When Nina’s father dies, Nina is shocked to find out she has inherited a house. A house she knew nothing about. A beachfront mansion in the British Virgin Isles. When Nina travels to view the home and sign papers with solicitors, she quickly surmises that all is just a little off. When she starts receiving warning notes, she has no idea where they are coming from as the estate has top of the line security. While the basement has her interest, it’s locked with no apparent way in. What could possibly be so important?
Marie is a high paid nanny, she needs one more gig to raise funds to restart her medical schooling. When she’s invited to an island estate, she jumps at the chance, but her clients never show up. Left to her own devices, Maria becomes obsessed with the locked basement, the only room she is told to stay away from.
Curiosity just might kill the cat!
While an intriguing plot, this wasn’t my favorite Steadman book. Told in two slightly different timelines, Steadman takes us on a wild ride, one that leaves the reader guessing until the last few chapters. Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I wanted to love Look in the Mirror, but, while filled with suspense, it felt a bit like if a conspiracy theory were turned into a thriller. It felt implausible enough to take me repeatedly out of the story, even as I felt compelled to finish.

Thank you Catherine Steadman, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book had such great potential! Weaving the life-or-death puzzles with the personal background of Nina and her father was brilliant. I think the book needed a clear direction, less POVs, and more context on the puzzle rooms and its previous victims. Also, I felt that the plot was bogged down by method. I grew confused as more POVs were added and didn't realize the events were more linear than initially thought. I enjoyed Steadman's previous book, "The Family Game" which was thrilling and so well-done that this falls a little flat for me. I will still read more of her titles in the future.

Maria is saving money for medical school by taking on temporary nanny jobs for the wealthy. When she arrives on Gorda in the British Virgin Islands she is informed that the family is delayed. She has the use of all of the facilities while she waits, but has no access to a room in the basement. When her curiosity gets the best of her and she finally enters the room it is a fight for her life. Nina Hepworth recently lost the father who raised her. She is surprised to learn that he has left her a home on Gorda. When she arrives, she finds an exclusive estate built into the side of the island. She has access to the entire estate with the exception of a locked room in the basement. When she requests the plans for the home from the construction company she finds that someone posing as Nina has had them sign a non-disclosure agreement. After proving her identity and receiving the plans, they reveal a series of rooms beyond the locked door. Her father was an engineer who loved puzzles and codes. There are touches of him everywhere, but gaining access to the rooms beyond the locked door means solving puzzles in each room to survive. Her father never would have gone this far, so who is really controlling the house?

Maria was hired by a woman with a tight chignon who is never identified by name. It is a description that fits the woman who visited Nina’s father before his death. This woman, Lucinda, ultimately has the power to save Nina but it comes at a cost. While Nina’s father designed the labyrinth, it has been adapted for a more vicious game. As Maria and then Nina navigate these rooms the tension continuously ramps up and will keep you turning the pages. Catherine Steadman is a must read for thriller fans. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for providing this book.

Nina Hepworth inherits a prime piece of real estate in the British Virgin Islands, she flies there and is beyond thrilled to see a stunning glass steel mansion overlooking a private beach. Soon after she finds the house has been rigged with surveillance equipment. Then it flips to another storyline where we meet the newly employed live-in nanny Maria, who arrives at this same house only to find she’s been ghosted by her not-yet-met employers. The only instructions she was told was not to open the basement door. Oh what an unsettling story of the filthy rich making bloody sport with those beneath them. I’ve never read anything remotely resembling this, but wow was the premise ever so creative and interesting.. AND TWISTED. Yes it was completely nuts and exciting with its riddles, cat and mouse games with life or death on the line giving you chills + eerie feels. All in all I enjoyed this and its unpredictability even though I did have to suspend belief. And holy moly that ⚠️house was a character in itself. If escape room thrillers are your jam this is for you. 3.5 stars — Pub. 7/30/24

I received an advanced copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

LOOK IN THE MIRROR was a pulse pounding, action packed thriller. I see why people have said to go into it blind. Based on the synopsis I already felt that I was going into it blind, but I couldn’t imagine what kind of wild ride this book had in store for me.

Nina has lost her dad and has found out that she has inherited a house in the British Virgin Islands that she knew nothing about. Then we have Moriah, who is a nanny for wealthy families and has arrived in the British Virgin Islands to work for a new family.

Going into the book you have no idea what if these two have to do with each other if anything. I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say when they arrive at the house, strange things happen.

I read this book really fast because it was just so fast paced, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. The chapters were short, which is my favorite and each chapter left off on a cliffhanger. I love it when thriller authors do this because it makes turning the pages effortless and it makes it hard to put the book down.

This was a satisfying thriller that kept me on my toes and kept me guessing and I think thriller book lovers will enjoy it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Catherine Steadman for an advance copy of Look in the Mirror in exchange for an honest review. Ok you all, this one was wild!! I don’t want to give to much away but if you like the idea of escape rooms or locked room thrillers- you need this book in your life. I devoured this in less then a day because I just had to figure out how all the chess pieces were going to fit into the master game. Parts may seem far fetched to some but scarily I think this scenario could be a reality in the future (maybe I’m paranoid?!). Pick this one up today because Steadman has done it again! 4.5 stars, rounded up for GR!

This thriller brought all the thrills. The suspense had me literally holding my breath multiple times. Steadman’s books always leave me thinking….how did she come up with that? 😂 This one was no different. I was hooked from the very beginning and it had me flipping pages so fast to figure out what the heck was going on! If you’re looking for an edge of your seat thriller with multiple WTF moments…try this one!

Read if you like:
▫️dual POV & timeline
▫️nail biting suspense
▫️complicated families
▫️things aren’t as they seem

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I have enjoyed books from this author in the past. They are always unique. Different. If you want a sold fun mystery, I recommend.

Thank you to Random House/Ballantine and PRH Audio for the copies to review.

Catherine Steadman has written an insane thriller that has literally blown my mind! This started slow, just moving along nicely and then all of a sudden boom! We have a crazy intense page turner that I couldn’t get through fast enough. All because we went into the basement when we knew better. Typical.

But seriously, I did not see this coming and once it got going it did not stop, it was quite intense, and I had no idea how it was going to end or how we even ended up where we did but it was quite the wild, satisfying ride. All the stars for this one, do not miss it if you like thrillers with perhaps a slight dash of horror!

This was sadly a little to slow for me I wanted more action and thrill but it didn’t deliver. I will give the author another chance though.

I really tried getting into this book but the problem is that I cared for neither of the characters and the plot with Maria seemed more interesting than the MC Nina and then the fact that it turned into a spinoff version of Saw, just got me annoyed. Or maybe like that movie Old where at the end, there were rich companies just overseeing who had lived and died and then continued with the experiment. I gave up on it and skimmed through the rest

A psychological thriller with an unusual story I have not seen before. I like that you spend the 1st half wondering what the heck is going on here and after you realize its a thrill ride to the very end. I can't give away too much without ruining it so I'll say if you love a good, twisty different kind of thriller, "Look in the Mirror" is for you!

Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for an advanced reader's copy of this book for my honest review.

Nina has just lost her father, the main person she had in her life. Her mother passed when she was born, no other family to speak of, and no real close friends. When she receives news that her father owned a home on an island she didn’t know about that now belongs to her, she is blown away, did her father have a complete separate life from her? If so, how? When? She decides she must got see the house and see if there is a connection to him she so desperately wants to keep alive.
In a dual story line, we meet Maria, a nanny that ends up in a crazy game of survival locked inside a basement with different rooms she must escape. How is this connected to Nina? And most importantly, who is behind this real life haunted house?
Steadman is the Queen of crazy scenarios. I love an escape room and I’ve often wondered what would happen if someone changed it to real life play….this is exactly what Steadman looks at with a twist! I really enjoyed this twisty ride!

Catherine Steadman can do no wrong for me. Her books are always inventive, thrilling, and full of unexpected turns. Her characters are smart and sharply written and this was no exception. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

Ever since Something in the Water I have made this author an automatic read. I was looking forward to this book, but really struggled to get into this one. I enjoy the authors writing and would still try another one of their books, this one was just difficult to get into. I did not feel any attachment to the characters and it did not grab me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Catherine Steadman for allowing me to review this suspenseful thriller. This was a quick and intense read that I enjoyed quite a bit. The direction the story went was not what I expected and was a bit hard to believe at the end. The game elements were disturbing and interesting at the same time. I think I would have enjoyed reading more about the family dynamics and getting to understand the father on a deeper level. Overall, this is a quick thrilling and very twisty ride and i recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed this author’s writing in the past and for anyone who likes very suspenseful reads. Thank you again for allowing me to review this book. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I absolutely loved Steadman's Something in the Water, so was excited to read this one. The premise for this book is sooo promising and the story is a great one. However, there is a little dullness getting to the end. 3.5 stars.

Such a good suspense novel!! "Look in the Mirror" by Catherine Steadman was hard to put down. Full of twist in the plot, incredible "evil genius" maneuvers, and highly unexpected events. A great read. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

Ugh... I hate when one of my most anticipated books of the year disappoints me this much. The first third of this book absolutely had me in its thrall, the middle third had me slowly losing interest, and by the last third I just wanted it to be over. Ah, well, maybe next year for Steadman. 2.5 rounded up.