A story like no other, full of twists and turns. The plot got me hooked from the start, it was hard to tear myself away from this book. I don't want to say too much about the story itself, as I feel like the best way to read this is to just slip into it, and let Catriona Ward do her thing, her wonderful, scary and brilliant thing.

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨💫

ʟᴏᴏᴋɪɴɢ ɢʟᴀss sᴏᴜɴᴅ
ᴄᴀᴛʀɪᴏɴᴀ ᴡᴀʀᴅ
ᴛᴏʀ ɴɪɢʜᴛꜰɪʀᴇ
ᴀᴠᴀɪʟᴀʙʟᴇ ɴᴏᴡ
✩✩✩✩

Author Catriona Ward is the queen of writing strange, addictive, what did I just read type of thrillers. This is the second book I’ve read by Ward and again she left me totally mind fuc*ed and discombobulated (in the best of ways).

Thrillers can be so similar these days and whenever I’m looking to read something totally out there and an actual psychological thriller this is my go-to author!

One of my favorite things is reading books about books. 𝐿𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐺𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 is the ultimate when it comes to this type of plot- a book within a book within a book🤪!

If your looking for a crazy roller coaster of a ride with tons of WTFs and unpredictability this is it! 100% recommend!

SYNOPSIS: “ In a lonely cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood summer companions and the killer that stalked the small New England town. Of the body they found, and the horror of that discovery echoing down the decades. And of Sky, Wilder’s one-time best friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel, Looking Glass Sound.

But as Wilder writes, the lines between memory and fiction blur. He fears he’s losing his grip on reality when he finds notes hidden around the cottage written in Sky’s signature green ink.”
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Me? A giant Catriona Ward stan? We’re all absolutely shocked by this point.

Definitely gave me the same ooky-spooky intrigue that LHONS gave me. At this point I’m ready to rate her books High without ever reading them.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of Looking Glass Sound in exchange for an honest review.

I have been putting off writing this review for the past couple of weeks, mostly because my thoughts regarding this book are entirely jumbled, kind of like the plot itself.

The first half of this book was great. There was an ominous vibe surrounding a small coastal town where three teens met and become friends. There is a potential threat to the community, and multiple people have disappeared while going swimming, making it the perfect setup for a creepy mystery.

I didn’t enjoy any of the characters that were introduced. They simply fell flat for me and I couldn’t help but feel disconnected. However, the writing style made the story seem like I was always on the brink of a huge plot twist, which kept my interest going throughout the novel.

Then I got to the second portion of the book, and it all when downhill from there. So many scenes were repeated in different ways, I could no longer tell what portions of the book were happening, versus what portion of the book consisted of the story being written within the story being written and, you guessed it, within the story being written within that story. Are you confused? I know I am.

We have two writers that are trying to tell the same story but in their way, while adding some fictional flare and theft to make the horrific events of their lives more appealing to a potential audience. Amidst these two tales, we have little portions of the truth mingled in, just enough to have my brain going in circles, wondering what is real and what isn’t. Just when I think I have everything straightened out, I am thrown another curve ball that has me second-guessing everything I have read so far.

I would recommend this book to people who like trying to piece a scattered story together, however, it was simply too much for my liking. Don’t get me wrong, I like a story within a story, however, the repeated mind-melting twists and sub-plots had me feeling a little out of my depths with this one.

What begins almost as a summer coming-of-age teen novel quickly turns into something much deeper and darker that other reviewers are comparing to the minds of Patricia Highsmith and Shirley Jackson. Highsmith's beloved characters from her first Ripley novel are even briefly mentioned in the beginning of the book.

Looking Glass Sound is the story of Wilder Harlow, who spends a summer on the beautiful Maine coast with his parents where he befriends Nat and Harper. Wilder develops guarded feelings for both of them. He intends to share his secret attractions with them in a nearby cave, but a prank goes wrong and Wilder decides to keep his secret to himself.

Tensions are mended by the end of summer, but not before Wilder learns of the rumors of the Dagger Man, a stranger who broke into homes along the coast last year and photographed sleeping children while holding a dagger to their throats. This bizarre incident is coupled with several women who have gone missing while swimming off the coast. Could the Dagger Man be responsible?

The three friends swear to find a way to return to the coast to be together each year, but Wilder finds a new polaroid of a sleeping child and the authorities are called in to investigate. The identity of the Dagger Man and the mystery of the missing women are quickly solved before you've even read half of the book, but the bizarre journey this book is about to take you on has just begun.

We pick up with Wilder in college where he befriends a young man named Sky. The two are enraptured with each other, but Wilder suffers from panic attacks and black outs caused by the events that happened on the coast. When Wilder finds out Sky is not who he said he was, the reader is treated to yet another plot twist. And they just keep coming from there!

Most of the book is told from the point of view of a book that Wilder is writing about what took place that summer. Catriona Ward writes in almost a stream of consciousness dream-like state that gives the book a real eerie, poetic vibe. I was obsessed with the puzzle pieces to each little mystery that you really have to pay close attention to to pick up.

An older Wilder with degenerative eye problems returns to the house on the coast to exercise his demons and face his ghosts by writing his "revenge" book, only for the reader to discover they've been reading a book about a book about a book! As final truths are uncovered, and more plot twists are revealed, the book loses steam as it turns its focus onto the women in the story, one of them being the daughter of one of the missing swimmers. From here, some of the final plot twists are lost to a witchcraft thread that made me wish the book had ended about thirty pages sooner.

That being said, Looking Glass Sound is still an intense read that lives up to its Highsmith and Jackson comparisons. It is due to release August 8th by Tor Nightfire.

"Do you think the Dagger Man is watching?"

Looking Glass Sound was a supernatural thriller with many writers and view points. The story is set on the east coast and follows Wilder Harlow. The first half touches on teenage adolescence, where summer seemed endless, but something dark and sinister had Wilder and his friends looking over their shoulders. The last half of the book was Wilder trying to piece together the summer that changed his life forever. The last half is also where most of the twists and turns took place and some were more baffling and confusing than the last.

Looking Glass Sound was like reading a novel inside another novel. You, the reader, were forced to guess what was happening next throughout most of the book. If you weren't paying close enough attention it was easy to get lost.

Overall, the storyline was interesting, but the structure and overall layout of the book was hard to follow and hard to piece together (but maybe that was the intention?). I still don't know if I quite understand what happened and if I ever will be able to figure it out.

Thanks to NetGalley and TorNightFire for the eARC of one of my most anticipated releases of 2023!!

I will read anything that Ward writes and I really mean that. Looking Glass Sound did not change this opinion but rather intensified it.

As with most of her books, I recommend going in blind. This is probably one of her less "horror" books and more of a psychological journey, although pinning it down to one genre is difficult for this one. I know people love to throw this word around to describe things but this book is so incredibly meta...and I love it. I have read a few meta horror books this year and it's an aspect that I really love. This is a book within a book...within a book? There are just so many layers to this story that as soon as you're done, you have to go back to page one and start again.

Ward's writing is accessible, yet effective and creates such a strong atmosphere, this book is begging to be read in the summer time near a beach. I love finding horror beach reads to recommend and this is one I am adding to the top of the list.

I felt connected to all the characters, especially in the first half, then Ward flips things on you and suddenly its like you are now actually meeting the true cast of characters. I was left with this sense of loss for those characters, that particular story, and it really drove home the nostalgia that Ward infused into the story, especially concerning childhood memories and how those memories evolve as you age.

I also think Ward did a great job doing what she always does, which is the slow reveal that the narrators of the story were not reliable from the start. She executes this so well every time because she never opens with outright admissions of unreliability that you often see in mysteries and thrillers. She weaves in the smallest hints that slowly grow and expand, then you finish the book and realize you were doomed from the start, you were standing in metaphorical book quicksand the whole time and she was letting you slowly sink before telling you that yes, you've been sinking the whole time and no, she won't save you by giving you an easy explanation.

I think this book won't be a hit for everyone, Ward's books seem to be hit or miss with readers, but she is always a hit for me.

* note on eARC formatting: I can't wait to get a physical copy of this book, as I feel the eARC formatting was not ideal. I think there were some things happening in the formatting of the text that actually impacted the story and I think I missed them because it looks like jumbled mess in my eARC. I was going to buy a physical copy anyway, but I am 100% rereading it once I do!!

I was excited to read the followup to brain-breaking experience that was The Last House on Needless Street. But this novel didn't live up to the predecessor's promise. Looking Glass Sound meanders through multiple times, characters, and focal points. By the time it jumped 30 years ahead, any momentum earned was lost for me and I just didn't care anymore. Sad to say, I do not recommend this one.

I can not and will not try to summarize or explain this book in any capacity. All I will say is Catriona Ward has me by the balls. I would read her grocery list if given the chance and thank her profusely for the opportunity.

I finished the book literally 4 minutes ago so I’ll try to summarize my thoughts even though my hands are shaking and my brain feels like pudding.

First of all, this is such a great summertime read, and it’s due to release in early August. It largely takes place during the summer months and I feel would be such a fun book to read on vacation or near a large open body of water (or sea cave if you have one available). It was genuinely eerie and chilling. The “horror” aspect of it was my favorite kind: it sort of just slowly seeps under your skin and makes you itch. You want to look away but you also are dying to know more. Just perfection.

It’s also heartbreaking. I cried multiple times without even really having the full picture of what was going on. 😅 I didn’t really understand until the very last page. And then I was wildly flipping through the book putting everything together and just laughing maniacally because Catriona ward is such a genius.

Okay that’s all. Five stars. Ten stars. 9 billion stars. Such a great read in my opinion. I’ve heard vastly differing opinions about this book but from page one I was hooked and there wasn’t one split second where I questioned if I was reading a book I’d think about for the rest of my life.

This one is tough for me to review. I initially enjoyed the story, but also found that it became increasingly confusing towards the end. I wasn't exactly sure what was happening (I also did a buddy read and others were equally confused). Without giving anything away, I thought that the plot and the way the story evolved was unique.... but again, I was confused with certain things. There were elements I really enjoyed - newfound summer friendships, a creepy story about a "Dagger Man," dramatic and tragic events, and how different life looks in the future. I loved Sundial and wanted to love this one. I feel as though readers will either think that this was brilliant or share the same feelings I had.

A seaside supernatural thriller with a wild twist.
Stories about dealing with grief (especially in the horror and thriller genres) are probably my favorite. This was an emotional rollercoaster with lots of twists and turns. Cat’s writing is so atmospheric and beautiful as always. It was easy to fall in love with each of the characters, and then end up heartbroken. The plot was well thought out and unexpected. I wouldn’t go into this one expecting a horror but it is very dark and twisty. My only quibble would be the retellings within the story feel a little redundant, otherwise, I loved it!

So, you might know that I loved The Last House on Needless Street. I feel like I've mentioned it before. :) As a result, I was ridiculously excited to get this ARC and wanted to get to it right away.

As always, the writing is just stunningly beautiful. About 40% of the way in, I was enjoying it but was sad it was so straightforward, but then it went off the rails and I loved every second of the wild, twisty journey! I feel like Ward's horror is more psychological and often sad than truly scary, and I loved that about every book of hers I've read so far.

The characters are both likable and unlikable (given the story structure) and I found that the way the story spoke of books and writing was like a love letter to books and writing. Also, as a native New Englander, she got the mood right - and I am very picky about that. I feel like a lot of people set books in New England but clearly have either never been here or were here once when they were 10 or something. I appreciate the way that this felt authentic, and old-school Stephen King fans will find something in this they like, I think.

Absolutely recommend. Catriona Ward is 100% on my go-to, absolute favorite authors list. I can't wait to read the other books I already have and see what comes next!

I don't really know how to summarize this, so I am going to just say that this is mysterious and meta. There are multiple people writing and multiple viewpoints...and multiple mysteries.

I wasn't obsessed with the story itself, but I was intrigued by the writing. There were times, however, where the lack of transitions made it feel disjointed. I felt thrown out of the book and its elements (and great setting), and that didn't make me want to continue as fervently.

I would give this 3.5 stars. It felt too much like a first draft of a book.

What even is reality? Who needs it?

Honestly, I love Catriona Ward, her completely warped, twisted and mind-boggling horror just calls me out by name, and I come. Looking Glass Sound was no different.

The synopsis is about as much as anyone can say without giving away plot points that need to be revealed at certain times while reading. Go in blind, you will thank me.

Confusing, suspenseful and uniquely unsettling. This book was so wild and I loved it.

Book: Looking Glass Sound
Author: Catriona Ward
Publisher:
Pub Date: August 8, 2023

Why did I keep thinking about the Talented Mr. Ripley when I read this. No seriously why? I’ve never read this author before and was so lost. She has created a story within a story and I have no idea what is real or what even happened. I read a review that said they know they are going to be confused when they read this author but at the end it all comes together. Ummmm I still have no clue how it ended. Another review said if you are confused through 80 percent of the book you are doing perfect. So I killed this book. I finished it and looked up and said what the heck just happened. My husband said you should know you read it….and while I did read it I’m just not sure. Yet I can say it’s really good! It’s one of those that now I’ve read the whole thing I need to read it again. It’s a very moving story that will continue to haunt you after you have finished. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author. Her writing style is definitely unique and different from anything I have ever read but it’s for sure a style I enjoyed it and want to read again. My only complaint is there are really no chapters. I need chapters. It’s like checking off a chore on your list.

Thank you Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is August 8, 2023.

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward is a twisty horror novel set on the Northeastern coast of the US. This almost felt like several horror stories in one. By the end I was unsure of what really happened and what was just the novel being written within the novel. This was my first Catriona Ward book and I definitely didn't hate it, but I am still unsure how I feel about it. I enjoy the coming of age trope for sure, but things just got so twisted when our narrators became unreliable. Which I guess is half the fun, right? I will certainly be checking out more of Ward's work before I make a decision on my feelings on the author's writing.

I’ve been sitting on this review for a while because I honestly still don’t know what I read 😂

I’m usually a sucker for a good “book within a book” plot but this was too meta for even me. That said, I’m still thinking about it weeks after reading it so I guess it has that going for it?

I’m still a #rideordie Catriona Ward fan but this one made my brain hurt! 💀

Thank you to @netgalley for my review copy (ebook and audio)

I loved this story! I am always captivated by Catriona Ward's writing style. I feel like I am completely apart of the story. It was so fun and challenging trying to depict what was real and what was the memoir. I felt this was unpredictable with a crazy ending!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

"Looking Glass Sound" is a suspense thriller set on the east coast and follows Wilder Harlow and the summer that changed his life. This is my first Ward and I am not really sure how I feel about her writing. This book started out strong, I think. There was some interesting stuff with Wilder, Nat, and Harper and their weird little trio and the added creepiness of a serial photographer that takes photos of sleeping children with a knife positioned for a kill. It's when the story picks up with Wilder starting college...then the story gets META. But not good meta...it's right on the side of meta where you can tell that the writer felt proud of how convoluted and pretentious their writing got because it has to show how intelligent and brilliant they are, right? RIGHT?! Yeah, absolutely not.

I really wanted to like this because everyone else seems to love Ward's writing but I just cannot see it and maybe this book just doesn't showcase Ward's writing very well. I don't know but it just didn't do anything for me. The first half is what held me; it's a compelling story of an awkward teen really being able to come out of his shell during a summer and the two other teens that help him, but then there's a break in friendships that really changes the course of Wilder's life...and my opinion of the book. The stuff with Sky/Skye and Wilder is just unbearable because then, Ward decides that the best way to tell this story and it's conclusion is to do MULTIPLE WAYS. But the best part is that the multiple retellings aren't even that different from one another. It literally felt like the retellings served no real narrative purpose other than to introduce a new character and their messed up motivations. I just wanted to DNF this book at this point. And then the ending, without spoilers, is such a massive and out of nowhere letdown. The whole last 2/3 of the book is just nonsensical and boring.

I do applaud Ward for working with such a weird narrative structure but I don't think it really worked. The first third of the novel really shows that Ward is a brilliant writer but it just didn't come together in the end.

I wish I could say unequivocally that Looking Glass Sound was a great book, but I cannot. To be completely honest, I keep trying Catriona Ward's books because so many people like her, but I haven't been successful yet at finding one I like. In part, that's why I wanted to read and review this one. The plot summary sounded promising and I thought I'd try again.

The first half or so of this book is compelling and drew me in. An old man is back at his childhood vacation spot trying to make sense of a traumatic event that occurred to him and his friends when they were all 17 years old. The event comes along quite suddenly and was both compelling and shocking. At this point, there is the story of the friendships, of the tragedy, and of its aftermath in the man's life complete with a romance with his college best friend who does him very wrong; theft of another person's work is a horror all on its own. I enjoyed this part of the book.

Then, things went sideways for me. Throughout the rest of book we're told the same basic story in multiple ways. It's not really like Rashomon (which always comes to mind with this kind of tale) because although the story is trying to appear that it's being retold from various points of view, that part of it is not terribly well done. Among other things, the story isn't appreciably different with each new retelling and while the protagonist appears to shift (who exactly is telling this story?) the protagonist's voice doesn't change much from persona to persona.

Aside from the word game that is played throughout the book (and one which I remember playing with my father when I was a little girl), this part of the book was just boring. I didn't find it interesting or compelling - it was clear what Ward was trying to do - it just didn't work for me. Finishing the book was a slog and it was a struggle to get through it. I heaved a sigh of relief when I was done.

I don't mind the kinds of alternative narrative structures that Ward is playing with here, so long as they are well-done and serve a broader purpose, but this feels more like a perfunctory attempt at being interesting. I was really disappointed to have a book I was enjoying turn into something I just wanted to end.

Read this one for the first half and skip the rest - it's a really good book until the first half ends.

Thanks for NetGalley and Tor for the advance review copy. The release date for Looking Glass Sound is currently August of 2023.