Do I have books to read that publish before Sundial? Why yes, I do. I tried so hard to put this one on my February to be read list, but no matter what I did, it kept calling my name. What do I have to say about my behavior? I am glad, glad I tell you that I started this on the last day of 2021 and finished it on the first day of 2022 because it was amazing.
Rob is married to Irving, and right from their first interaction, I felt like she must have reiterated at least one of her wedding vows, till death do us part, at least a million times. He is a serial cheater and an odious man, and how Rob wound up with him and why she continues to stay with him was a real puzzle. It isn't until the behavior of her older daughter, Callie, starts to alarm her, that she makes a quick and potentially life-altering decision. She leaves her younger daughter Annie with Irving and heads to Sundial, her childhood home. She needs to connect with Callie if she has any hope of saving her, and that means exposing her past.
There is a lot and I mean an awful lot going on in the present and the past. Unlike Needless Street, this book doesn't have one specific what moment, but rather every chapter exposes more and more secrets. It builds dark layer upon even darker layer until I wasn't sure who were the monsters and who were the heroes of this tale. Disturbing at every imaginable level, I forgot to breathe more than once and especially when the author dropped her final bombshell revelation.
I am not going to say any more for fear of spoilers. Just let the words take you to Sundial and see who you are if you find your way out. I will gladly devour anything Catriona Ward writes.

I had to stop reading this due to animal cruelty-especially dogs. What I did read really stuck with Me -if I think about a book while away from it then I usually rate it high.
This book was too disturbing for me but maybe if I finished it, things wouldn't be as disturbing.

Catriona Ward appears to be one of those unicorn authors who actually made a turn from thrillers to the dark side. It’s admirable; most go the other way, from the more niche horrific territory to the all-too popular mystery thrillers. Jennifer McMahon being the only exception I can think off, who started off with conventional thrillers, veered into the supernatural territory and now appears to be coming back around. And, of course, there are myriad things that constitute what is scary to a reader, from creature features to psychopaths and tons in-between. But…
But when I selected this book to be my first book of the year, I was expecting something from the realm of conventionally horrific. The way it looks, the cover, the category the publisher had it under on Netgalley…kind of steer you that way. Alas, it wasn’t the case. Or wasn’t quite the case. There’s plenty to horrify you within the pages of Sundial. Plenty to horrify you about Sundial, the place the main protagonist is raised in, a remote desert compound dedicated to psychological manipulation of animals. MK Ultra for puppies. Nightmarish, really. Certainly, not suitable for weak stomachs and puppy lovers. But…
But if I had to classify or categorize this book, I’d label it a thriller, specifically a mommy thriller, a subgenre of all these ubiquitous female-authored female-centric thrillers that are powered by mother’s milk. Granted, it is much, much darker than most, but still very, very recognizable as such.
The protagonist is a woman who by all rights should have never reproduced and yet she ends up being a mother of two, one of whom she suspects of latent psychopathy. So, she takes that one back to Sundial for some mother/daughter time and there amid the decrepitude of the place and the graves and all the terrible memories, they have a reckoning of sorts.
This is a book that heavily exists in the past, a past so messed-up, so tragic, that it seemingly had no choice but to shape the protagonist the way it did. But then again…her spectacularly terrible marriage might have been avoided. Instead of taking up so much of her life and the book’s time. You make a lot of excuses for the character because of all she’d been through and the dramatic unconventionality of her upbringing, but still…she was raised smarter than that. Literally, homeschooled to be smart.
Anyway, if the mother/daughter thing isn’t enough to flood you with a warm river of estrogen, there’s also a strong sisterhood theme going on, both in the past and in the present. It’s nearly every version of girl power you can think of and every relationship in this book is completely and profoundly f*cked up.
The fact that the protagonist survives her past only to find herself in this future/present is… just lamentable. Good for drama, but lamentable. You do want her to succeed, presumably, but she isn’t an easy sell. No one in this book is, arguably, except maybe for Callie.
That’s one of the most interesting things about this book, actually. It’s populated with thoroughly to mildly unlikeable and unsympathetic characters and yet makes for a surprisingly compelling narrative. I suppose that says a lot about Ward’s skills as an author.
Dark and disturbing as this book in, it drags you in, quicksand style. Makes for a strangely engaging reading experience. Once I’d still class as a dark (stygian, pitch black) psychological thriller above all, but opinions may vary. Difficult to recommend this one. Read at your own discretion. Thanks Netgalley.

Having read The Last House on Needless Street only a few months earlier, I went into this knowing I enjoyed Catriona Ward’s writing but a bit hesitant on the premise. I haven’t loved other suspense novels that explored a mother-daughter relationship rife with suspicion between the two - largely because these usually end up reading like women’s fiction with only vague elements of a thriller. Sundial is not that. Sundial is a true and proper horror, and Ward is masterful at creating dual timelines and interconnected POVs that allows the narrative to play out with an immediate sense of dread from the first chapter.

Ward manages to make a truly distinctive voice for both Rob and her troubled daughter Callie as we are taken along with them to the isolated, dusty landscape of the Mojave Desert and Rob’s childhood home Sundial. As the narrative begins to walk backwards to give background on Rob’s departure from Sundial into her current suburban life, the disturbing events of her childhood begin to cast a shadow on what we think we know about her nuclear family.

My only complaint with Sundial as a horror novel comes in the form of one slightly superfluous POV that was an imaginary girl’s school Rob created that did little to provide any insight into the characters. It did feel a bit like filler, and I kept waiting for this story to mean something in the grand scope of the novel. And while these chapter breaks would fragment the narrative in a way that wasn’t exactly distracting, they didn’t contribute enough to the overall conclusion that I felt them necessary.

Overall, my second attempt with Ward’s writing has solidified my trust in her as a horror writer that doesn’t reuse the same tropes, while still maintaining a unique style within the genre. And if I was left swiping on the last page of my Kindle, waiting for the story to move to the next chapter as the book came to an end… I think I’m all the more glad for it.

Did you read the Last House on Needless Street? If so, then you are prepared! If not, brace yourself, this is horror and psychological twists like you have never experienced!

Rob lives with her husband and 2 children in suburbia. She hints of a dark past life in a cult-like existence and seems to tread carefully around her husband. When Callie, her oldest daughter shows a predilection for collecting animal bones she decides its time for a pilgrimage to Sundial,
her childhood home in the Mojave Desert.

At Sundial Rob flashes back to her life with her twin sister Jack and the many dark and twisted events that they experienced. Has Rob inherited the evil traits of the Sundial inhabitants? Has Callie? Can anyone from Sundial be redeemed?

This gothic thriller is horrific in a good way. I challenge you to read it in one or two sittings - I couldn't I needed to take many breaks (sad face). Callie has a voice in the story and just like Needless Street, she's not what you thought (confused face).

If you liked Needless Street, or books by Steven King, Paul Tremblay then this is the most thrilling novel of 2022. You won't forget a character or an event in this twisty dark adventure (happy face and heart!) #NetGalley #Sundial #CatrionaWard #Besthorror #MacMillanTor #tornightfire

Thank you to Macmillan/Tor-Forge for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When I heard that the author had another book coming out, I knew I had to add it to my TBR right away! Sundial by Catriona Ward is a psychological horror novel that will chill you to the bone. The story opens up from Rob's point of view. Rob is an everyday housewife with a husband and two daughters in the suburbs. But from the very beginning, you can tell something is off with this family. Why can't Rob emphathize her daughter Callie? Why are Rob and her husband Irving always fighting? What secrets are they hiding?

Here is a gripping excerpt from Chapter 1 that illustrates an argument between Rob, her husband Irving, and Callie::

"He lowers his gaze and strokes Callie’s shoulder, murmuring about pancakes. Her screaming stops. It gives way to little giggles. She and Irving stare at me. The same little smile plays about both their mouths. They have the same lips. And it sets me off, even though I know it shouldn’t.
“That’s it!” I shout. “You go and clean your room. Change your sheets. Maybe that will get rid of the weird smell in there.”
Callie covers her mouth and giggles into her palm. Irving gets up and starts doing dishes, like it’s nothing to do with him. I stare at the back of his head, the red place where the barber went too close, and I wish I could throw something, like he does. But I’ve got no power here."

Overall, Sundial is an extremely disturbing psychological horror novel that will keep you up at night. It will appeal to fans of the twist-filled novels of Gillian Flynn and Josh Malerman. One highlight of this book is how scary this book is. It starts from the very beginning, when minor arguments foreshadow domestic violence and abuse. I made the mistake of reading this book too close to nighttime, and I couldn't sleep afterward. This book is definitely not one for the faint-hearted!

Another highlight is the creepy and twisty plotline. There were definitely some twists that I was not expecting. I have to admit that I was pretty confused when I first started reading this book, because the author introduced a lot of characters in the sections in the past, but everything was eventually explained and made sense in a satisfying way. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of horror novels, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in March!

This is an incredibly unsettling yet unputdownable book. It is the first book I’ve read by Catriona Ward but not the last. It is both psychological and horror. The writing kept me entranced and completely captivated.
5 stars for sure!

Catriona Ward has done it again and taken it to whole new level! Sundial is a disturbing and engrossing tale of a mother desperate to protect her children. Unreliable narrators run amok and family relationships are taken to a whole new level of WTF. This is a twisting and turning psychological horror that is even darker than The Last House on Needless Street. Warning: this book is not for the faint of heart. Multiple TW's for abuse, toxic relationships, drug abuse, animal abuse, etc. Rob, a wife and mother, senses a darkness in her daughter Callie. Rob thinks the only way to help her daughter is take to her back to her childhood home of Sundial and let her in on her mysterious childhood. That's all I'm giving you! Ward has an amazing way of taking you down a path you think you know and then taking a turn you never saw coming. I read this book in a day because I just could not stop. This book may not be for everyone ( history of abuse should steer clear of this one) 5 stars to my new favorite author. I can't wait for a physical copy and a reread. Thanks NetGalley, this was incredible.

Also reviewed on www.curiosityboughtthebook.com

It's rare that I'm sucked into a story from the first page. But Sundial is exactly that kind of story. There is so much mystery, despair, and drama that I couldn't stop myself from devouring it. A mix of thriller and horror; it's the perfect story for me. Catriona Ward's writing almost has a V.C. Andrews-feel to me, and I love her work for that. It's Gothic and eerie; the perfect mix.

Ward writes deeply flawed characters in Sundial, just like she did in her previous book The Last House on Needless Street, which was also a five star book for me. This is definitely an auto-read author for me from now on.

It’s a story about a loveless (and hateful) marriage, twin sisters that grew apart in anger and resentment and the strange way they were brought up. All of this is told in two different timelines, and two POVs.

Little extra note: once I found out the remote control experiments really happened, it got even more unsettling.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

This was my first introduction to Catriona Ward, and given all of the great things I've heard about The Last House On Needless Street, I figured this would be a good read. But really I was just left confused, with more questions than answered. My mind feels like it was turned into a pretzel, even when I did get most of the answers I was looking for.

What a bizarre, creepy book. It was so unsettling, and grotesque without actually being very gory. A weird vibe, but one I still enjoyed most of the time I was reading. I think. The jury's still out on that one, but still, if anyone likes a psychedelic, domestic gothic thriller? This one's for you.

I just adore this title, I can feel Ward in the story and everything I loved about her previous title. Ward does a great job of showing the same event through different perspectives and the way that characters twist things based on their feelings. And I just love her characters.

Trigger warning in this book for abuse, including animal abuse and spousal abuse.


My initial notes for this ARC consisted of:

-Great tension in first chapters
-Enthralling, can’t stop reading
-Ghosts??
-Monster dogs???

And I still stand by those. The tension is initially shown to be between Rob and her oldest daughter who, we later learn, has some very dark tendencies. But the longer we read (and I read quite a lot in my first sitting), the more we realize the tension also comes from other people in Rob’s life. It is this thick tension that makes the first several chapters so enthralling; I literally could not convince myself to stop reading until I learned just a little more, and really, this author is a master at leaving you tiny crumbs that keep you coming back.

Ward also does a fantastic job of weaving narrations together, both between mother and daughter and between past and present. These shifts also keep you wondering which character is telling you the whole truth, or if there is even a whole truth to be learned through all the misdirection.

There are some bits of plot I wish had been better fleshed out, as well as some little bits and pieces left unanswered by the end that I’m still wondering about. However - this was a great, thrilling read, and Catriona Ward is an author I will return to for every book she writes.

Catriona Ward knows how to incorporate mental illnesses into her stories very well, but this time she didn’t stop there: she added bit of science into it. This story…. It was something! At the beginning, I wasn’t sure what to make of any of the characters. It took me a while to form my opinion of Rob, Irving, Callie, and Annie. But at the end, I realized how wrong I was.

Rob started to see some patterns in her child’s behavior that she wished that she would never ever see. With her husband cheating on her and another child dealing with chicken pox, she had to choose her battles. She chose to figure out a way to fix her daughter who might be going little wild. One might ask why she didn’t take her daughter to a psychiatrist, but she had her reasons looking back at her own past. She thought the solution she was looking for was at her childhood home. So away we go!

With triggers hitting her left and right, Rob started to remember things from her past defining who she is and who she could be. These were much different than what she always believed. While her goal of fixing her daughter stayed as her North Star, she decided to choose different means to solve this problem. But what she didn’t know was she might have been wrong all along.

This was my first Catriona Ward book and it was so well written. It flowed perfectly and I couldn’t put it down. I really only disliked the ending. It had this steady pace the entire time, and then just ended to quickly. I felt the ending left a lot of loose ends and it’s just not what I would’ve chosen.
Sundial is about Rob, her husband, and her two kids in suburbia. Rob doesn’t really care for her older daughter and might even be afraid of her because she finds tiny bones being used as art, that clearly came from small animals, and likes to talk to herself. Rob decides to take her daughter to Sundial, the place where she grew up in the middle of the Mojave Desert, to try to reach her with a mother-daughter bonding trip.
It seems Rob has a lot of secrets of her own from her childhood, so this trip will bring out everything for the both of them.
No spoilers, but there should be a trigger warning in more ways than one. Sundial kept me guessing what was going to happen next, and I was wrong 99% of the time. I look forward to reading more of Ward’s books.

Rob fears there is something seriously wrong with her oldest daughter, Callie, when she finds a collection of small bones in her bedroom. Add to this the fact that she whispers to "imaginary friends," and Rob knows she needs to act quickly. She opts to bring Callie back to her childhood home, known as Sundial, in the Mojave Desert. It's there that Rob's old, dark memories are stirred up.

Callie is also concerned about her mother. There's something off about the way she looks at her, and she's afraid only one of them will leave Sundial alive.

It's definitely worth noting that I didn't *love* The Last House on Needless Street, but I was really impressed by Catriona Ward's writing style and I knew I wouldn't hesitate to read another one of her books in the future. Enter: Sundial. First, can we talk about how gorgeously creepy that cover is? I immediately knew I needed to get my hands on this one.

I was SO INTO this storyline. The pacing of the plot was perfect, and I could not stop flipping pages. This is told in alternating viewpoints: Rob in present day, Rob in the past, and Callie in present day. I 100% did not see the end coming and I was completely and totally satisfied by it, as well as sufficiently creeped out.

Horror and thriller lovers are definitely going to want to get their hands on Sundial, out on bookshelves in the US March 1, 2022!

Catriona Ward has done it again!

When you start reading a book by this author, be prepared for surprises. She's phenomenal at luring your thoughts one way and then changing the whole game. Ward makes you feel things, and you're left with a desire for introspection. Be right back while I go contemplate all the choices I think I'd make..

Rob is a mother of two with a not-so-stellar home life. When things start to worsen, Rob takes her oldest daughter, Callie, back to the desert where it all started to get to the heart of the problem.. Can she save her family?

For fun, here are some thoughts and questions I had written down during my read (which I did in one day because I couldn't stop myself):
Did Rob kill Jack?
What happened to the parents?
Where did Callie come from? Is Pale Callie the dead baby? Or is she dead Jack?
Oh no, she's gonna give her the controlling drugs.
Oh.. the girls came from the puppy people.
They got drugged?! Along with other dude.. so that was his story.
Jack noooooo!!!
Ugh Irving! He deserved what he got.
What about Annie? What about the contacts? (After the fight with Irving)
It was Annie?!?!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Now go read The Last House on Needless Street

Shelves: 2021-read , 2022-pub , dark , family-drama , horror , slow-burn , psychological-thriller
Catriona Ward is now two for two! I fell in love with Catriona Ward's writing when I read her 2021 release, The Last House on Needless Street, so I knew that I needed to read her 2022 release, Sundial . Catriona, please keep the books coming because I think I found my new favorite horror author. Sundial will be very polarizing for readers, because it doesn't give the same vibe as her last book did, which goes to show you how finessed Ward's craft of storytelling is.

Sundial focuses on mother and wife Rob, her husband Irving, and their two children Callie and Annie. After witnessing some pretty gruesome and dangerous behavior by their daughter Callie, Rob decides to take Callie back to her childhood home—"Sundial", a compound in the Mojave Desert. Rob hopes that their time together in Sundial will help Callie reflect on her behavior, but Rob has a philandering and psychologically corrupt husband at home as well to worry about. Callie's behavior is just the tip of the iceberg for this extremely unstable family.

I don't want to give away too much, because as you expect, Sundial is best read when you know as little as possible. The story is way more straightforward than The Last House on Needless Street, so no need to worry about trying to catch the massive plot twist. However, this story is just as dark and captivating as its predecessor. I truly loved reading this book so much that I've began diving into Catriona's previous works. If you are unsure about reading horror, Catriona Ward expertly handles horror with care and interweaves it into other genres as well. This time, we get an extremely solid (yet chaotic and unstable) family drama, infused with horror and suspense. I read this book in two sittings and cannot wait to see what else this author has up her sleeve. Prioritize this one for 2022, readers

Sadistic. Twisted. Inhumane. Those are some of the words I would use to describe this. You know those stories you read that just stick with you awhile? This was one of those. This book kept me guessing, and out of all the characters in the whole book, Irving was the most sadistic. The gruesome images of the puppy mill and animal experiments were hard to stomach, but I could definitely watch the image play out of the book in my head, which really adds to the horror of it all. Rob and Callie were sympathetic characters, despite some of the horrible things they may have done. The ending I did not see coming, and I love these type of ominous endings in horror fiction. I really look forward to reading Catriona's other book now.

WOW WOW WOW!!!! Truly cannot say enough great things about this book, with the only downside being that I had to stop reading it right before bed because it was so creepy! There's something about Ward's ability to use beautiful prose to explore the darkest depths of humanity--with the contrast resulting in a horrifically disturbing but undeniably brilliant story. I couldn't catch my breath and couldn't look away until the very last twist--which I had not seen coming (I can't remember the last time I was surprised by an ending, and Ward knocks it out of the park). For anyone who likes dark and atmospheric books that are also fascinating glimpses into psychology and psychopathy, this is a must read!!

I definitely enjoyed Ward's book from last year (The Last House on Needless Street) better, but I still really enjoyed this one because it was extremely unsettling. The alternating points of view between the mother and the daughter were fascinating, as was the alternating between past and present, as it really compunded the mystery of the present. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is extra sensitive to books featuring animals being mistreated, as some of the book was a little difficult to read. (dogs).