allows the solicitors to arrange her travel to the islands to see the house for herself, hoping that it will answer some of her questions about her father. After arriving on Tortola, the solicitor arranges a helicopter ride to the remote island of Gorda, where she is astonished to see a modern glass house perched high atop a ridge overlooking the bay. The house has only one floor above ground, with two more below the surface. A locked door at the end of the lowest floor hints at further rooms hidden within. Alone in the house, Nina finds a note warning her to leave at once. Perturbed, she walks 35 minutes to the nearest house, begging her neighbor to let her in so she can find out more information about the house. Oksana, a Russian emigre, tells her that she never met Nina’s father, but she did see a lot of excavation when the house was being built and also saw one woman who seemed to live there for a time. Oksana gives her the name of the company that performed the excavation, and Nina takes a taxi to the harbor where the company is located in hopes of finding house plans that would provide information about the hidden rooms. However, the only available architectural drawing showed two rooms with an indication that there might have been more.

In an alternating narrative, Maria, a former medical student who has taken a break to earn money as a high priced nanny, has been hired to take care of two children of a single man, who will arrive on the island after she has had a chance to get set up there. However, several days pass without any sign of them. Finally, she relaxes and enjoys the amenities of the property, including indoor and outdoor pools, and a well equipped kitchen. The only provisos of her stay are that she can’t leave the property and she is not allowed into the locked room at the end of the hallway. This warning, along with the sudden unlocking of the door following a partial power outage, causes her to obsess over the mysterious closed door.

Both Nina and Maria in their separate narratives realize that something sinister is going on in the house, particularly in the hidden rooms. What each of them discover there will change their lives forever.

“Look in the Mirror” adds a unique twist to the “small, isolated island” themed thriller, and will draw the reader in as the plot becomes increasingly tension filled. I finished this book in one day because I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend this book to all thriller fans, particularly those who like exotic locales.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

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The beginning almost lulls you in and then this fast-paced book really takes off. Fans looking for a suspenseful and twisty psychological thriller are going to eat this one up. Catherine Steadman's books are hit or miss for me, but this one is a winner. The mysterious house and escape room narrative completely sucked me in. The two female leads are relatable and interesting and they pull the reader in. The author does a wonderful job of keeping the tension high. While the ending felt a bit abrupt for my tastes, it does wrap up the story in a satisfying way. This is a rollercoaster of a novel--super fast-paced, super twisty, super fun.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance e-galley; all opinions in this review are 100% my own.

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An escape room like no other, that you may not leave alive - do you have what it takes?

Nina's beloved father passes away and leaves her an island mansion she never knew he had. Her father was a lover of puzzles and the two of them shared this passion - but would the biggest puzzle he left for her be something she must solve after his death? And will it be the puzzle with the highest stakes yet?

Wow! I read a lot of thrillers, and this one was so unique - it kept me guessing and thinking about it in between reading! This is my second book by Catherine Steadman, and it does not disappoint! If you love thrillers, twists, and page-turners, this book is for you!

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Catherine Steadman can do no wrong! The Family Game is one of my all time favorite thrillers and Steadman’s next novel, Look in the Mirror, is equally as exhilarating.

Unlike The Family Game, this story is completely plot-driven. There is little to no character development, although you can easily emphasize with the characters and their plights. I loved this concept, more so because it seems all at once highly unrealistic and at the same time I have no doubt these types of people and places exist. It’s eery in that way. This story explores the human need to survive, shows how there are in fact good people in this world, and also highlights how dangerous money can be in the hands of the wrong people.

This story kept me on my toes. It’s extremely fast-paced and I could not put it down! The ending was shocking but also tied up that one last remaining loose end. It was perfect. If you’re looking for your average psychological thriller, this story is probably not for you. If you’re looking for an off the rails, fast-paced, unbelievable, can’t look away thriller, then I highly recommend Look in the Mirror as your next bingeable read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

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A nice light escape and a good beach. read. Nicely written. Good luck with the book and thanks for the opportunity to read.

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Look in the Mirror is a gripping psychological thriller that intertwines the lives of two unrelated female leads, drawing readers into a maze of lies, suspense and deadly escape rooms. The narrative masterfully navigates between the perspectives of the two women, whose paths converge within the confines of a mysterious house.

The author skillfully builds tension, which hooked me into the allure of the house and the secrets it holds. The fancy beach house serves as the backdrop for a series of hidden and deadly escape rooms, and lures the victims into a perilous game of survival. Their lives hang in the balance with each twist and turn of the challenges set in each room that are catered specifically to each player. With its face-paced plot, well-developed characters, and spine-tingling suspense, Look in the Mirror is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers. The ending left me eager to read more!

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This book was so good! I did not expect the plot to take the turn it did. I was held in suspense for most of the book which I enjoyed. The ending was a little strange and abrupt but I still overall really liked the book!

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Book: Look In The Mirror
Author: Catherine Steadman
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine
Pub Date: July 30, 2024

Meh. I was disappointed with this one. I found the storyline to be boring and I struggled to finish it. There was no hook….no motivation to read it. There was no real character development and I really never made any connections to the characters. There are two alternating stories and it seems like it takes the whole book to connect the two stories. It was hard to follow and the story didn’t feel worthwhile to have to work so hard trying to connect the dots. It was a miss for me but I enjoyed Something In The Water by this author.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is July 30, 2024.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️ - thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this early! I was so intrigued by the premise of this as I am a sucker for an island/vacation thriller so the idea of this was so promising! I really enjoyed the beginning, but lost a bit of that at around the 30% mark and then even more so at around the 60% mark. I enjoyed the ending, but something got lost for me in the middle? There was a lot of different perspectives, and perhaps that is what got me a bit muddled, BUT I would say this feels very Black Mirror-y to me, so if you enjoy that show, give this a try!

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