I really did not like this. I personally felt the premise was as ridiculous and even a wild premise can be great but this was poorly executed. I couldn’t wait for it to end and yet didn’t dnf. I’ll refrain from posting elsewhere but just so bleh

3.5 stars

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝:
✦ escape rooms
✦ secluded island setting
✦ rich people behaving badly
✦ multiple POV

Add this book to your TBR if you're looking for a fast-paced Summer thriller! It really grabbed my attention at the beginning with its unique plot and eerie secluded setting. It slowly lost my interest because it seemed like it was just more of the same, but overall I really enjoyed it.
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The main story centers around two different women. Nina has recently lost her father and inherited his property in the British Virgin Islands. She had no idea this island home even existed so she decides to fly out and try and figure out the mystery of how and why her dad built the house.

Maria is a nanny and agrees to a job to care for the kids of a rich single dad. But when she arrives at the house, the client has been delayed so she gets to take advantage of the amenities of the house until they get there. There's only one area of the house she's not allowed, but her curiosity may end up getting the better of her.
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Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

LOOK IN THE MIRROR was a wild story and fast-paced thriller that bordered on outlandish at times, but was also a lot of fun!

When Nina’s father dies she receives a letter informing her that she’s inherited a stunning home in the British Virgin Islands - a home she didn’t know existed and can’t figure out how her father could afford. Nina makes the trip to the beautiful BVI where of course, nothing is as it seems.

I loved the first half of this one but by the end I lost steam and was left feeling a little underwhelmed. It was the perfect atmospheric thriller to keep my mind occupied on a long drive but it wasn’t the greatest thriller I’ve ever read. Overall, LOOK IN THE MIRROR fit the bill for something fast paced and gripping and I had fun with it but it won’t stick around in my brain for long.

If you liked THE FAMILY GAME by Steadman and/or WHAT HAVE WE DONE by Alex Finlay I think you’ll love this!

This was solid, and is a definite contender for Catherine Steadman's best work yet. It ratchets the tension progressively, and doesn't give away any of its secrets too early. There are plenty of unpredictable moments in it, and I thought the characters were interesting. Atmospheric and clever.

Wow, just wow. Look in the Mirror was a fantastic read that I inhaled, and I would absolutely suggest it to anyone looking for a gripping, keep you on the edge of your seat novel.

Nina's father has passed away, and to her surprise, she inherits a vacation home from him in the British Virgin Islands. The house is huge, and has all of the latest technology. So shes trying to determine how he could afford such a house considering they really did not keep any secrets from each other.

Maria is a nanny going to college, and she gets a gig where the parent and kids dont show up. She makes herself at home, but considers breaking the only rule she was given.

Nina, a British professor, has recently buried her father. While going through his things she finds that he's left her a house in the British Virgin Islands. Having never known about the house, she heads out to see what other secrets she can unearth about her father through the home. Maria, on the other hand has just arrived at the Island, having a contract to nanny for a wealthy family while they vacation on the Island. When the family doesn't show and an electrical malfunction unlocks a secret basement and is thrown into a dangerous game that could cost her, her life.

I can't really get too much into the story without giving away spoilers, but I will say that both Maria and Nina's storylines are intriguing in their own rights, and I really enjoyed the way Steadman was able to connect them. I honestly thought the story would go in a completely different direction and while I didn't dislike the ending, it felt a bit forced and wasn't particularly to my liking.

Overall, Look in the Mirror is a fast-paced thriller, that would be a perfect beach read. Even though I didn't love the ending, I had a hard time putting the book down. Definitely go into the story blind and 3.5 stars rounded up!



Look in the Mirror is out now. Thank you to Ballantine Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my
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I had to sit on this book for several days after reading it. This book centers around a young woman who's brilliant father has passed away. She is in for a shock when she learns she has been willed a home she had no idea existed. What follows is a major plot twist. I give this book 3 stars due to some grammatical errors and because some parts were drawn out. All in all this was a solid read and look forward to seeing what else this author comes up with.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC.

This wasn’t my favorite book by Catherine, but I did enjoy it! Personally I think this book had too much going on and also not a lot going on. Steadman’s writing is top tier and I liked how she approached a locked room thriller.

Although I didn’t love this one, I’ll still read more from Catherine in the future!

Going into this story blind made it so surprising! I had no idea what Nina was getting herself into as she unexpectedly inherited a house in the British Virgin Islands, but the feeling of doom came on slowly as her POV and Maria's interspersed. The short chapters helped lead me to turning the pages faster and faster - this would be a great beach or plane book. (There was a little bit of over the top-ness, but I've come to expect that with this author and think of it as a feature, rather than a bug. )

Nina Hepworth is grieving for her father. She lost him suddenly, and she is heartbroken. And then she sees a letter on his table that she had missed. It was on weighty paper, and it was addressed to her at her father’s home. When she opened it, Nina found that the letter was from an attorney who informed her that her father had a house in the British Virgin Islands, and that house was now hers.

Nina travels to the islands to see the house, and she finds a beautiful house right with a private beach. It’s filled with luxuries as well as small reminders of her father. But Nina doesn’t understand. Her father never said anything about this house. In all the years they were together, when they did crossword puzzles together and talked about books, when he shared his favorite poetry with her and they learned Morse code together to have a secret language. But in all that time, he had never mentioned a house in the Virgin Islands, nor did he give Nina any reason to believe that he had the kind of wealth that would get him a vacation house.

Nina tries to research the house, to get a copy of the building plans, but she finds out that someone else was impersonating her and got a copy of the plans just months before. Although, there are only plans for the parts of the house that are above the ground. The rest is a mystery.

Maria is a medical student who took some time off from school to work as a nanny for the ultra-rich. With just a few years of short-term nanny stints (usually for when the full-time nanny goes on vacation), Maria can pay off her entire medical degree, and maybe buy herself a house besides. She is offered a two-week job in the Virgin Islands, caring for two small children, and she jumped at the chance. She gets to the house and settles in, and then starts preparing the house for the family to show up. However, they don’t show up that first night.

The next day, Maria wakes up, puts on her uniform and again readies the house for the family. She makes some snacks for the kids and inflates some pool toys, in case they want to play in the pool after their long journey. But again, no one else shows. As the days tick by with no family for her to nanny, Maria starts to wonder exactly what it was she was hired for. And then she finds her way into the mysterious room in the basement, and everything changes for her. Her life as she knew it is over.

Look in the Mirror is the latest thriller by Catherine Steadman, and it is chilling. As young, single women learn the secrets of that house in the Virgin Islands, they find out just how far some people will go to feed the evil inside them. This is as dark a novel as I’ve read for quite some time, but it is brilliantly plotted, with writing that pulls you in deeper to the mysteries lurking at the center of this house.

I was drawn into the characters in Look in the Mirror almost immediately. I found both Nina and Maria sympathetic and strong women, and I was rooting for them, even though I had no idea what it was they were fighting. And once I did know, I was rooting for them so much harder. These are intelligent, driven women put into excruciating challenges, and I really wanted them to win. I wanted them to escape and find joy and meaning in their lives. I can’t say that the ending is completely satisfying, but it did feel honest to the story. There is sadness here, and evil, but there is also kindness, self-sacrifice, determination, and human connection. This is a powerful story, honest about some of the ugliest parts of humanity, but it also shows the will to survive, which is the most human thing we all ultimately share.

Egalleys for Look in the Mirror were provided by Ballentine Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I really feel like this book was ALMOST great. It contains some elements that I am an absolute sucker for, that are unfortunately spoilers to mention in my review. Ultimately I feel like the book was trying to tackle too much in addition to the fun spoilery parts, and I got lost in trying to keep the character POVs straight and understanding the family element that takes up the entire synopsis but has very little to do with the book itself. A better version of this book, to me, was The Last One by Will Dean. Definitely a bummer after loving The Family Game and enjoying Something in the Water, but I’m sure I’ll keep up with whatever Catherine Steadman writes in the future!

The book synopsis left me saying.....how can the two women be connected? I don't think I was the only one asking the question and that's the point in the quickly evolving LOOK IN THE MIRROR. As we followed the stories of the two women, their paths will cross/ merge in a disturbing manner. A genre crossing story of horror brought to life with simple actions and surprising consequences.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine for the book #LookInTheMirror by #CatherineSteadman. This book was such a roller coaster of emotions and I could not put it down. Two different women, Nina and Maria. They don’t know each other. How are they connected? And more important, what’s in the basement?

This book was such a wild ride! I throughly enjoyed all the twists and turns that were in it! Nina has inherited a house on a Caribbean island from her father. But what lies beneath the house? This book was not what I was expecting, and I loved it so much!

Catherine Steadman never fails to deliver a page turner.

Look in the Mirror was an unhinged and fun ride. The mystery surrounding the house kept me engaged, but along the way I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be entirely satisfied with what that mystery was. I think that ultimately it was the fact that the mechanics of the house and the premise was just so hard to believe for me that it wasn’t an absolute win, but this was entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books.

Look in the mirror is a thriller by Catherine steadman. When Nina’s father dies, she is shocked to find out that she has inherited a beautiful three bedroom on an isolated island in paradise. Nina didn’t know her father owned this house so she’s excited to take a trip to see the house. However, once there, she begins to get a creeping sense of dread and feels like someone has eyes on her.

Meanwhile, Maria is a nanny who finds herself trapped in a babysit of the house she’s staying. Maria doesn’t know why she’s there or who has her locked there.

How do the two stories overlap? And what sinister forces are at play?

This takes some unique turns as the plot unfolds, and eventually more points of view are introduced as the plot unfolds. This is a bit of a departure from typical steadman fare, and I was surprised by what ultimately was happening. The pacing is strong and I did find myself turning the pages to find out what was happening, as the chapters are relatively quick and the pov switches between different characters. A great beach or pool read for fans of page-turners!

Thanks to the publisher for providing the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars
What a ride!

This heart pounding story is told in multiple POVs, without spoiling anything, primarily two: Nina and Maria. Nina is dealing with the loss of her father, and the inheritance of a secret home on the British Virgin Islands that he left her. Maria is a nanny waiting on her charges on a coastal island, in a luxurious home, where the only rule is to stay out of the basement. I stayed up late reading this one a couple times. This is a twisty, twisty ride, if you’ve read and enjoyed any of Catherine Steadman’s earlier books, you’re in for a treat. Pub day this week!

This was my first Catherine Steadman (despite owning a few). This book had a lot of promise, but definitely felt over complicated at times. I think that one place that really made me struggle with this book is not necessarily understanding how some of what was happening was made possible. But maybe that is because I have an over analytical brain. I will say that I really enjoyed the ending - if you know you know. I overall really enjoyed this one and will be interested in picking up more of her books in the future.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Catherine Steadman for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m in a thriller slump so this took me a bit to get into but I did enjoy it once I got farther into it. I kept trying to figure it out but didn’t get it all pieced together by the end (I wouldn’t make it in THE house, that’s for sure!)

The story is told in two timelines and by two main characters (and then a few others towards the end).