This is a true page turner. I enjoyed the setting and the locked room environment. I did not mind following both characters point of views. At times this book borders on a horror which I loved! It is creepy in all the best ways.
I will be sure to read more of Steadman's books.
Random House Publishing, Catherine Steadman and Netgalley.
4/5 star

I've heard a lot about this author and her previous books, and I was thrilled to read this one. The story is narrated mainly from the perspectives of Nina & Maria. The first half was intriguing, with short chapters and cliffhanger endings, but there were disjointed elements and plot holes. The explanations felt rushed in the second half, and the motive and romance angle were unsatisfactory. Overall, it's a fast-paced, action-packed read that might appeal to fans of thrillers. I'd give it 3 stars. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this!

Unfortunately this book was not my cup of tea. It had lots of plot holes. It was certainly exciting but the story didn't make sense to me in the end.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Pretty fantastical. Suspend all reason when you read this. I finished it but it was not a "gone girl" book

If you are a fan of isolation thrillers, you need to run to pick this one up!

"Don't go in the basement," the book says. So you know, someone is going in that basement. What they find is a wild ride. I really can't say much because you all need to read this one yourself. It is a different concept from your average thriller in the best way. I truly enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for gifting me this ARC. I have enjoyed Catherine Steadman's books thus far and will anxiously await the next one!

This was pretty twisted and had a lot of suspense in almost every chapter, so if you want an edge of your seat this one is in the game!! When you first start reading you get dual plots and you know even though it all doesn't make much sense yet how they go together that there will come a point they intersect then all the pieces will fall into place! After they intersect it is like a roller coaster, it happens fast and gets your heartbeat racing with anticipation to what will happen next! You will find that eventually the timeline is told at past and present times for each woman but the whole locked escape room thing gives me the creeps so I enjoyed this one for sure just with that factor!
You have Nina who's father passed away and she has no other family, and then she gets a huge shock that her father has left her a property in the British Virgin Islands but she has never heard anything about it or known of it's existence. She goes to claim said property with a whole lot of confusion, questions, and wondering if she knew her father at all. Nina ends up for quite a wild ride!
Maria is a nanny for super rich clientele, and she arrives at her hopefully last job before she's set and there is no one there. She keeps being put off and to just enjoy her time until her wards arrive with one stipulation..... Don't go to the basement! She ends up going to the basement by a fluke and enters a room with a button and her curiosity gets the best of her and sends her for the ride of her life!! No spoilers will be given.
This high suspense mystery thrill ride pulls out the stops once it gets going, and it gets going pretty fast so buckle up! Thank you to NetGalley for the copy in exchange for a review with my own thoughts.

Catherine Steadman is always going to provide readers with a good time! This book was also another one of those situations where things were fun and I found myself turning the pages just to know what was going to happen.

However, it ended up like most of her books, being around a 3.5 star rating. The overall book was forgettable, but it is a fun time.

This book is gripping. It is in alternating POV and it’s a wild ride. This book is a touch of a horror book. This book is about two women and an interesting house.

Catherine Steadman wastes no time grabbing the reader’s attention, telling two unrelated stories about two women with nothing in common. Maria just signed a contract to be a nanny for a wealthy family at their island paradise. Nina, by virtue of her father’s passing, learned she is the owner of a huge island estate. While the timelines are not clear, both women arrive at different times, on the same island and move in to the same house. Look in the Mirror makes you feel like you are in the house with Maria and Nina as they wind through the hallways and rooms learning about its history, amenities, and secrets. Admittedly, parts of the story are difficult to follow, but the writing and the plot are captivating.

3 stars

I first want to say I really enjoyed this one but there were a few factors that played into this that prevented me from rating this book higher. If I were to split this book in half, the first half is very, very slow. Almost to the point where I thought I wouldn't want to continue. The second half goes full speed and it was a little too fast for my liking. I also thought the story was very "outlandish" that it prevented me from liking it because I knew this would/could never happen. I would also classify this book to be an "action" thriller which is not my favorite but I think this would be a great movie if it were to be adapted to the big screen. I do plan to pick up this author's future work.

It's hard to rate this book because while it was a fast-paced and action-packed read, I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. If anything, I went from intrigued to disappointed once the secret of the house was revealed.

I loved the setting and its vivid descriptions, the characters, the writing and what an easy read this was. I also enjoyed the social commentary: It hit hard when Maria spoke of "misplaced male confidence" and how "the world was as he expected and not as she feared".

However, the premise of a Hostel-like escape room just feels very unoriginal and basic, especially with so many similar movies already out there. What this novel does have going for it are the strong and memorable characters who had me emotionally invested.

The last few chapters were great and really messed with me!

Interesting how polarising the author's books are for me. I was meh about Something In The Water, disliked The Disappearing Act, but loved The Family Game. Eagerly awaiting what she will deliver next!

3.5⭐

Thanks Netgalley, author, Random House Ballentine Publications for the ARC.

Nina who's still recovering from the loss of her beloved father gets a shocking news that she's inherited a huge mansion in a remote British Virgin island that was supposedly owned by her father ! Unaware that her dad who lived a simple straight forward life she's surprised to know her dad had all that wealth to own such a property. But why did he never mention about this ? How did he have that extra cash to build it? Was he hiding something big from his daughter?
Maria once an ambitious medical student drops out to become nanny for rich people. Added perk is she gets to travel to remote beautiful locations as part of her job for her high profile clients. She's in one such job currently waiting for the client to arrive with kids in town in a huge glass mansion that she seems to have all for herself, at least that's what she's thinking until incidents occur that makes her think otherwise. She's supposed to avoid going into the basement, but eventually when she does she's shocked to see what's waiting for her

I've heard a lot about this author and her previous books, so I was thrilled to read this when approved especially with the plotline. Narrated mainly from perspective of Nina & Maria , us readers get to know about the Mansion, what's inside of it and what's happening to these women once they are inside it in different timelines. I was curious enough to keep flipping pages , short chapters and cliffhanger endings helped too. First 100-150 pages just sets up the two stories and I kept wondering where was this leading that's when they introduced the first twist which you can guess if you read/watch thriller a lot. The story makes you keep guessing how are the two women connected. But sadly there were many disjointed elements in the story for me and some plot holes that were hard to ignore. Although I do give the author credit for doing something totally different with the twists and plotline 2nd half of the book , the explanations felt rushed and did not feel satisfactory to me towards the end. The motive felt half baked and the romance angle bizarre . Going into further details with only end up spoiling the book.
If you like movies like Get Out or you like survival thrillers this can be your pick.

It's a 3/5 🌟 read for me. It's fast paced , short chapters action thriller , relatively short read.

Not my favorite by this author but still a decent thriller. Some parts seemed a little far-fetched but I was invested in what would happen. The first half to 3/4 is super fast paced and it fizzles somewhat at the end. Will still read everything Steadman puts out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! A true rollercoaster of a plot told from dual narratives, I literally had a hard time putting it down. Sleep is overrated right?

A stellar read, and my new favorite by a stellar author!

I've enjoyed Catherine Steadman's books in the past, but this one blew my mind. The slow-burn beginning, the characters, the delicious teasing of the twists were all expertly woven. I also got chills, literal chills, at a couple of parts, which almost never happens.

Truly an enthralling, chilling read, and one I'll be thinking about for a long time. Extremely thankful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc--I rushed to order a hardcopy soon as I finished the book!

If you’re new to Catherine Steadman’s books, I have three pieces of advice… First, clear your schedule and be ready to settle in and luxuriate over her twist-y, cinematic thrillers. Second, if you’re an audiobook listener, do her audiobooks. She narrates them herself (she’s a classically-trained actor) and they are top notch. Third, go ahead an order or list yourself at your local library for the rest of her books because you won’t want to stop!

Her latest book, Look in the Mirror, is another foray into new territory. This time, using two storylines that the reader isn’t quite sure how they fit together with the exception of them seeming to take place in the same house but at different times.

Nina is a thirty-something English professor in England who recently lost her father. Not long after he passes, she is contacted by the executor of his will informing her that her father left her a sprawling vacation home in the British Virgin Islands—a house she had no idea her father even owned. The house is stunning and state-of-the-art. Glass, marble, and high-end technology. How could her civil engineer father afford this? How did she know nothing about it?

A medical student named Maria has taken a break from her studies to make enough money to pay for the exorbitantly-expensive program. She works as a nanny for the rich, preferring to work through an agency that sets her up on relatively short stints that pay well. She’s hoping the one she just accepted will be her last and she can go back to school. Not long after arriving at the stunning but cold property, she gets a weird vibe. The owner and his children never show, but the agency keeps reassuring her she’ll get paid for her full contract either way. After days of luxuriating by the pool, an electronic malfunction has Maria tempted to break the only rule of her stay: Don’t go in the basement. Maria knows she shouldn’t but she can’t help but see what may be down there, and that is when everything goes horribly awry…

This is a rare dual-storyline book where I was equally as invested in both narratives. Maria and Nina are quite different, though both intelligent and hard-working. Maria is confident and self-assured, whereas Nina suffers from lingering insecurities that come from a feeling of never being talented enough or accomplished enough. In part, these insecurities are wrapped up in memories of her father, who was brilliant but tough. Nina loved her father deeply, but it’s clear from the beginning that their relationship was complicated.

The house is a surprise to Nina, but the more time she spends in it the more she can see her father’s influence. I found Nina’s emotions and insecurities surrounding her father made her authentic and vulnerable. She loved her father, but he was a man who cast a long shadow and that has led to Nina feeling insecure about her own contributions and worth.

Maria, on the other hand, is already alone. She is a strong character, and we eventually learn some things from Maria’s past that led to her current state—alone but resilient. Maria is sharp, calculating, and clear-headed. I was fascinated by Maria, who seemed to avoid close relationships, including with her best friend and roommate back in New York.

At first it’s hazy how the two storylines are related. After Nina arrives at her father’s home, it’s clear that it’s the same house that Maria is at. Which storyline came first, though? Did Nina’s father purchase the home that Maria is in? Was Maria’s father the unseen (at first) client? Is Nina the client? I had so many thoughts here, and the possibilities seemed endless.

I’m going to take the rest of my thoughts about Nina, Maria, the house, and the novel over to my spoiler review so I can discuss how it all came together and that twist-ed ending. But without spoiling, I want to commend the cinematic quality to this book. It’s always apparent that Steadman has a background in theater and film—her books feel like you are watching a movie to me. The settings are vivid, the characters are complex, and the scenes are well-crafted where the reader can picture it all happening.

Another gripping psychological thriller from Catherine Steadman!

I haven't read anything from this author. I thought the story was very interesting. I really liked the writing of this story.

Let’s be real—the main character in this story is the mysterious house in the Virgin Islands with a deadly escape room in the basement. I’ve read all of Catherine Steadman’s books, and it’s been fun watching her grow. This one’s a creepy thriller with beautifully crafted backstories for most of the characters. I loved how their histories tied into their strength and resolve—except for Joe. Why didn’t Joe get a backstory? He deserved more, and so did some of the other characters. The book felt cut way too short, with an ending that came out of nowhere and wrapped up a little too neatly, complete with a bow on top. Also, why was the U.S. involved? Still unclear.

Great book! I had no idea where it was going most of the time, but I couldn't stop reading! I loved all the twists that came everytime I thought I knew what was coming next! Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I loved this quick-paced thriller! I loved how the story unfolded and the twists and turns. It went back-and-forth between different people and I also liked that.

I would definitely recommend!