Member Reviews

Okay, okay. This book is WILD. I mean seriously this book will take you down one trippy read of your life! The whole time I was reading it I kept thinking what is going on?

Nina just lost her father and is in deep grief over his passing. To her compelte surprise, Nina's dad, has left her a luxurious vacation home in thr British Virginia Islands. But Nina can't quite understand how her father could afford such a luxury vacation home. Things start to get weird when mysterious notes keep popping up. As well as Nina discovering some pretty creepy things in the house.

Then we have Maria who is at a home to nanny for a family. But the family doesn't show up. She is told to make herself at home and enjoy all the amenities. But there is only one rule, do not go into the basement. Will Maria be able to resist temptation?


This was not what I expected at all! This was a pretty interesting premise. I normally would break down what I loved. But I don't want to spoil anything! 4 stars out of 5. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Was this review helpful?

I read this quickly. It was a thrill ride and made me realize I do not want a house this. I did sometimes wonder why Nina made some of the decisions she did.

Was this review helpful?

This book is a wild ride, and one that made me hold my breath multiple times as I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see what would happen next. This story is told from multiple perspectives, and from different timelines, which made it a little confusing at times, but I think in a good way, because it made me question again and again what could possibly be going on. The ending was really interesting and unpredictable. This is a fun thriller/mystery that I think everyone who is a fan of this genre will enjoy. Solid 4 stars!

Was this review helpful?

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. the entire time i thought i had read this already but figured it out when i was almost finished-it's very similar to steadman's previous book the family game but set at a beach house. it was a quick read for me, it was engaging enough.

Was this review helpful?

This was okay but I feel like I would enjoy it more as an audiobook. I just kept getting distracted. That is on me. I love a good weird book. Thank you for this!

Was this review helpful?

I am a huge fan of The Family Game by Catherine Steadman so I was jumping at the chance to read her newest book Look in the Mirror. This one follows Nina who has recently inherited a house that she had no idea existed and a nanny who breaks all of the rules unaware of the cost. If you've liked her previous works you're sure to enjoy Look in the Mirror.

Was this review helpful?

This is not my favorite by Catherine Steadman. This one kind of dragged a little to me. I look forward to see what she writes next!

Was this review helpful?

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Look in the Mirror is a strange book. We follow two women who are somehow connected. We have Nina who recently lost her father and she inherited a house that she had no idea about. She travels to this house a finds some weird stuff. Maria is a different woman who was hired to be a nanny at a mansion. While there, she is told she can do whatever she wants but she can't go into the locked room in the basement(surprise, guess what she does). When the clients never show up, she starts to wonder what is going on with the house and things quickly go downhill. We have some other characters sprinkled in as well.

I gave this book two stars instead of one because it did intrigue me and I wanted to find out what was happening. The writing was pretty good and I would probably check more out by this author in the future.

This book was just so far fetched for me. It just kept getting worse and worse for me as I went on reading and a lot of it just didn't make sense. The characters were also just dumb to me. A lot of their choice had me shaking my head. I also didn't like the conclusion or the reasoning behind the whole mystery.

While I appreciate the author trying to be unique, it was just too far fetched.

Was this review helpful?

Nina is grapping with the fact that her dad has passed away, leaving her everything. She's on sabbatical from teaching so she can take the time to piece her life back together having lost the only family member she's ever known. Or at least she thought she knew him? Shortly after a firm reaches out to tell her her dad had a secret house in the Caribbean and she's now the sole owner, but she never knew of this secret house. As she goes to the house, it's not all as it seems and there's a secret room downstairs. Once inside the secret room, there's no telling how, or if, you're going to get out.

While I loved the concept of this book, I think a lot could have been fleshed out more. While it wasn't all explicitly said, and a lot of was "read between the lines", I think we could have done with more details. If you liked Squid Games, you'll like this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

Nina has recently lost her father and is the sole beneficiary of his modest home. But then she is contacted by a solicitor that her father has another luxury home on a remote island in BVI. When Nina goes to check out the property, she is startled by how large it is. She immediately asks for blueprints and is ready to tour the house. But something is very strange about this place. It is stocked with all her dad and her favorite foods. But as she explores the home, she realizes that this is a very unusual house, left with clues by her father and possibly even dangerous.

The premise to this thriller is certainly unique. I can’t say more without giving spoilers. I didn’t quite understand the necessity of one of the parallel storylines, though. All in all, it was a quick page turning read.

Thank you to @netgalley @ballantinecorp for a #gifted advanced digital copy of this novel.

Was this review helpful?

This fast paced thriller made for a quick and enjoyable read. Highly enjoyable even if the ending was a bit over the top.

Was this review helpful?

What a crazy ride. I can’t stop thinking about this one. I am not sure if I liked it but I respect it. It kept me on edge though and I had to keep reading. The crafting was well planned. I would say it is best to go into it without knowing too much about the story. The Family Game was much more twisty.

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of the book as it had a consistent WTH is happening, that kept me wanting to read more. I felt that the last part was rushed and needed more twists maybe? It was entertaining and I really didn’t have a clue what would happen or how it would all come together.

It is an extremely fast paced thriller and I will read more by this author.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this one - I loved the twist of the game. I loved how we didn't know what was going on from each perspective we were in. This was great

Was this review helpful?

A classic thriller bolstered by settings to which I have a personal connection, LOOK IN THE MIRROR entertained me and made me roll my eyes in equal measure.

We’ve got two female protagonists: Nina, who while grieving the loss of her father discovers that he (and now she) owns a house in the British Virgin Islands - a location she’d never even known him to visit. Then there is Maria, an ambitious medical student taking a pause from her studies to build up her savings working as a nanny to the super wealthy. When she takes on a temp job and the family never shows, she’s left with too many questions and too much time on her hands to investigate.

I’ve read two of Steadman’s previous thrillers, one I *really* didn’t care for and one, THE FAMILY GAME, that I thoroughly enjoyed for its’ marriage of plot and family dynamics. I was hoping for more of the same in LOOK IN THE MIRROR, but unfortunately the family dynamics very much take a backseat to the plot in this one.

Speaking of, the plot is entertaining — I was always glad to have a moment to read and it is well paced. But, I ended the novel with the same complaint I have about many thrillers: it veers from the realistic to the ridiculous as the story progresses.

The setting was a fun surprise! I don’t usually read the synopsis before reading a novel, especially in thrillers, so was delighted to find this one set on the island where my husband and I honeymooned. I loved the opportunity to flip through my photos from our time there and daydream about drinking a Carib on the white sand beaches (swipe for a few of my favorite snaps 📸). There was also a coincidental and brief mention of my college town where I met my husband 🥰

Overall: I picked this one up during a busy work week to keep me company on commutes. It absolutely filled what I was looking for, but isn’t one that I’ll be thinking about or returning to long term.

If you want a short, sweet, and action packed thriller, it could absolutely be your ticket! Thanks to @ballantinecorp for my e-ARC — this one published on July 30th and you can find it wherever books are sold.

Was this review helpful?

extremely unique thriiller by Steadman that kept me guessing at every moment and elicited so many shocked gasps you have no idea

Was this review helpful?

I've read another book by Catherine Steadman that I really enjoyed so I was excited to pick this one up! If I'm being totally honest, I wavered between 3 stars and 4 stars and I didn't really know where to land. I loved that this took place in an inherited home in the British Virgin Islands. The story bounces between two main voices, with different timelines. This was a fun ride, it kept me engaged, but it wasn't my favorite. I did love the mystery of the house and the basement. Definitely kept me wondering!

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

3.5 rounded down to 3.

Look in the Mirror is a psychological thriller with dual POVs. We have Maria and Nina as our lead characters. I can't say too much without giving the entire plot away. Both women find themselves on a Caribbean island, in very different circumstances, but both facing a strange basement situation. The question you'll ask from the beginning is if these two women are connected in some way. It will all be revealed in the end.

I've heard people say they thought this book is unhinged and crazy, but I didn't think that at all. I actually thought it was a bit flat, with a somewhat predictable storyline that's been done before.

Was this review helpful?

This book really intrigued me at first, but it seemed to fizzle out at the end. I wasn’t a fan of the timelines between chapters being so out of order, but I did like that each chapter was from a different character’s point of view. I thought the ending seemed rushed. I would have liked to rate this a 3.5. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC

Was this review helpful?

After Catherine Steadman's last novel, I was so excited to read Look in the Mirror. I am generally drawn into multiple POV and books with questionable/mysterious timelines and connections, so I was a fan of this novel very quickly. It absolutely drew me and had me wondering where it was all leading. Overall, I gave it 4 stars as a really enjoyable read that I would recommend to others. Thank you for the opportunity to read this advanced copy! I will always be excited to read this author's work!

Was this review helpful?

I wanted to love this so much. I loved the setting. The house was so descriptive, I felt like I was in the house with them. Unfortunately I think the storyline jumped the shark and became so unrealistic and over the top that it lost me.

Was this review helpful?