This past Christmas a good friend introduced me to Catriona Ward by way of The Last House on Needless Street. She gave me the book, said don’t even bother to read the blurb just jump in, you’ll love it. I did as instructed…and she was right, I did in fact love it. If you haven’t read it yet I encourage you to rectify that immediately.

Now the question begged to asked, had my friend just introduced a new author to me that I’d be enjoying for years to come, eagerly awaiting every new release or was Ms Ward and Needless just a one time thing, a shooting star to admire and enjoy for all to brief a time. Well thanks to Macmillan/Tor Nightfire, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an eARC of Sundial I can safely say that Catriona Ward is by no means a one hit wonder.

Sundial is in-freakn-credible! It touches on so many levels, addresses so many things: ghosts, domestic abuse, insanely dysfunctional families just to name a few things. I don’t even know where to begin. I’m going to be very vague here because I don’t want to spoil a moment of this story for anyone. Trust me you want to go into this one knowing as little as possible, to experience it all completely fresh. From a distance Rob may appear to have a wonderful life, a job she loves, a husband, and two daughters, but close up things aren’t so rosy. Things at home aren’t great and after … an incident (I told you’d was going to be vague!) she decides that it might be best (and safer for everyone) if she takes a little trip with her oldest daughter. Where to? To Sundial, her childhood home out in the Mojave Desert. Let’s just say this place has a rather dark history and going there is perhaps not the best decision. And that’s all I’ll say, because I refuse to spoil this experience for anyone.

Once I started reading Sundial I couldn’t put it down. Catriona Ward weaves an incredibly atmospheric, disturbing, and downright delightfully creepy tale that had me mesmerized from start to finish. Ladies and gentlemen she is the real deal and I look forward to reading her work for years to come!

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sundial-catriona-ward/1139211802?ean=9781250812681&bvnotificationId=9201a372-99af-11ec-a38e-0a163fbb05b3&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/202453114

This book made me dream of the desert. This book has cracks and layers, like pale sand and red canyons. This book has switchbacks and crossroads, and there's a devil at each. This book is about many things, and it will try to eat you alive. Let it.

Sundial was creepy from the start, but I never expected it to take all the wild turns that it did.

This is a very trigger heavy book with many references to animal cruelty and domestic violence so please be warned of these before you read.

There's no way to describe this one other than weird. The first half of the book is a bit of a slow burn. There's a lot of character development going on here to set the stage. Despite the slow start, I still enjoyed this portion.

The second half of the book is literally explosive. Everything builds in intensity and drama. I never expected the twists, and there are multiple.

I also really enjoyed the desert setting. This added an extra level of eeriness and created a feeling of desolation.

There's an overall theme of family dysfunction and escaping your past. Can you overcome what's in your blood?

Trigger warnings: Animal abuse/death, domestic/child/sibling abuse, drug use, graphic depictions, miscarriage, self-harm

Plot:
There is nothing that I can really say about the plot without giving away too much. And trust me when I say this is a book you want to go into knowing as little as possible. Because of this, I will be very vague and this section may be a bit shorter because I don’t want to spoil anything! I don’t know what I was expecting when I picked up Sundial, honestly. I was initially drawn in by the cover (how could you not be, it’s absolutely stunning!) and the synopsis sounded interesting enough for me to want to give it a shot. Man am I glad I did because it’s easily one of my new favorite books! It’s basically a mother daughter trip to the desert on acid; I don’t know if there’s really a better way to describe it. It’s so twisty and at times uncomfortable but the way that things unfold is absolutely genius. There may be times that you have no idea what’s happening and may think that what you’re reading has no relevance to the plot, but you’re wrong. Everything is related and nothing is what it seems. This plot was executed masterfully and I understand that everyone will have a different opinion about what happens and how the story is written, but I was hooked almost immediately and I don’t think I’ll ever stop singing the praises for how fantastic this book is!

Characters:
I’m not sure where to even start about our cast of characters. Rob was easily my favorite unreliable narrator I’ve ever read from. I had so much sympathy for her right from the start because all she is and has been trying to do is be a good mother to her daughters, even if one of them hates her. She has so much love for her girls and only wants to do what’s best for them, no matter the cost. It feels weird to say that I loved finding out more about Rob’s incredibly strange backstory but I really did. I enjoy seeing why characters are the way they are and I can’t say more about Rob’s story without giving things away but just know it was insane. At the end of it all, I love Rob and her story and the love that she has for her daughters.

Callie is our other narrator and her story is also pretty crazy. Getting to read some of the events of the story through a child’s eyes made everything feel so much more real. You get to see things how Rob sees them but also how a child perceives them, which are two different things. I think it really adds to the story having some parts told by Callie because you can never really know what’s really going on between her and her mother. Who is telling the truth? Are the events that are occurring really happening this way, or is it the perspective that is shifting how things are unfolding? I don’t normally enjoy multiple POV books, but Sundial did it in a way that made the story that much more interesting for me as a reader. Just know that Callie is fantastic and so is Rob.

There are other characters in this book but I don’t want to talk about them because spoilers and I’m afraid to give too much away! But the other characters in this book were just as strange and unreliable as you can imagine. It made things so much more eerie for me because the characters just never feel right but they justify their actions and words in a way that makes you feel like it should be right. The cast of characters really give this book a distinctive feeling that you’ll definitely remember long after you finish reading!

Writing:
The writing was probably my favorite part of this book. I will say I did initially struggle with reading this and I think it was because of the writing. But once I really got into the style and how unique it is, I didn't want to put it down. It's something that takes getting used to, that's for sure because it feels like it's overly flowery or just plain weird. But I honestly think that this was done for a reason, to give almost an uneasy feeling and show that Rob may not be the most reliable narrator. There's a constant sense of "Can I trust what I'm reading?" but it's not overly obvious. You just constantly feel strange when it comes to the story that is unfolding in front of you, almost like there's an itch that you can't scratch but you don't know where it's at. Some people may not enjoy that but I love that it adds tension to the experience! This is such a unique writing style, as I said above, and it's probably one of my new favorites to read. I had so many moments where I was confused and uncomfortable and wanted to know more and I love that I could get so many feelings while reading this book. There were several quotes that when I read, I felt if that makes any sense. Almost like something in my soul was like "Ah yes, this." And I know that sounds cheesy, but I really did love the writing and these quotes that I came across while reading.

"I don't know what it's like for other people but love and nausea are often indistinguishable to me."

"Living is enough. It is so intense and painful."

"It's cold inside the MRI machine. Narrow, cold, and full of noise like ghosts knocking on your coffin."

"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?"

"It's these little details between people that sometimes seem to spell the future when you look back on them."

"Everyone has one story that explains them completely. I thought I knew what mine was. I was wrong- I am in it, here and now. This will be the choice that defines me. The decision tree unfolds before my eyes, the terrible fruit at the end of each branch."

"Everything comes around the dial in the end."

As I was reading the end of this book, I found myself absolutely bawling my brains out. It felt like a strange reaction to have honestly, especially with the events that are occurring during the finale, but I was just so overcome with emotion and seeing everything that I had read throughout the book come together all at once. Crying while reading is a rare occurrence for me, so that’s how I knew that I had found a book to add to my all-time favorites list. It actually made me text my mother to tell her I loved her, that’s how much this book affected me!

Something about this book just spoke to the weirdo in me. Sundial is one of the craziest books that I've read in a long time and it was such an enjoyable experience. It’s not going to be a book for everyone, but I was absolutely the target audience. With a twisty plot, unreliable characters, and a writing style that will make you both enthralled and uncomfortable, Sundial is easily the best horror book of 2022.

I can honestly say I've never read anything like it. A strange mix of dysfunction, genetics and abuse. I just finished reading it and it is a whole lot to unpack.

The TWs are endless...animal abuse and murder, murder,physical and mental abuse, drug use, child abuse, marital infidelity,miscarriage, animal experimentation... and I'm positive I forgot some.

The story itself leaves you with a "What the hell did I just read" taste in your mouth. I guess the ending was good(question mark). Yet it was a violent end to a turbulent and violent story.
I feel like I've been in a drug induced nightmare. It is so much to take in, so much information, so many emotions and twists.

I don't know if this author is absolutely brilliant or mad... maybe both. I loved her debut novel... but this one, well I didn't hate it, and there were parts I enjoyed. But I honestly think it's going to take my brain awhile to work through all that happened here.

I give this 4⭐ cause I think I have to. Yeah, this one messed with my head.

“𝑰 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒆, 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆’𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔.”



This book is told in 1st person POV of Rob in present time, Callie in Present time and Rob from the past. I absolutely loooved the now and then flashing back and forth in his book. I also really enjoyed the overall story and the writing was so beautiful and descriptive. This book is extremely unique with many twists, which is becoming typical Catriona Ward writing and I am here for it. This 2nd five star book from her has put Catriona Ward on both my favorite and auto-buy author lists. The ending of Sundial left me hanging and wanting more but damn did I love it. This is a great psychological horror. I will say it again, Catriona Ward is a genius. This is a disturbing yet overall brilliant book. Highly recommend!



⚠️TW: animal death, animal experiments ⚠️



Thank you to @netgalley and @tornightfire for both an egalley and a physical ARC of this amazing book. 🖤

Much as the cover suggests, this book is creepy and twisty as heck. It’s an exploration of nature versus nature and the fears parents have about passing their trauma on to the next generation.

“I have the familiar growing sense that always fills me at Sundial: that this is the only real place on earth, and the rest of the world is a kind of dream.”


From the outside, Rob’s life seems idyllic. She’s a teacher and the mother of two girls, 9-year-old Annie and 12-year-old Callie, while her husband Irving is a professor. But an incident at home leads Rob no choice but to take Callie back to her childhood home deep in the Mojave desert. At Sundial, Rob must confront the specter of her own childhood and its implications for her children. Is history repeating itself, or is something much more sinister going on?

“Kids are mirrors, reflecting back everything that happens to them. You’ve got to make sure they’re surrounded by good things.”


There’s very little that I can say without revealing much of the plot – or what you think the plot is. A large focus of the book is on childhood, about how things aren’t what they seem, about how what you thought happened as a child was not, entirely, the truth. The book is mostly from Rob and Callie’s viewpoints, starting with both of them in the present and then gradually adding in chapters from Rob’s past, which start from when she’s seventeen. Callie’s chapters are absolutely amazing. At twelve, she’s much younger than Rob was, but she also has a unique view of the world, and in some ways, a more clearer and adult view. There’s also a few book-within-a-book chapters, a story that Rob is writing along the lines of one of those classic English girls’ boarding school books. But as the chapters progress; it’s clear that the narrators aren’t telling us everything, and you’re left with the deeply unsettling feeling that something is very, very wrong. Even with all the twists and turns, the story is fairly linear and was nearly impossible to put down once I started it.

While I include content notes below, I’d also like to call out specifically that there are a lot of content warnings for this book, especially around animals and dogs specifically. I never felt like it was gratuitous, and certain aspects of the story made it feel sufficiently fictional that it wasn’t too overwhelming for me.

Overall, this was a creepy read about childhood and how that affects us as a parent with plenty of twists to keep a reader completely engrossed. I’ve already added the author’s previous work to my TBR!

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Wow! I have to say after the Last House on Needless Street and now Sundial, Catriona Ward is one to watch! I have added her to my “beg the publisher for a galley” list. This books is so surprising. The desert setting, the dark activities there are so intriguing. The characters are *unforgettable*. The plot is unhinged. I was riveted throughout. This is not your typical story. Give it a shot!

I can't count the times my jaw dropped when reading Catriona Ward's Sundial, a seemingly domestic drama of a novel comprised of secrets between mothers and daughters, the fierce and fearsome bonds of sisterhood, and the visceral, chilling effects of generational trauma.

Rob, a suburban housewife just trying to live a normal life despite her toxic relationship with her odious husband, senses with growing horror a chilling and evolving darkness and in her eldest daughter, Callie. Desperate for a solution for her child with whom she struggles to connect and doesn't actually even like very much, Rob journeys with Callie to her childhood home, Sundial, in the middle of the Mojave desert. Shocking secrets are revealed gradually, nothing here is as it seems or as you expect, and once you think you've got the story straight, your expectations are subverted and turned upside down and inside out. This is an intensely brilliant, breathless tale that kept me guessing right up until the end,

Sundial by Catriona Ward is a novel that has a bit of psychological thriller and horror mashing them together to become psychological horror. The story is told mainly by one point of view but with others here and there and with some flashing back to the past.

Rob married her wonderful husband and has her two beautiful daughters but all has not been well with her family. Rob’s daughter, Callie, has begun to show signs that something is wrong so Rob packs Callie up and heads out to Sundial in the Mojave Desert where Rob grew up. Rob hopes that she will be able to figure out why Callie has begun to do things like collecting animal bones and trying to hurt her sister.

Last year I picked up The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward and really enjoyed it so I had high hopes for Sundial. Unfortunately for me this one didn’t hit me the same way which was a little disappointing. The horror is still there and there were still some twists and turns which should be thrilling but I just didn’t connect to the characters the same way. The author is very creative when it comes to her brand of horror so despite really loving this one and thinking it was just ok I would return again.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Happy publication week to Sundial by Catriona Ward! Thank you @tornightfire and @netgalley for my advanced reader copy!

“You can’t escape what’s in your blood…”

After reading The Last House on Needless Street I knew that Catriona was going to be one of my new favorite authors. Sundial completely confirmed my suspicions.

Sundial is subtly creepy and the full extent of how creepy it is won’t hit you until you finish it. Told in alternate POVS Rob, Jack, and Callie tell the story of Sundial and what is in their blood.

I loved Callie the most. Her perspective on what was happening was great and I loved seeing it through a child’s eyes. It also made me dead for her future and what may happen to her after the end of the story. I am still thinking about this book!

Dumpster Puppy was also a favorite of mine. I mean who doesn’t love an adorable ghost puppy 🐶

I got Verity vibes from this book so if you LOVED CoHos Verity I would give this a try!

Review of Sundial by Catriona Ward

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yesssssss. Finally a five star read. I had an overall dismal February for reading and this book was the answer to my prayers. I stayed up way too late finishing it last night because there was no other choice. Literally. I loved Needless Street so much and this one has passed all my expectations for the next book. @catward66 I want to be your best friend so bad. This book is terrifying, wild, crazy, unexpected, and every other amazing adjective I can think of. Horror lovers must read this and thriller lovers as well. The ending 🤯

Quick synopsis: Rob grew up in very unusual circumstances in the desert at a home her family called Sundial. She was eager to leave when she left for college and is now married with two children. She is becoming increasingly concerned about her oldest daughter, Callie, who collects bones and talks to imaginary friends. It reminds her of things she saw back at her childhood home and decides to take Callie to Sundiak where she hopes to make everything right the best way she knows how. But there she learns far more about both her past and her present than she ever bargained for.

A huge thank you to @netgalley, @tornightfire for the advanced copy. It’s out now so go get it this very second.

This book was one plot twist after another! I found myself saying “well I didn’t see that coming” every other chapter.

The character development in this book was fantastic. Rob, her family from Sundial, Irving, and their daughters were all equally unstable and intense characters. Part of me despises all these characters but somehow I’m still rooting for them? I mean the fact that rob actually enjoys cinnamon candy tells me all I need to know about her. I was questioning her every move but found myself going oh okay I guess that’s reasonable after reading about her dark & upsetting backstory.

Carolina Ward painted a perfect picture of the gorgeously haunting Sundial landscape. I could really picture every detail of their family home & the disturbing events that occurred there. Something about the combination of the dog farm, cultish hippie parents, & scientific laboratory in the desert made everything twice as unsettling.

The only thing I found odd was Callie “talking in emojis”, she has such a mature inner dialogue so I felt the emojis seemed unnecessary and a bit out of place.

I am definitely adding more to books by Carolina Ward to my TBR pile. Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC!

Just didn't get it..this book.started off weird and just continued to get weirder. For me was really hard to get into. The wording and writing style for this book was just not for me.
Loved the last house on needless Street from this author...I think I was expecting this to be just as good. Sadly fell flat for me.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

The Last House on Needless Street was one of my favorite books of 2021. I was excited to see Ward had a new book out so soon.

Sundial involves a with a few issues, Rob loves her daughters but she knows her husband, Irving, isn't completely faithful. She doesn't leave because of the kids. Right? Callie is the oldest and she seems troubled, Annie is the youngest and Rob worries about how things effect her, even how her sister treats her.

So Rob takes her oldest daughter away to her childhood home of Sundial. The demons of her childhood threaten both Rob and Callie as they face her past and her future.

It's hard to describe all that goes on without giving away too much, but I stayed up late the past two nights to finish this book. The complicated family ties, the haunting past, it was twisted but a thrilling horror ride.

Nothing and no one is as they seem.

Wow! Even after reading The Last House On Needless street, this book was so much better than I could’ve hoped it to be, and I clearly need to start expecting more when it comes to Catriona Ward’s books. Not unlike the Last House, Sundial opens up the lives of its characters for the reader and draws them repeatedly. The characters seem to be average on the very surface until Ward starts to unravel them to the core revealing the sinister truths boiling just below the surface. This story is beautifully written and takes the reader on a journey of psychological warfare weaved around a secret past sure to keep them on the edge of their seat. Sundial is deliciously dark and twisted, and I absolutely loved it! I cannot wait to see what is next.


Voluntarily reviewed after receiving a free copy courtesy of NetGalley, the Publisher, and the author, Catriona Ward.

Chilling! Thrilling! Sundial is a genuinely frightening tale of a family gone horribly wrong. If everyone around you is mad, is the best response to go mad yourself?

Rob is worried. Her daughter, Callie, is acting strangely. Her husband, Irving, is cheating on her…again. Unfortunately, Rob can’t divorce Irving because he knows her family’s history and that knowledge ties them together like a noose. After Callie tries to poison her younger sister, Annie, Rob makes a fateful decision. She and Callie return to her family’s abandoned campground in the desolate Mojave Desert. There the truth will come out in all its hideous glory.

Sundial is truly terrifying—especially when read alone in the dark. While its plot is on the surface a psychological domestic thriller, it is also a powerful and all-encompassing horror tale. But its monster is a genuinely surprising twist. Even though, or maybe because, I still have the shivers, Sundial is my new favorite horror novel. 5 stars!

Thanks to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is the kind of book that makes you excited to read. Every time I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down. I'm realizing that Catriona Ward just has a way with thrillers that really vibes with me. This book was just the perfect example of what a thriller should be. Sundial is a multi-POV book that shifts between Rob in the present, past Rob, Callie, with the inclusion of some stories from Arrowood (written by Rob). There are part of this book that are shocking and parts that are downright frustrating. Basically every time Irving was in this book I wanted to fight him, something about his blatant lack of violence combined with his smug attitude made him that much worse. The twist was shocking, but fit very well. Plus, the build up to the twist was exciting, there was never a dull moment. It was like a constant flurry of action. There was a clever interweaving of a science fiction kind of element. Of course, the science incorporated into this book is of the biological science/genetic experiments variety, which is a unique addition to the story. In the vein of uniqueness, the lack of a romantic plot line is also refreshing. Gone is the trope of the heroine being saved by her love interest. No, this is women doing it for themselves.

The characters in Sundial were flawed insofar as to be unreliable so you aren't even really sure who you can trust, but it works so well in this. By the time the book is finished, you're still left with questions, but somehow the story overall still manages to feel satisfying. Like, I didn't need more. It was the perfect length. But much like the Last House on Needless Street, I feel like Sundial is another book that you could read multiple times and recognize things that you missed the first time through. There were just enough crumbs left so that the reader could follow the thread, but not so much as to give away the twist early on. And quite frankly, there are a few twists, it's possible to guess one, but not all of them. I think the inclusion of multiple twists is what I like about Catriona Ward. It seems like most thriller authors sort of lead up to one big twist and then rest on that. But Ward's use of multiple twists to add depth to her stories is just brilliant. It never serves to disappoint.

This book also has a special place in my heart as a crime theory nerd. If you've read any biological theories of crime or theories about human aggression and gene expression, that is a key component to this book. The MAOA gene and it's impact is mentioned many times in Sundial. Part of the interest is the studies that are going on in Sundial, but I won't go more into that at the risk of being spoiler-y. You'll just have to read it for yourself. But trust me, if you find biological science or genetic makeup interesting in the least, then you absolutely do not want to miss this book. Just the thought of it makes my little biosocial criminology heart go pitter patter.

There is very little that I didn't like about Sundial. The only thing that really comes to mind is the inclusion of the Arrowood chapters. I didn't really care for them. For me personally, they didn't add very much to the story, plot-wise. Although, as previously mentioned, I feel like if I reread the book, I might be able to understand what the purpose was. I refuse to believe they were just thrown in for no reason. Something tells me that there are hints to one of the big questions I have based on the inclusion of those Arrowood chapters. Without close reading though, they just felt unnecessary. Like a random break in the story with no real purpose.

All in all, when considering the story as a whole, this book was incredible. It is hands down my favorite book that I've read so far in 2022, and is on the list of my favorite thrillers of all time. I really have a hard time believing I'll read a better thriller this year. The interweaving of character relationships, plot, and mystery was so carefully done as to be masterful. Catriona Ward is truly fantastic at what she does. She paints a vivid picture that changes when gazed at from different angles, but never fails to satisfy. I really look forward to devouring whatever she puts out next. She's officially joined Gillian Flynn as one of my top thriller authors.

#Sundial:

“It’s exhausting trying to keep her in line and clean up her messes, but that’s what being a big sister is all about, I suppose. Red heart.”

Sundial is exactly how my thought process flows. I’m case you ever wondered what it’s like to live inside my brain, there’s a lot of random things that make sense me to, may seem random to you, but give me 8-10 minutes and it will all make sense, or not. (Depending on your patience)

I kept thinking (like a lot people) “WTF is happening? What is going on?” While that my was thoughts the entire time, I never felt I should DNF or lose interest. I was always invested in the plot and what was happening at Sundial. There’s alternate POVs from Rob and Callie, alongside Arrowood. I really can’t describe the plot, so just, roll with it.

There are significant triggers in this book, so please exercise self care before, during, and after.

I will never read a Catriona Ward synopsis because it will just confuse me. From now on, I’m just reading the book, no need to tell me what it’s about, I just want to read it.

@torni you are amazing and thank you so much for sending this wild book my way! Sundial is out now and yes, it’s worth the binge.

Wow this was a doozy of a book. I could not put it down because I just could not get enough of what was going to happen next. It was twisted and with a lot of twists. It was very dark and explored a lot of toxic family dynamics. I must’ve thought WTF to myself every 5 minutes. I will be thinking of this one for a long time.