I feel like I need to give this a bit of a content warning - I really wouldn’t recommend this if you’re a dog lover. As someone who loves their dog, who is also a rescue dog with some issues!, I found this a hard read.

I really enjoyed Catriona Ward’s Little Eve and Last House on Needless Street and this was definitely the kind of dark, twisty story I expected of her.

The book is instantly gripping - you’re introduced to Rob who is concerned about her daughter, Callie, who is behaving strangely and has a fixation on dead things, and has an abusive relationship with her husband, Irving. Rob doesn’t trust Callie, who is loyal to her father, and wants to protect her other daughter, Annie, from both her daughter and their father.

I don’t want to go into too much detail with giving much away, but after a horrific incident, Rob takes Callie away to her childhood home, Sundial, a mysterious place where Rob had a strange childhood with dozens of dogs.

There was a lot I liked about this, and i enjoyed all the twists and reveals towards the end, but as there became more stories about the dogs at Sundial I started to want it to be over!

A lot to like, but for me a bit too much as a dog lover.

3.5 stars

Well Catriona Ward has captivated me once more with her new book Sundial and just like her last book this a completely unique story that certainly tests your imagination.
The story is a terrifying one that is both shocking and sad and I’m not even going to try and describe it as far, far too much is going on and it leaves your mind in hyperdrive as more and more is revealed throughout the book. This author is so very different from the norm, her writing is amazing I really haven’t read anything like it and like I say a read that I find difficult to actually review because this is a book that just needs to be picked up and read with no preconceived idea of what’s to come because I’m damn sure your in for many a surprise !
So a spine tingling creepy story that is sure to be a winner I loved it and god knows just what the author has in store for us in her next book but what I do know is that it’s sure to be different!
My thanks to NetGalley and Serpent’s Tail / Viper / Profile Books for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm a huge fan of Catriona Ward. I definitely approached this thinking that it was going to follow a similar pattern to her first book, and set up a psychological horror novel while being revealed to be something far more grounded in realism. However, I think she managed to subvert this expectation throughout the novel. Particularly brilliant was her use of the landscape, from having travelled through similar parts of America, she captures the claustrophobia of such wide open spaces brilliantly. Her characters are neither entirely villains nor victims and the result is an unsettling but no less realistic questioning of family and how children grow up. Any one that's interested in developmental psychology will find much in here to dissect and possibly even disagree with but the story manages to be creepy and unexpected with roots in the psychadelic and experimental movements in America as well as a brilliant page-turning thriller.

After reading and enjoying the (rightful) sensation that was The Last House On Needless Street, I was excited to see what Catriona Ward would do next. Needless Street was, after all, such a unique thriller that it was hard to imagine where any author would land for their follow up novel. But gosh darn it, if Ward hasn't done it again with Sundial, a tense thriller that crosses with ease into be a surreal horror.

Rob, a suburban housewife, discovers her eldest daughter Callie is collecting bones, and fears that Callie may be a danger to her younger sister Annie. So, in a last ditch effort to get her family back under control, Rob drives through the night to Sundial, her strange childhood home deep in the Mojave Desert.

Ward teases out three different strands of story: Rob in the present, preoccupied not only with what to do about Callie, but also her abusive and controlling husband, and - perhaps most dangerous of all - the ghosts of the past that she sees in every corner of the house and lands at Sundial; Callie, growing afraid of her mother's strange behaviour; and Rob in the past, recounting the events that led to her leaving Sundial and becoming pregnant.

Information is drip-fed to the reader with expert restraint, with some images and motifs set up early in the story, long before you have reason to suspect their significance. Ward's careful word and story choices suffuse Sundial with a deep dread, like a bass note being played constantly in the background, putting your teeth on edge. It's both horribly tragic, weird, and strangely hopeful. And, needless to say, there are a number of twists that even the most seasoned thriller reader won't be able to anticipate. By the end of the novel you won't even be sure who Rob is.

“Kids are mirrors, reflecting everything back that happens to them”

Catriona Ward is the only writer I can guarantee will thrill me - her last novel, The Last House On Needless Street, was a twisty, compelling horror and Sundial is a triumphant, terrifying dose of the same.
It's one of those novels where the less you know going in, the better. It centres on a dysfunctional family - when Rob begins to fear for her daughters' safety, she returns to her desert home - Sundial. From here, things get strange with the author weaving a web that leaves the reader breathless. The push-pull of the past and present narratives build a masterful net of tension and I absolutely raced through this one, excited and deeply fearful.

Ward is not only a master of horror but of character, too - Rob, the novel's protagonist, is deeply sympathetic as the worn-out mother of two, married to a [redacted] of a man - but it's little Callie, Rob's daughter, who caught my attention. Callie is a creepy kid, the depths of said creepiness are plumbed over the course of this novel, but she's still rendered sympathetic by the author. She never lets her characters slide into overt evil, always maintaining a little innocence that keeps the author invested in them. Her setting is a fascinating one - Irish people don't have much experience of the desert and yet I could feel the sun beat down on me while reading Ward's narration. It's atmospheric, propulsive horror that keeps you in it's grip.

Ward is a tricky author to pin down and an even trickier one to review - Sundial is a wonderful, thrilling horror novel that leaves a lot to chew over when the reader is finished. As I mentioned, it's best to go into this one blind, as you do not want to be spoiled in any way for the events that take place

Wow this book completely sucked me in and held me there. the story changes from beautiful to completely uncomfortable and at times horrifying but you feel compelled to keep reading. This book is definitely a psychological horror. It looks into the the theory's of nature vs. nurture, the significance of the so-called psychopath or “warrior” gene, Going into bizarre psychological experiments. This author knows how to do multiple narrators: creating a very intriguing, elaborate story that will definitely put you on the edge of your seat till the very end.

The way Cat Ward writes is exquisite. She manages to conjure up visceral description in simple sentences that make your blood run cold. Her characters are rich and distinct, and full of surprises. I participated enjoyed the relationship dynamic between Callie and her younger sister, Annie.

The past was drip-fed into the story through Rob's (mother) narrative and I found myself hanging onto every word, desperate to know more. This was a book that I thought about when I wasn't reading it. Once again, I couldn't possibly predict how it would end and I was left in the dark like some of the characters. 👻

I liked the idea of the 'novel' that Rob was writing but I don't think it added enough to the story,

A dysfunctional family, threats, secrets and strange pasts.

Yet again I am finding it difficult to review a Catriona Ward novel, but for all the right reasons. It's hard to accurately describe what the book is about without giving something away completely. Ward has a talent for writing stories with more turns and jerks than an ageing roller coaster. Just when you think you have it pegged, another twist takes you out.

Another great offering that kept me guessing with some surprising reveals and settings that left me feeling isolated yet claustrophobic. I think Ward has become an "instant buy" author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Serpent's Tail/Viper Books for the chance to read this early copy

Sundial by Catriona Ward I imagine will split its audience. You will either love it or hate it. It’s a surreal experience reading it and indeed a surreal story.

Go into it blind if you can(as I did). Not knowing anything about the story or where it might be going only adds to the unease of the reader and strangeness of it.

At its base it’s a story of family, of bringing up children and how we influence them, sibling rivalry…I could go on. It’s all wrapped in a very strange and disturbing story that will leave you feeling uncomfortable throughout.

Ward uses the line “kids are mirrors, reflecting everything back that happens to them” and as a reader you feel you are in a hall of mirrors in a fairground. Nothing seems to be “normal”. The multiple narrators leave you wondering how much to believe of what they are telling you. Just as you are getting comfortable with what you think is happening, the story shifts and distorts, like your image in those hall of mirrors. The reading of this book is quite the surreal experience.

I would call this a psychological horror if I was to put it into a genre. It’s oddness and otherworldliness add to the reading experience from my perspective. I can see it turning some readers off but I was strangely drawn to oddness of the storytelling.

My only criticism is that at times I felt I was on the outside of the story looking in, rather than in the thick of it. I think that is down to the stylistic choice of the narrative by the author but I was more than happy with the slight trade off.

Get your hands on a copy of Sundial if you can. I would say you will either love it or hate. I don’t see much middle ground. I for one loved it overall.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

This was such a fast paced and disturbing read. I found the family dynamics fascinating and the sibling bonds particularly interesting. This is a book full of characters doing bad things for what they think are the right reasons and a propulsive narrative style that switches point of view between Rob (the mother) and Callie (her daughter), while also shifting between past and present timelines. The plot gets more and more dark as the story progresses and while I did find the ending a little bit predictable, overall I really enjoyed this book. I would definitely recommend it for fans of Gillian Flynn's 'Sharp Objects' or anyone who enjoys a dark domestic thriller.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Last House on Needless Street was one of my favourite reads of last year – and one of the biggest surprises. I did not think of myself as being someone who could enjoy horror.

Naturally, I jumped when I saw Catriona Ward was coming out with another book because colour me intrigued.

The creepy atmosphere is on point in this, I cannot fault it. I truly felt like I was in the desert and I felt, hot, uncomfortable, claustrophobic and isolated, it was fantastically done.

I genuinely can’t decide if I loved or hated the characters, which in turn makes me love the experience even more, as they were all complicated and somewhat twisted in their own ways.

While I didn’t think the twists were quite as good as in The Last House on Needless Street, I was taken by surprise a couple times, which was a very pleasant surprise given how lacklustre all the thrillers I’ve read recently have been. Maybe I need to move from thrillers to horror full time.

What I didn’t love so much was the premise. As a reader, you have to suspend disbelief a lot with Sundial (though, maybe that’s just the nature of horror books) and some parts took me out of the story a bit, just because I struggled to buy into them.

That said, I think this is a pretty solid horror story and that UK cover alone is enough for me to want it on my shelf.

Huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

The dysfunctional family of Rob, Irving, and their children Callie and Annie is the focus of Sundial. When Callie begins to show signs of "darkness," Rob takes her to her childhood home, Sundial, which is a weird property deep in the Mojave Desert. As the book flips between past and present and numerous POVs, we learn more about Rob's odd background.
It's preferable to approach Sundial relatively "blind." I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and the more I read, the more "sucked in" I became. Sundial had unexpected twists and turns throughout, and I enjoyed the climax. Fans of horror, literature, and psychological thrillers will enjoy this book. This is a must-read!

Although Ward has been putting out amazing horror titles for seven years, she is perhaps now best known for The Last House on Needless Street. The book last year took the horror/thriller reading community by storm and performed that 'transcendence of the genre' which all publishers love to see, showing up on the BBC's Between the Covers and several Best of the Year roundups. In many respects, then, Sundial is something of the difficult second album (even though it's the fourth), and Needless Street does definitely haunt the story in some respects.

Sundial is the story of Rob and her family, both alive and deceased. It's a 'then and now' narrative in which she worries about her troubled daughter, Cassie, and how far she is emulating the violent tendencies her sister, Jack, exhibited as a young adult. The story is full of twists and turns, all about the secrets that are buried deep within a family and, potentially, within the genes.

The story is initially set in idyllic California suburbia, where the décor may be perfect and the lifestyle may be aspirational, but real life is rotten to the core. The action quickly shifts out to the Mojave Desert and Rob's old family ranch, where the isolation is real and ghosts seem to hide everywhere. Having never been to the desert, I found the setting strange and exciting, much like Cassie does. It's beautifully realised and described by Ward, and used to great effect to constantly undercut the maybe-genuine affection and warmth shared by the family who live there.

Beautiful setting and richly understood characters aside, Needless Street did mean I spent much of the second half of the novel looking out for the twists and reveals. There were points when I thought the book was going very Needless Street, and I think my experience of reading would have been better without that in the back of my head. Needless to say (see what I did there?), there are reveals aplenty in the book's final chapters and Ward does take us on a wild ride, but this book is very much its own beast. It reminded me strongly of We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver, maybe crossed with Smithy by Amanda Desiree. There is heart and emotion in this book, as we have come to expect from Ward, but there is more heartbreak than I expected, and I came away from it uncertain about whether these characters I'd come to love would be okay.

Sundial by Catriona Ward is a thrilling, horrific tour de force of storytelling and teasing. I was surprised at how much I came to love these questionably loveable characters, and how much I rooted for some of them to succeed, whatever the cost. It does come with a lot of trigger warnings (child abuse, domestic abuse, animal abuse) and parts of it are hard reading, but for me it was worth it for the journey Ward took me on.

Needless Street was one of the more astonishing reads of 2021, so no pressure for Sundial (!)
Ward has done it again - brilliantly written and absorbing, this tale would be ridiculously hard to pull off in lesser hands, but she makes it appear effortless. A great read. 4.5 rounding to 5.

A really unsettling book! Very well crafted, but be prepared for an uncomfortable read. It was a bit too much for me in places, to be honest, but I’m quite sensitive! The plot is very intriguing and leaves you guessing right up to the end. A good read if you’re prepared to be horrified!

As a huge fan of "The Last House On Needless Street", I was excited to read whatever Catriona Ward came up with next. I found it hard to put "Sundial" down, feeling compelled to read from the opening pages. Ward starts us off on reasonably familiar ground - a suburban family, chickenpox, a party - and gradually, insidiously the uneasiness creeps in. It's very skillfully done. The book lingers like a curse, the pages calling for attention whilst you're busy doing other things, keen to return to the weird world of Ward's creation. "Sundial" is a difficult book to review without spoilers, suffice it to say it's as dark, twisted and difficult to define as we've come to expect from Catriona Ward.

Catriona Ward will reach stratospheric heights after this book is released. I was lucky to receive an early copy from #netgalley & I consider myself very fortunate indeed.
Having loved the author's previous book, I was wondering just what I had in store. Thinking about it, I think that's just what Catriona Ward's skills are, having the ability to surprise you. Her originality and inventiveness is unrivalled & when you read this book (which I sincerely hope you do), I promise you won't second guess the plot or anything else within the book, because you simply won't.
This book is a very dark & macabre read though, to the extent that I deliberately took a break from reading it as I found it depressing. There are elements which are very unpleasant & unfortunately more common than you think, which should be applauded for it's inclusion to raise discussion and awareness. But I won't say any more at this stage & don't be hesitant to read this simply due to the lack of light contained within.

I sincerely hope people buy, love & discuss this book as it is worthy of every praise & accolade. I look forward to hearing what the world has to say about this incredible book.

Rob and Irving are a far from happy married couple. Irving has a temper and is a philanderer, causing Rob to be very wary of him.

They have two daughters, Annie is the younger and a real sweetheart. She and Rob are very close. Callie is definitely a daddy’s girl, and she and Rob don’t really bond.

After several disturbing events, Rob decides it’s time to remove Callie from the family home to protect Annie, so she takes her to her old family home, Sundial, in the desert for some mother and daughter bonding, in the hope that she can discover what is at the root of Callie’s problems. Needless to say Irving is not happy with the decision.

This story is told over two timelines, Rob as a young girl growing up at Sundial with her twin sister Jack, and in the now with Callie at Sundial.

Once again Catriona Ward has delivered an amazing book. The narrative is superb and the plot and storyline full of intrigue and suspense. The ending is thought provoking, do we really have the full story? Is everyone who they say they are?

I totally loved The Last House on Needless Street, but think this one is a match for that, though quite different.

It seems mean to only give this five stars, it is worth so much more.

Thank you NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book, with thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book

This was an interesting read that I was gripped by. It was well written with good characters and an interesting storyline. It was fast paced and unpredictable with lots of twists. I really enjoyed it.