What a twisty, twisty book! I wasn't connecting with it at first, but I'm so glad I stuck it out. Every time I thought I knew what was going on the story would flip on me.
There are so many different kinds of relationships in this book and I can't think of a single one that was healthy.
Then that ending. Oh what an ending! So many loose ends. I loved it.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Going to keep this short because I didn't like it at all - and while I feel guilty about it, I just bring myself to finish this one. Having loved Ward's first book, I had high hopes. Wasn't sure I would like The Last House on Needless Street either, but something about it piqued my interest and I enjoyed how well - and how unique it was. This book just didn't interest me, nor did I like the writing nearly as much. After having read a number of Goodread reviews, including one that mentioned the torture & maltreatment of animals, I was inclined not to read it at all because that's one of several things I won't read about. This book may be for some people, but most definitely not me.

I am with the other readers who enjoyed The House on Needless Street and hoping this book measures up to intriguing cover, the premise and the hype. Let me assure you, this book does that and more! I loved the complex mother/daughter relationship in this book and the need to find answers for some semblance of normalcy. This was done in spades. I also liked all the twists and turns throughout and how the story kept me guessing and wanting more, it was not at all predictable.

Definitely a worthwhile read! I look forward to reading more Catriona Ward books in the future too. Thanks to Netgalley, Catriona Ward and Macmillan Tor Forge Nightlife for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available: 3/1/22

Having been enamored with 2021's THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET, I jumped on the opportunity to read SUNDIAL. I was not disappointed!

Rob and her cheating, despicable husband are doing their best to raise their two girls. However, Rob thinks that her oldest daughter, Callie, may be trying to hurt her little sister, Annie. As a few more suspicious events occur, Rob becomes more and more concerned, and decides to separate the two, by bringing Callie with her out to a desert compound left to her by her deceased parents. Once there though, events spiral out of control, until....well, I guess you'll just have to read this to find out!

Just like in NEEDLESS STREET, SUNDIAL holds most of its secrets close until the very end, just not quite as successfully. I thought I might have an inkling of what would happen, but I was only partially right. Because of Rob's personal history, I didn't care for her as much as I should have, but I had to admire her strength either way. The dynamics between all the characters were constantly changing; consequently my feelings for them were constantly changing as well. I love that.

The scenes taking place in the desert at Sundial were so vividly described, I could almost feel the dry, hot, days and the cool-then downright cold nights. To me, Sundial itself was a character.

I feel like I do need to point out that dogs play a large part in this story and what happens to them is just not good. If this kind of thing is a trigger for you, you might want to skip this one. I am not a fan of animal abuse stories, but the way it was portrayed here, it was not too much for me. Your mileage may vary.

Even though this book didn't touch my heart as deeply as Needless Street did, it was still cleverly constructed, well written, surprising, and included characters that were constantly in a state of flux. All of these things, to me, spell out a harrowing read and I heartily recommend it!

*Thanks to Tor Nightfire, for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!*

Thanks to the publisher for providing me an advanced ecopy of Sundial by Catriona Ward in exchange for an honest review.

I predict Sundial will be polarizing. Obviously from early review, many LOVE it. For me, I was totally engrossed in it, but struggled to get through it because of how dark it was. I read the author's last book, The Last House on Needless Street and felt the same way about it, though I think I slightly preferred it to Sundial.

What I didn't enjoy was Rob's relationship with Irving and her relationship with Jack. I also hated her relationship with Mia. For the second time in a row, Ward's books focus on potential evil in children, but while that is just one aspect, there was little reprieve from the pervasive animal abuse, interpersonal physical and mental abuse between adults and between adults and children. What drives the living creatures, human and animal to be the deadly rage monsters we see in the book? That story is interesting, though I was not entirely satisfied with the explanation.

I think many horror fans will like Sundial more than I did. I like a bit of hopefulness or levity to balance out violence and darkness and Sundial didn't really offer that. With that being said, I was hooked on the story from beginning to end as it is well written.

I will say you need to go into this blindly and read the events--past and present--as they unfold. The author is exceptional at creating complex characters that I didn't even dare to "guess" as to their motives. Any time I tried, something would happen to change my opinion almost immediately. The atmosphere and location (desert) of Sundial is so unique, and an important factor in the story. The contrast between Sundial and her home with Irving couldn't be more vivid.

I will admit that I was honestly "lost", as in I had no idea where the story would go, for most of the read. When things finally started falling into place, like an intricate puzzle--past and present--I was simply in awe of the author's writing ability. This was done so expertly that I didn't want to stop until I knew everything, yet at no point could I say that I felt I did.

I want to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.

Where to begin...for starters, just a warning to those who do not or can not handle ANIMAL ABUSE and CHILD ABUSE/DOMESTIC ABUSE and DRUG ABUSE. This may not be for you. While I was reading this, there were elements that made go look at others reviews to get a handle on what I was getting myself into and while I'm that type of person who absolutely gets affected more so by child and animal abuse, once I got the helpful warnings from others, I went back into the story with a better perspective and guard as I continued. Now, said warnings are also part of the plot so please keep that in mind.

This story definitely gives that creepy horror, psychological thriller vibe to it that makes you question what the hell is going on with every page turn. There are different timelines throughout and a few POVs happening as well as a story within a story but again, there is a point to this and it does give a better handle of what's happening the further you dig through the plot of this one. I will say, I felt there were some loose ends that could have been better tidied up and with the graphic nature of some of this, even with the warnings it was a bit darker than I expected. But this didn't change my opinion of the story. As matter of fact, considering the content was a bit disturbing, I also couldn't stop reading it because I wanted the puzzle pieces to fall into place.

Overall, I did enjoy this one. I may never pick this up again but that's just my personal preference on needing to reread or not. The story for the most part was interesting and considering this is my first time reading this author's work, I would probably try another from this author.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟✨ (Rounded up to Four)

So…. usually the horror genre is one that I don’t visit often. I enjoy creepy/scary occasionally, but there are so few that are done well, I usually just don’t bother. This one caught my interest when I got a copy from the publisher in my mailbox. The cover made me think of a kids book, but that was the wrong impression to have! This is definitely not a children’s book, or even a YA book. This is a creepy, scary adult book!

Rob is mother to Callie and Annie. She has deep concerns for Callie’s mental health and well being. See, Callie collects the bones of animals, and keeps them in her room. Her mother has caught her even talking to them. Rob and Callie do not have a great relationship, as Callie really has bonded with her father, Irving. Rob and Irving’s relationship is clearly strained, but (as a reader) we only see the strained relationship, in the beginning. As the story unfolds, we see the beginnings of their relationship.

This story is told from Rob’s perspective and Callie’s perspective, sometimes alternating. Rob’s stories are told in the “then” and the “now”, filling in the backstory of her history and setting the scene for the rest of the story.
Rob decides to take Callie to Sundial, Rob’s childhood “home” and where she grew up. She had an isolated lifestyle, with her only interactions being with her twin sister, Jack, and her father and step-mother. There are also brief interactions with the students that come to Sundial to study and complete university projects. Her step-mother also runs behavioral research on dogs while at Sundial. This part of the story unfolds in Rob’s “then” chapters.

Overall, this is a complicated, almost Gothic novel that I really ended up enjoying. I say it is “Gothic” in nature, because most of the creepy or “horror” parts of the story take place at Sundial, and I really felt like the house/compound was a character in the story too.
The writing style was important, and I liked the back and forth perspective of Rob and Callie. It really put you in both of their heads, and showed you Rob’s fear for her daughter, and it puts you into the head of Callie, which amplifies the story in the creepiest way!

Overall, I gave this story 4/5 stars overall. It was the right blend of creepy and horror, and would appeal to many different audiences. Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Rob begins to notice strange things with her daughter, they remind her of things that occurred in her hometown. Callie is worried about her mom, and when Rob takes them to Sundial, she worries that only one of them will leave the town alive.

☀️⏱🏜Sundial🏜⏱☀️
By: Catriona Ward

“It’s possible to feel the horror of something and to accept it all at the same time. How else could we cope with being alive?”

Rob is committed to living a normal life with her husband and two children, but she fears that her daughter, Callie, has a darkness to her, something that reminds Rob of the family she left behind. Callie is obsessed with the morbid, she collects bones, and she whispers to imaginary friends. But even more concerning? Rob worries that Callie may hurt someone, maybe even her own little sister, Annie. So she takes Callie to Sundial — Rob’s childhood home in the Mojave Desert — to make a terrible choice.

Callie is worried about her mother, who is acting strangely and offering unsettling past secrets. Why is her mother being this way? Will only one of them leave Sundial alive?

What did I just read? Ward has done it again and blown my mind. I loved The Last House on Needless Street. It changed everything I knew and expected about the horror genre. And yet, somehow Sundial does the same.

I may be totally making this up, but I thought I saw an interview with Ward where she said something along the lines of, “You can’t escape the horror of life.” And that’s this book in a nutshell — my potentially made up quote. Ward finds the horror in life and explores it.

Here, we have the unraveling of a dark, twisted family. I was equally riveted and disturbed by the terrors hidden in the eerie desert and dysfunctional familial relationships. This mysterious gothic horror unsettled me in ways much like Shirley Jackson did with her beloved tales. I wish I could tell you more, but Ward’s books are so hard to review without spoiling. Honestly, the less you know, the better. But I can tell you this — when I finished, I immediately wanted to read it again. Catriona Ward, you have a fan in me.

Warning: This book includes a lot of triggers, including child and animal abuse.

Many thanks to Tor Nightfire and Netgalley for the galley!

2.5 stars

An ominous, snail-paced crawl to the finish line with a lot of hidden horror and an ambiguously dark ending. This was interesting, but not really for me. (Take the star rating with a grain of salt.)

Concepts: ★★★★
Pacing: ★
Reveal(s): ★★★
Enjoyment: ★

First off, I'd like to say that my low rating is 100% tied to my personal feelings for this novel's content and my general reading experience. I think, like most horror novels, how we respond to content warnings and plot points are very much dependent on individual reader preferences—and it's hard to know what you're getting into without spoiling yourself to a book's contents. Sundial was one of those reads for me—if I'd known where the plot was going to go when I started reading, I would have passed on it. (For that reason, I think some people who aren't excited by the book's pitch but do like certain horror tropes would love this book. But they'll have a hard time learning that without knowing details beforehand. A conundrum that often exists in this genre. )

Rob's life as a suburban mom of two daughters looks great on the surface. Her husband has money and is respected, her job is stable and conservatively appropriate, and her two daughters appear to be beautiful and normal.

This is a horror novel, so I'll stop there with how things "appear" to be.

Rob's hiding behind several of her secrets, and her husband, Irving, isn't much better. Come to think of it, her oldest daughter, Callie, and her youngest daughter, Annie, also have their secrets. This is a family bound in their silence and (badly) hiding behind the cracks.

The façade is crumbling, and Rob's about to realize that there's nothing she can do to reverse the damage—it's time to do damage control.

And for Rob, the only thing that makes sense is to return to the start of everything—Sundial.

An isolated compound in the middle of the Mojave desert, Sundial is where Rob grew up. It's an odd place—almost cult-like—with more scientific experiments and death than most of us can imagine. Her family is bizarre, her upbringing strange. Rob's childhood and its secrets lay buried in the dirt along with the truth.

Rob grabs her oldest daughter, Callie, and flees to Sundial to fix the problem. (What is the problem though, exactly? Is it what Rob thinks it is? Is it was Callie thinks it is? Is it even what we, the readers, think it is?)

Told through split POVS, split timelines, and interspersed with story entries of a fictional world, one thing is true for this novel—the story is never solid.

Sundial is a very interesting concept for a novel. It takes many pieces from other stories, and its display of the truth/reveals held a classic "twist" flavor to it that made sense when looking at the entire novel from a bird's eye view. (In practice, it led to a very frustrating reading experience.)

As the reader, I was so frustrated by the stilted, distanced gaze. All of these characters felt like they were permanently behind a glass wall—sounds and pictures came through just fine, but I could never forget that there was a wall between us. I was so aware of the story being a "story" the entire time.

I also think that without foreknowledge of the ending, the entire first half of the book feels like a snail crawl. I didn't know what was happening, not enough action was carrying me through the confused intro stage, and I was so aware of the metaphorical wall between character vs. reader that my connection to the characters didn't exist. There was nothing tying me to continuing this story beyond the sense of duty I had as a book reviewer to complete my read of an advance reader copy.

Personal issues aside, I do think Sundial excelled in its sense of place and setting. The desert compound that the book takes its title from is grounded in gritty realities and horrors that felt as real and oppressive as a desert heat. The horrors within this book had a unique backdrop in Sundial's sense of place, and the animal elements were different than other horror novels I've personally read. The unique factor is strong here—genre readers will no doubt appreciate that.

I think all fans of horror should consider picking this up, especially if my cons don't seem like cons above... this is definitely an interesting and unique entry into a genre that is brutally exacting in its demands for new content.

Another winner from Catriona Ward!! This story was disturbing, uncomfortable and compelling. She has such a unique way of telling a story by feeding the reader tiny clues and guiding them through different points of view. There are numerous times throughout the book I thought I had everything figured out but I was very wrong!!
She has quickly become one of my favorite horror writers .

4.5 stars

Ghastly horror in the desert.

Rob and her husband are trying to hold their life together with their two daughters, Callie and Annie. It’s unfortunate, however, that soon Rob understands that the darkness is in Callie and knows she needs to take care of it. Rob goes to the place where it all began, a huge ranch in the Mojave Desert, her childhood home named Sundial.

I almost DNF this but I have a thing where I have to if I start. This was not the book ever meant for me. Too many huge triggers including animal abuse and really disturbing psychological stuff. Some of the book was actually slow and boring with this insert of a book that Rob is scribbling. The narrative flips back and forth in time and as the climax draws near, the expected twist appears. The ending was totally out there crazy. But I see from other reviews that this appeals to others in a way it never could for me.

Despite the fact that I don’t recommend this to anyone I know, I would like to thank NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the e-book ARC to read and review.

4.5 for SURE!

Disturbing, thrilling and edgy, i really enjoy Catriona's writing style! The way the she leaves little clues around in he background... some red herrings, some dazzling waypoints... magnificent! Absolutely one of my favorite voices in horror right now!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sundial didn't work for me, but I strongly believe that this is based on my own preferences as a reader rather than the content or quality of this novel.

From the synopsis, I didn't realize that Sundial was going to have such strong cult vibes, nor did I realize how difficult it was going to be for me to suspend my disbelief regarding the science mentioned throughout this novel. I was initially intrigued by Callie's character and Rob's history, but I felt so much distance from the characters and felt like this novel progressed so slowly that I quickly lost interest and struggled to continue. I can typically tolerate an open-ended ending, but after my experience reading this not having resolution was particularly frustrating.

I think that there are going to be a lot of readers who are more invested and disturbed the the content here in ways that keep them engaged and intrigued. Unfortunately, I just wasn't one of them.

Rob has two kids and a cheating, abusive husband. She takes off to Sundial, her childhood home with her oldest daughter Callie when she starts fearing Callie may have some serious issues. Once there she decides to lay her past of abuse, death, weird experiments performed on animals, and more out on the table for Callie.

This is my first book from this author and at first I wasn't sure about it. The first 40% of the book, was very slow and I had a hard time getting into it. Then it really took off for me and I found the rest of the book hard to put down. The characters are very unlikable and unreliable. They are all well drawn out, however and you see how the secrets and dysfunction of the past forms Rob's current situation. The boom within the book was jarring at first, but then you see how it begins to lead the story and I didn't mind it after that. Overall an enjoyable novel.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire, Catriona Ward, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

Sundial by Catriona Ward is a horror novel.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Macmillan-Tor/Forge and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Twin sisters (Rob and Jack), raised and homeschooled in the Mojave Desert, at a place called Sundial.  Their relationship is one of uneasy conflict, but based on love, which will forever link them.

Rob finally gets away from Sundial, and marries.  They have two children.  Life is not easy, but again, she is trapped.  Her husband is abusive, and her oldest daughter, Callie, seems to have a rather sadistic side to her.   Rob is reminded of her life Sundial.   She fears for her younger daughter Annie.

Rob sees only one option, so she takes Callie back to Sundial.  She has to figure things out, before things get any worse. Callie is beginning to fear her mother, and her fears may have some validity.


My Opinions:   
Okay, for those that know me, I have not yet figured out how to "give up" on a book.  This is the closest I've come in a long time.  First, I thought this was just another "poor woman in an abusive relationship" book, and I don't need or want to read those.  Then, I realized there was more to it, and it got a bit better.  Then, the animal science experiments started, and that almost finished me.  Lord knows I don't know WHY I hung on.

However, after a while, I found myself in the middle of a really good horror novel.  True, I didn't particularly like some of the topics, but it's not like the animals were beaten.  OMG, now I'm making excuses.  Anyway, the book covered dysfunctional families, and the love-hate relationship between sisters, and general family dynamics.  It questions the unconditional love of a parent.  It also looked into the "warrior gene", which supposedly causes aggression in animals and humans.

Another part that I had problems with was the "book" that the main character was writing.  That just added confusion and was not relevant to the plot.  I could have done without it.

Bottom line, I "eventually" liked the characters and the plot.  Then came the twists....oh and there were many, right up to the last pages.  WOW.  Without a doubt, I was hooked on a book that I started out hating.

This book will not be for everyone, as it is quite graphic, and quite disturbing.  I am a dog lover, and am rarely without one or two running around my home, so those parts were hard to swallow. I ended up looking past some of this, and ended up really enjoying the book. When a book can instill such vivid emotions in me, it's a good book.

Overall, it is a creepy, graphic, horror novel....and I am really happy I hung on!  I will definitely be following this author.   This one is going to stay with me for a while.  (It's a good thing I don't suffer from nightmares!)

Sundial is Catriona Ward’s latest psychological horror after publishing The Last House on Needless Street last fall (which I loved!), and it certainly does not disappoint.

Before diving into this review, I’d like to point out some content warnings for this book, including, but not limited to: child, spousal, and general familial abuse, animal cruelty, and general difficult subject matters. I was particularly bothered by the animal cruelty that largely affected dogs, so do be aware of that if it’s something that might bother you as well. This is definitely a tough read at times, but it’s one that I found equally riveting and left me constantly wondering what would happen to this odd array of characters.

Sundial follows Rob, a mother of two who has a somewhat buried past that has been haunting her in the years since attempting to leave it all behind. Her past becomes more and more pressing in her mind as her eldest daughter, Callie, begins to demonstrate some disturbing problems and tendencies that leave Rob feeling helpless and worried for her already somewhat fractured family. She decides to take Callie to Sundial, her family home in the Mojave Desert, in order to attempt to help them both get to the bottom of their problems before anything worse happens. I won’t say too much more in regards to the plot because I feel the less you know about Sundial, the more enjoyable the reading experience will be.

This story switches between two main timelines, that of the present day with Rob and her family, and that of Rob’s past growing up at Sundial with her tangled, unusual family. We also get occasional chapters featuring excerpts from a story called Arrowwood that Rob writes as a way, it seems, to come to grips with her past and express herself. I’ve a seen a few reviews questioning the purpose of these chapters, and I have to say that I agree in not entirely seeing them as a necessary component to this story. They were intriguing at first, but soon lost much impact and interest from me.

Sundial is filled with characters who are not very likable and all seem to be struggling with something dark and disturbing. It’s difficult sometimes to really get into a book when there’s not really one character whose side you want to be on, but I felt that Ward did a good job of creating a compelling enough story to keep me wanting to find out how everything was going to work out for each of these characters. I was particularly frustrated by the relationship dynamic between Rob and her sister, Jack, which felt compulsive and dramatic, but fit well with the unorthodox manner in which they were raised that likely would have left them with not altogether healthy relationships.

Ward’s writing is purposeful and expressive and does not shy away from making readers experience things as viscerally as her characters do. The atmosphere is eerie and dark, and the background of the Mojave Desert is the perfect backdrop for the events of this novel to unfold. I struggled to get through this one for some reason, and I think it’s because the pacing felt rather slow throughout most of the story, especially in the present day timeline once Rob and Callie reached Sundial. I understand this section was largely about Rob sharing her story with Callie and the readers, but it made the story drag a bit and I think made it a little bit of a slog through some of the more repetitive moments. Still, Ward’s prose is sharp and compulsive enough to keep me captivated by these messed up characters and even more messed up plot.

Overall, I’ve given Sundial four stars. I debated a bit on somewhere between 3-4 stars, but in the end I think I was intrigued and captivated enough by this story to warrant a 4 star rating. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys psychological horror, but do keep in mind the content warnings mentioned above and go into this knowing that it will not hold your hand through the difficult moments.

After reading Catriona Ward’s last novel, THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET (2021), I made a point to keep a steadfast eye open for any of her upcoming books. Fortunately for me and other fans of her work, a new release from Ward was announced for early this year. Ward has received high praise from acclaimed horror authors and reviewers alike, and with very good reason. The author’s twisting, high-tension psychological horror keeps the pages turning, and her intricately thought-out characters elicit a mosaic of emotions that’s difficult to articulate (in a good way). With her newest novel, SUNDIAL (2022), you get both of these qualities in spades.
SUNDIAL follows Rob, a wife and mother of two daughters, looking to escape her dark past by leading a normal life in the suburbs. When she discovers a familiar darkness in her oldest daughter Callie that includes playing with animal bones and whispering to unseen friends, Rob decides to return to her childhood home—Sundial—deep in the Mojave Desert. Rob and Callie journey into the desert together, both carrying their own secrets and unsure of what terrifying decisions lie before them. But whatever decisions they make, Rob and Callie share the same hope of protecting their family.

Ward masterfully builds suspense in this book. Once I started reading, it nearly hurt to tear myself away even for a short break. From the start you know something bad will happen very soon, but don’t know exactly when, how, or who will cause it. Each character seems to constantly teeter on the edge of violence with such subtlety that you feel like no one and nothing can be trusted, even your own gut. And the kids. One moment you think the pressure has died down, but by the next chapter you get the sense that everything is actually about to burst. This feeling of imminent danger, combined with the stark setting of the desert, creates a terrifying landscape that will pull you in.

As a fair warning, the tightly-wound tension that builds throughout the book does loosen a bit during some of Rob’s flashback scenes, which might feel like slow-reading to those who prefer fast-paced plots. But, I promise it’s worth sticking through it until the end. The details revealed in Rob’s flashbacks answer a lot of the lingering questions raised throughout the story, help us to better understand Rob’s past, and are so compellingly bizarre that, honestly, some may find them more interesting than the action-packed moments.

Like THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET, we also get characters that elicit feelings of both tenderness and unease. In SUNDIAL, Ward uses alternating points of view to share the thoughts of both Rob and Callie as they venture into the desert. Through their internal monologues, Rob’s storytelling, and Callie’s conversations with her “pale” friends, we learn that they don’t trust each other but only because they desperately want to protect their family. Alternating viewpoints may not be everyone’s style, and may feel disorienting at times, but for those who don’t mind it, Ward’s use of first person narration reveals chilling details you wouldn’t know otherwise.

It’s difficult to offer too much of a synopsis or deep dive into this book, although it’s tempting since there’s so much to unpack. But revealing anything more risks too many spoilers, and I do not want to take away from anyone’s weird, winding journey into SUNDIAL. Ultimately, this book reflects on the concept of motherhood, redemption for personal and generational pasts, and the question of how far you would go to protect your family. If you’re interested in these themes and enjoy psychological horror with complex family histories, creepy kids, and strange, isolated settings as well as feeling completely uncertain about whether or not you should trust any of the characters, SUNDIAL makes for an engrossingly disturbing addition to your to-read pile from a noteworthy author.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!

This book, while very gory, creepy and disturbing, was not scary, per se. There is some supernatural elements but it's mostly man-made horror- people doing terrible things to each other. I thought it was a great book