Wow, what a stunning novel. There's so much to rave about in this book. I feel like it is a very honest, almost brutal portrayal of the horrors that even children are capable of. I think it looks at a lot of really promising and provoking concepts, like the mental health of children, the isolation that we experience as humans, how easy it is for children in particular but also vulnerable people in general to get taken in by things like Slenderman, and in this book, a figure known as Him. The voice in this book, in particular, is just brilliant. Each character is so distinct, even between their present-day and past versions. Honestly, I was shaking with dread the whole way through reading this book, wondering what would happen, when it would happen, how it would happen. I think this speaks to how fantastic the author has been able to pull everything in this book together, the sensations they're able to invoke. I'm sure I'm not touching upon something I enjoyed, but just generally, I thought this book was so, so well-done. Couldn't recommend it more!

Twelve year old Maddie and Lana found one another through their love of horror stories and movies and became best friends with Lana the more dominant one who Maddie never wanted to disappoint. Lana decides the games they play have been getting too childish and so they sneak on the internet (Lana's father's computer) and find the freaky website of Him. Maddie doesn't really believe but goes along with Lana since she's become obsessed and swears she's seen Him in the shadows and he comes to her at times and talks to her. This talk scares Maddie at times but she's afraid to tell her parents so she just goes along with it until the day she's sure she has seen Him and this is when both of the girl's future will change forever.

Ten years later Maddie is released on probation with no experience with life in the real world. Her mother has remarried and moved to a home not far from their old neighborhood so Maddie soon find out that the community is still an unforgiving and harsh judgmental place to come back to. Maddie's life is not in much of a better place to start over than the institution where she spent her entire childhood and teen years hoping to be happy and normal in the outside world. Maddie secretly finds an internet site devoted to Him with followers who look up to Maddie and Lana so she thinks maybe she can find a way to help these followers from going down this horrid road and maybe saving them. Maybe this is her purpose in life! As Maddie's life in the community continues to knock her down she knows she must stop this group from carrying out a truly devastating act but if anyone finds out she has been on this site she could go back to her past prison permanently. What can she do? What will she do? Does Maddie really believe Him is not real or has she been fooling everyone around her?


This was an intriguing and well-written story by 'Kat Davis' based on the infamous legend of "Slenderman" but taking this fictional story so much further when Maddie was released from her state institution (which had not happened in the real life story). I felt so bad for Maddie and her struggles. Her parents let her down in the past and present. Her dad not even wanting to be a part of her life and never visiting her when she was institutionalized. Where were these parents, Lana's included when these girls were mere children going down a dark path that led to destroying three families forever. Maddie can't catch a break as long as she stays in this unforgiving town except legally she has no other choice. Love and support is missing in every way possible and even though what she and Lana had done when they were children my heart still aches for Maddie not so much for Lana. Lana has been a puzzling enigma that probably can't be fixed. She may have been a child psychopath whose mental state can never be healed. I'm so glad I was able to read this frightening and heartbreaking book and I highly recommend it to anyone especially those readers who were interested or followed the "Slenderman" case that is still news worthy today.


I want to thank the publisher "Thomas & Mercer" for the opportunity to read this terrific novel and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating of 4 DEVASTATING AND HEARTBREAKING 🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

I enjoyed this! The pacing was good and it kept my interest. The writing style was good. I would recommend this! Special Thank You to Kat Davis, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Remember the Slenderman case? That seems to be the premise of this book. How do you distinguish between someone who is evil vs someone who is unwell. Especially when they are children who have done something heinous.

This is a gripping fictionalized account inspired by the infamous "Slender Man Stabbing" that occurred in Wisconsin in 2014. This novel, though rooted in true crime, transcends mere replication, delivering a chilling and thought-provoking psychological thriller.

The story centers around Maddie and Lana, two 12-year-olds whose toxic friendship culminates in a horrendous crime. Fast forward to 2017, Maddie is granted an early release from the psychiatric institution where she has spent a decade. The conditions of her release are strict, including a prohibition on engaging with content related to the crime on social media. However, Maddie is inexorably drawn to a chatroom filled with acolytes of the original crime, potentially setting the stage for a similar tragedy.

The dual timelines of 2007 and 2017 are masterfully interwoven, building suspense and offering a nuanced exploration of the characters’ psyches. Lana and Maddie's relationship is depicted with unsettling authenticity, highlighting the toxic dynamics that led to their catastrophic actions. Sage, the innocent victim, adds a poignant layer to the narrative, underscoring the devastating impact of their choices.

Davis's portrayal of Maddie's journey post-incarceration is both engaging and sensitively handled. The novel delves into themes of rehabilitation, the struggle for redemption, and the haunting pull of one’s past. The tension between Maddie's desire to move on and the lurking danger of being drawn back into darkness is palpable.

One of the standout elements of this book iis its ability to surprise. Despite the reader's foreknowledge of the real-life event, Davis manages to infuse the story with unexpected twists, particularly in the 2017 timeline. These surprises keep the narrative fresh and compelling, defying the expectation that knowing the true crime background would diminish the book's suspense.

Davis's debut novel is well-structured, maintaining a delicate balance between suspense and sensitivity. It avoids the pitfalls of exploitative storytelling, instead offering a respectful yet riveting exploration of a real-life tragedy. The various points of view enrich the narrative, providing a well-rounded perspective on the events and their aftermath.

In a Dark Mirror by Kat Davis is a very well written debut that kept me glued to my Kindle.
The characters are well-developed and complex, and the plot twists keep you guessing until the very end.
A very compelling thriller that will keep you up late at night trying to finish this riveting story.

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

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Maddie is released early from the state hospital after psychiatrists deem her fit, having served 10 years in various facilities for a violent attack she committed with her best friend when she was 12. The pair believed that by sacrificing a neighborhood girl, "He" would appear and take them to a perfect life. Instead, they were tried and sentenced to psychiatric hospitals after being found "not criminally responsible" for their actions. Now, as Maddie tries to adjust to life outside, her progress is threatened by a website of devoted "Followers" who believe in Him. Isolated and struggling to feel normal, will Maddie fall into psychosis again, or can she save herself and others?

The story unfolds over two timelines: the past, leading up to the stabbing, and the present, when Maddie is released. The premise is a fictional retelling of the Slenderman case, which some might see as derivative, but I disagree. Many books adopt this strategy, and this one fills in the gaps, creating a fictional scenario of motivations, the crime, and what happens when one of the girls is released.

I found the story and its setup fascinating. It builds slowly, leading to the inevitable crime, and then follows present-day Maddie as she tries to straighten out her life but faces many obstacles. Maddie is also a possibly unreliable narrator, having just been released from a psych hospital and admitting to anger issues and other problems. This adds a layer of complexity and tension to the narrative.

Overall, the book offers a gripping and thought-provoking exploration of crime, mental health, and the struggle for normalcy in abnormal circumstances.

12-year-old Maddie and her best friend Lana love horror stories and scary stuff. Lana sees a man she calls Him and soon tells Maddie that they must obey Him in order to escape their lives and move away to live with Him forever. Ten years later, Maddie is released from a mental institution and must return home with her mother and stepfather. Struggling to build a life for herself in the wake of their heinous act, Maddie finds an online community dedicated to Him.

I really liked this book. It kept me turning pages long after I'd said "just one more chapter". Reading other reviews tells me this is a fictionalized retelling of the Slenderman killers, but I don't know a lot about that and was able to enjoy the book on its own. I thought it was well written and a fast read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Available now.

In a vein reminiscent of the Slenderman stabbing (the ones committed by preteens), a woman who committed a murder with a friend when they were children is released. As she readjusts to life outside of an institution, she finds that there are still many people online obsessed with Him, the mythical being the girls committed the murder for.

I thought this one did a good job hooking in readers, but then it fell flat soon after. I'm not sure exactly what it was but it just didn't resonate for me.

Maddie is released from the state hospital early when psychiatrists deem her fit after serving 10 years in various facilities for a violent attack she committed with her best friend when she was 12 years old. The pair believed that by sacrificing a neighborhood girl, “He” would appear to them and whisk them away to a perfect life together. Instead, they were tried and sentenced to psychiatric hospitals after being found “not criminally responsible,” for their actions. Now, as Maddie tries to adjust to life outside of an institution, her progress is threatened by a website of devoted “Followers,” who seem to genuinely believe in Him. Isolated and trying to feel normal in irregular circumstances, will Maddie fall into psychosis again? Or can she save herself and the others?

This book takes place over two timelines: the past, leading up to the stabbing; and the present, when Maddie is released.

The premise is obviously a ripped-from-the-headlines fictional retelling of the Slenderman case, which I’ve seen other reviewers reject as “derivative,” but I could not disagree more. First of all, many books do this, it is not a new strategy. And second, this book is meant to fill in the gaps where we don’t have knowledge of what happened. It creates the fictional scenario of what exactly the motivations were and what led to the crime, then what happened when one of the girls is released. What does she go through? What does she think about? Etc, Etc.

I found the story and its set-up fascinating. It was a slow ramp-up as you saw what was coming, and knew you couldn’t stop it. And then you watch as the present-day Maddie tries to straighten out her life, but is stymied at so many angles.

And she’s also possibly an unreliable narrator. I mean, she <i> was </i> just released from a psych hospital and admits to having anger issues, among other issues. It’s all very suspenseful and very dark. I loved it! I was turning pages like crazy waiting to see what was going to happen next.

I thought this was a great, suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat thriller. I would definitely recommend it and look forward to reading more from this author!

For those of you who have heard of the Slenderman stabbing, this is a fictionalized version of it. The ending felt a little anticlimactic, and some things were unexplained.
Thank you, Netgalley, and Thomas and Mercer for this ARC.

Rating: 2.91 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 4/5
-Cover: 2/5
-Story: 2.75/5
-Writing: 4/5
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, True Crime
-Mystery: 4/5
-Suspense: 2/5
-Thriller: 2/5
-True Crime: 2.5/5
Type: Ebook
Worth?: Ehh? Maybe

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

What drew me in was the fact it was basically the Slenderman killings in story form, I suppose. The basic concept at least. I only know the basics of what happened but not has happened after or even if the girl survived.

The whole point of me reading this was to see the psychology used in making the characters and what would play out. It wasn't too bad, I suppose? The story okay, it grabbed me for the first halfish but the more it went the less I was inclined to want to read it. The ending was so/so. It didn't give what I was needing. Honestly I was expecting a more OMPH and sadly didn't get it.

This book scratched an itch I didn’t know I had. The Creepy Pasta, local lore aspect of this is so good. It took me back to childhood, reading scary stories on the internet, and convincing yourself and your friends you saw something move in the shadows.
Having all three of the girls perspectives gave so much insight and depth to the story. To learn about their family and home lives and maybe some contributing factors that made them to susceptible to the awful things that happen. The desire in those pre-teen years to be accepted by others and have friends feels like all or nothing, life or death.

With the significant similarities (almost an exact copy & paste) to the real life case of the two girls who stabbed their friend for Slenderman in Wisconsin, there is not much I can positively say about In a Dark Mirror that doesn't feel like I'm commentating on the real girls' lives. And I find it to be frustrating and lazy writing how little originality there was.

The use of the website and the cult following of Him, this novel's version of Slenderman down to the very description of him, was one of the few original additions to this story but this also relies on me not knowing what obsessive people who might be out there that feel this way about the Slenderman stabbing.

Maddie's release from the facilities she has been in over the years does not make me feel sympathetic on a human level, not because of what happened with Sage, but there being some sort of surface level soullessness that made it hard to feel for Maddie and Lana even as children of home life situations they couldn't control. Realistically it is sad these two came from shitty homes, but I couldn't bring myself to care much.

The audacity and disrespect that Kat Davis not only took what happened in this case word for word but having the audacity to put a disclaimer about similarities as well as no author's note to acknowledge where she got "inspiration" for this novel, you have to go google an interview from her. As well as sexualizing the TWELVE YEAR OLD by having her go into thoughts of masturbation and giving a boy a blowjob.

The more I spend thinking about this as I write, the more I absolutely detest In a Dark Mirror.

As someone who is interested in true crime and creepypasta, this book really captured my attention. The story is based on the 2014 Slender Man stabbing that occurred in Wisconsin where 2 best friends lured a girl into the woods and attempted to sacrifice her to appease Slender Man.

The best friends in this book are Lana and Maddie. Lana is the first to see and eventually speak to a shadowy figure known as Him. He convinces her that He requires a human sacrifice for Him to cross over from the spiritual world into the real world so that they can physically be together. Lana constantly tries to persuade Maddie that Him is real, although it does take a while for Maddie to believe and even after everything takes place, she still doesn’t know what is real and what is fictional.

The story switches between 2 timelines - 2007 (before the crime + planning of the crime) and 2017 (after Maddie is released from the mental hospital).

It’s so creepy knowing that something like this has happened irl but that’s what drew me into this book! It shows just how easily influenced kids can be. There was never a boring moment for me and I kept wanting to read more!

Thank you to @netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC! ✨

I’ll start out this review by mentioning that I didn’t realize this novel was based on the “slender man” crime. Once I read more of the book, it sounded familiar so I did some background research on it.

The book was well written in my opinion. In the 2007 POVs, I felt like I really did know the characters and their struggles. The read was fast paced and had lots of foreshadowing of how things would play out. Tension was high throughout while building up to the stabbing. I did feel creeped out and unsettled every time they mentioned “Him” and how he appeared to the girls. I was a little sad there wasn’t more to the 2017 POV and Maddie’s life after getting out of the mental hospital.

I went into this book thinking it was going to be a psychological thriller like it was advertised, but it mostly just focused on mental illness and the struggles of being a kid at that age.

This book begins with best friends Lana and Maddie walking away from the crime they’ve just committed, so the story is not about what happened. I thought it would be about why it happened, but I just finished the last page and I still don’t know that either. My main takeaways are that 12 year old girls are atrocious, and the internet is an evil place. There were a few small surprises in the book, but mostly I was just waiting for the twist that never came, no closer now to understanding why any of this happened. I had higher hopes for this story and it unfortunately just never delivered.

Loosely based on a true crime, In a Dark Mirror maybe picks up where the real story left off, in a descent of mental illness and atonement.

I actually liked this book, but it’s a copy/paste of the Slender Man stabbing that took place in Wisconsin in 2014 (30 minutes from where I live) — and the author hasn’t acknowledged that the novel was inspired by this true event. I have a problem with basically plagiarizing a true crime and not giving credit.

I had the same issue when I read WHAT WAITS IN THE WOODS by Kate Alice Marshall, but this one is even MORE similar to the events of the Slender Man stabbing.

If I’m somehow missing that the author was transparent with where this idea came from, I will come back and update this review because this is my reason for giving it two stars.

I was really looking forward to reading this, the description sounded great. Once I started reading though...
To say that the author took inspiration from the actual crime (the slenderman stabbing) that took place is an understatement. There are so many details that are near identical (I will list below to avoid spoilers for those who want to read this book.) Which ultimately may not have been the biggest issue for me if the author didn't write in sexual content of the 12 year old that was the victim, in the book and in real life. No where in the description nor the beginning of the book is it mentioned this is inspired by this case. in fact it actually states that "this is entirely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental" yea okay.

Now this is just my opinions so take it with a grain of salt but as someone who is partially familiar with the actual crime, I could not separate this "fiction" from the actual attempted murder because the author chose to include so many near identical details. So while reading this "fictional" story my mind was on the real people this happened to and i could not get past the authors written sexual scenes on the victim who was TWELVE masturbating and giving blow jobs. MAJOR ICK.

Am I being too harsh? possibly. BUT I myself tend to avoid fiction based on true crime because often I find it to come across disrespectful. I wish this had a little blurb informing that this was inspired by a true crime and I likely would not have picked it up.

SPOILERS BELOW -book vs real crime similarities (dont read past this point if you dont want spoilers)

Book: Maddie and Lana have a sleepover to carry out their plan to kill Sage. Lana has visions of HIM and they must sacrifice someone to be able to go live happily ever after with HIM. They were going to do it as Sage slept at night but changed their minds. Next morning they all went outside for a walk to the park a game of hide and seek, then told Sage to lie own and proceeded to stab her. Sage remained conscious while Maddie and Lana said they are going to go get help (not actually) Sage crawled to a path where she was eventually found by a dog walker. Police discovered Maddie and Lana walking down the road on their way to live with "HIM."

The REAL LIFE crime: basically all of the above except HIM is SLENDER MAN. the victim was found by a cyclist.

Book: "the knife missed puncturing the wall of her heart by no more than milimeter." Sage said in an interview she would thank Maddie and Lana for giving her direction in life. Surviving the attack makes her want to go into the medical field.

IN REAL LIFE CRIME: "One stab wound missed a major artery by less than a millimeter." Victim said in an interview with 20/20 she would thank her because she wouldn't have the life she has now if things didn't happen how they did and how it's made her want to pursue a career in medicine.

that's quite a lot of coincidences in my opinion.

And lastly, what was up with the sketchy stepfather lol? I'm not really sure what was the point of his character along with his son... whos crimes seemed to be severely downplayed??

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for sharing a digital copy with me. As always, opinions are my own.