Calling all thriller/suspense lovers! Don’t skip Look in the Mirror!

This book starts as two seemingly unrelated storylines, both intriguing and mysterious. Quickly things start to become frightening. The whole second half of the book I just wanted to curl up in the fetal position and cover my eyes. This is how a thriller is supposed to make you feel!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced release copy in exchange for an honest review..

I always enjoy this author and have read all of her previous novels so I was excited to see what she would do next. She does a wonderful job writing very different stories that all have lots of different mysteries to be unraveled and this book is no exception. I think her writing continues to improve with tighter pacing and interesting characters. This book was impossible to put down and I finished it quickly. As stated in the description we have two different women who both have very different perspectives as their timelines alternate. I was very interested in seeing where they would intersect and I’m usually great at figuring it out but I definitely had no clue this time and was very wrong about where it ended up. This book will keep you guessing while it keeps you hooked.

As with some of her previous books I found the ending far too abrupt and almost as if they called scene in the middle of the climax of the events. There are definitely far fetched events and characters that are pretty easy to overlook for the sake of a great story but again I would have preferred a different choice with the ending. There is some attempt at playing politics with an unnecessary and very thin backstory for a character. Hopefully the author does not start to ruin her books by going further down that road.

As far as content goes it’s mostly mild in terms of any sexual or violent content. There is some mild violence referred to but nothing graphic. There will be characters in peril however so take that into account for younger or sensitive readers.

I have liked this author since her debut. This one seemed more of a horror story to me than a thriller. The suspense was great. I started to have visions of Saw. The beginning is confusing as it is different timelines but starts to make sense towards the end.

Wow, this book was really out there and is perfect for anyone who is looking for something completely different.

One part horror house story, one part escape room, Look in the Mirror is the story of a woman who inherits a house she never knew about. She travels to see it and ... this is not a normal house!

Horror adjacent, this is a great read for summer or the spooky season.

This is an intense thriller that had me glued to the pages. This is not your typical domestic thriller and it gets pretty dark as it progresses, so be prepared! Recommended for fans of Black Mirror.

From the moment I started reading this book I couldn’t put it down. Readers will receive surprises through the very end of the story. The plot is engaging and dramatic and will totally hold the reader captive. The story is told from the perspective of four characters which each play a significant role in the story. For readers who love a good dramatic mystery this story will be a solid choice. Get a copy and enjoy.

This was a seriously messed up plot. Except that it has been done before. Like in every single Saw movie.

Nina Hepworth just lost her father, a meticulous and genius man, who was well respected around the world. As she is settling his estate in the UK, she gets a letter from another law firm in the British Virgin Islands about a home her father has left her there. However, as far as Nina knows he never left the country, let alone had another international property. She is lured to the island to settle the estate and quickly becomes caught up in a game of cat and mouse involving this weird house she inherited. She convinces herself she sees her father everywhere in the home and she is determined to unravel this one last puzzle that he left her.

The book is written from alternating perspectives, one by Maria, a medical student who is nannying at the same property Nina inherited. There is a whole other situation there. I wish this had been explored more, as it sounded far more interesting than what was going on with Nina. Maria would have made a better main character. Or at least given more attention in the book.

The other perspective is from an outside electrician, although he only warrants a few chapters. All stories come together in the end though.

I read this book in one sitting. I felt unsettled and a little cheated. I know I gave the book four stars because obviously I cared enough to read it that quickly but the ending felt too rushed and I felt like there could have been more to Maria's story that would have made the whole book even more sinister. It felt like a missed opportunity.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

Nina is adrift after the death of her father. When she finds out an island property she’s never heard about was left to her, she goes to find out more. Maria is a former med school student, turned nanny to the ultra rich. She takes “one last job” to make some more money. The only rule at the remote island house: don’t go into the basement.

Look in the Mirror has a storyline I did not expect from the information above. It has really fast pacing, so I was turning pages quickly once I got into it (about a third of the way through). There’s action and suspense, and I definitely wanted to know how everything was going to play out. But overall, this book was just ok for me. I didn’t feel hooked like Something in the Water or The Family Game. And I found myself needing to reread parts to make sure I was clear on what was happening. Thanks for the opportunity to read in advance.

From “something in the water”, to “the family game”, I am consistently entertained and intrigued by Catherine steadman/ this one is no different!

4/5, there are points I think could have been shorter, but that’s a preference

Nina is grieving the loss of her father when she discovers that she has inherited property in the British Virgin Islands. It's an extraordinary home she had no idea even existed, bringing up more questions than answers. Maria is a former medical student turned nanny for the super-rich. When her wards never show, Maria begins to make herself at home at the vacation house, enjoying the space. There’s just one rule: Don’t go in the basement. When curiosity wins out, she’ll wish her only worry was not getting paid.

We start with Nina's POV, with her grief and discovering there was even more to her father than she knew. Her job in England is on pause anyway as she processes her grief, so she's able to see the high-tech house for herself and discovers the locked door in the basement and the fact that someone doesn't want her there. With Maria's POV, she enjoys several days of time relaxing in a house awaiting two children who don't show up. Curiosity killed the cat, however, and soon enough, she's in the basement room anyway. Whoever set it up knows her real name and likely her history before she left medical school, an unnerving thought.

The two main POV threads each have a compelling mystery for the reader to figure out. In one, we want to figure out who Nina's father was as much as she does, especially when things about the house don't quite add up. In Maria's, we want to know why she was chosen for the locked room, and what her past is really like. The tension in the story threads keeps us turning pages, racing to know what happens next. They come together and we find out exactly what the house is for, and why these women were chosen. In the final third, everything becomes far more dire, and the intensity continues to ratchet up. Cameras, automated rooms, and armed security guards are everywhere, and only a slim chance of survival. I kept racing through the pages, rooting for these ladies to win, and to find out the truth. This is such a compelling story and a great summer thriller.

Damn! This was good! A quick, easy read that was fun & kept you guessing. Nina's dealing with the aftermath of her brilliant father’s death when she is contacted by a solicitor in BVI. Left her house on an island in BVI. Nina knows nothing about this house, but she heads to Paradise, and find a very elegant home. However, this home is the location of a sick game. And escaped the room where death is the final outcome.

As I said, very enjoyable and fun with a number of different perspectives. Would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Catherine Steadman for an advanced copy of this book

I wish this one was a bit more straightforward I was hooked but then it changed genres and became too much of a puzzle for me to really enjoy.

I really enjoyed this thriller. The writing had good flow and I found myself immersed in the world of the Nina.
My main complaint is adding Maria's character. Her situation was set up well but felt a little opaque.
I enjoyed the end and how the character's were fully explained in the end.

This book reminded me of a current-day Agatha Christie with the nail biting and multiple suspects.

This story is told in the voices of two women - Nina and Maria. Maria is a medical student who is working as a fill-in nanny for uber-wealthy clients. The woman from the agency takes her to the home and shows her around, tells her she has access to everything until the clients show up except for a locked room in the basement, and she is not allowed to leave the property unless accompanied by the client until her stay is up. Maria is curious about the room, but decides it is probably a test to see how reliable she is, and refuses to give in to the urge to explore. Nina is still grieving the loss of her father, when she discovers that she has inherited a vacation home in the British Virgin Islands - one she knew nothing about. It seems completely out of character for her father to own something like this, but the lawyers fly Nina down to take ownership of the property. As much as she enjoys the pool, sauna, and private beach, she is curious about the basement that is off-limits. What exactly is down there, and how do you access the room?

I always enjoy this author's books, and this one did not disappoint. It was different from her usual books a little bit - it was still a psychological thriller, but it also reminded me a little of some of Dean Koontz' s books, with the locked room, and the men in suits. It was definitely a thrill ride, and it kept me on the edge of my seat for almost the entire book. It made it pretty clear from the beginning that both women were living in the same house, but what wasn't clear was the timeline, so that kept me wondering how their timelines fit together. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, you are going to want to put this at the top of your TBR pile. I highly recommend it!

Maria drops out of college and is a nanny for the rich. She has a job in the British Virgin Islands but no one shows up at the house. Nina has lost her father and finds out he had a house in the British Virgin Islands. How could he afford it? Both women with no ties to family end up in these houses. There is a room in the basement where they are told not to enter. You can just guess what that means.

This book is a thrilling ride. What happens in the secret rooms? Will they be trapped forever? Does anyone get out if they enter the room? This book has many twists and turns. What is going on? You will keep turning pages to see what happens to the two women? What an exciting read!

Thank you to #netgalley, @catsteadman, and #BallantineBooks for a copy of this book.
#LookintheMirror

Wow - this one kept me reading later than I should have. It follows two different women in similar experiences. I enjoyed both stories. However, I wish there had been something linking them to each other, rather than just the unusual experience they both had. Despite that, I really enjoyed this one.

This was a fun twisty tale, I wasn’t always sure where it was going but it was good! There were a few loose ends I feel weren’t tied up well. I feel the Joe storyline could have used a bit more development to make the ending more believable, but overall a fun read.

I really did not understand this book and the plot. It was very hard to follow. It was not a mystery/thriller in my opinion. It needed a little more plot for me.

You might think you know what this book is about, but you have no idea. This book was so twisty and not at all what I thought it would be... in the best way! It was so fun to read a unique thriller that doesn't fit the usual mold.
I don't want to give too much away about the plot, but I will say that I found both of the female characters, Nina and Maria, to be strong and likable protagonists. There were several POVs in this book, but they worked well for the story and helped everything come together. The first half of the story can feel a little confusing and it was a bit slow for me, but stick with it because it definitely pays off!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My biggest advice on this one is to go in super blind. Don’t even read more than that snippet of the synopsis. Look In The Mirror was sooo twisty and shocking and once it all came together - my jaw was on the floor.

This was my first book by Steadman and I absolutely loved the writing, character development, and multiple POVs/timelines. The way everything came together made for an amazing reading experience.

I ended up listening to this one on audio and the narrator crushed it as well. I would recommend this book to fans of thrillers, mysteries, nail-biting action, and vacation homes!!

**Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the eARC of this title!!**