A fun twister thriller that was different than I expected. Told from 3 alternating POVs, we follow Nina, Maria, and Joon-gi. Nina’s father passes away leaving her a beautiful vacation home she didn’t know about. When she arrives Maria is there and Joon-gi is the electrician. There’s a mysterious basement door that may never be opened and of course curiosity takes over and things unravel. The end was a bit rushed but overall I enjoyed It!

I absolutely loved Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman, but this wasn't my favorite. I found the two female voices sounded way too similar. I was constantly having to backtrack to see who was narrating. It was a fun suspense, but nothing really new.

Catherine Steadman is the queen of pacing, and this book did not disappoint. I couldn't put it down and the alternating POV chapters kept me turning the pages well past my bedtime. We meet Nina who is grieving her father's death when she unexpectedly learns that he has left her a property in the British Virgin Islands she knew nothing about. Then we meet Maria, nanny to the super rich, who think this final high paying gig will have her set for her future. The two women have no idea what they are getting into when the arrive at the property in the BVI, only that there is one rule; don't go into the basement room. As the story unfolds we discover that things are what they seem and Steadman takes us for a whiplash inducing ride of twists and turns. If you're looking for your next twisty thriller, this one is for you. Thank you to NetGalley for the free advanced reader copy.

Special Thanks to NetGalley, Ballentine Books Imprint of Random House and Catherine Steadman

This is my third book of Catherine Steadman, and I absolutely adore her. I love her writing, her storylines and the twists she fits in thought out her books. And let me tell you, this has to be one of my favorites as I live for the TV show Big Brother. And in my opinion this books goes through all the twist and turns of Big Brother for a party of one!

Nina has just lost her father, she is still grieving when the legals tells her she has inherited a state of the art house in the British Virgin Islands. But this can't be right. She is close with her father and to keep an house in the BVI a secret from her is just ridiculous. She decides to head there and see for herself. After getting to the remote house, she notices inside, things around the house that only her and her father knew. Inside secrets just between them, so it must belong to her late father. It's described as a beautiful house, stunning views, matching with resort style living. There is just one rule... DON'T GO IN THE BASEMENT! Well what's a great heart pounding book without a little rule breaking? And this is where the similarities come in with Big Brother for me. Without any spoilers, find out who is behind all this mayhem and why? Who would do such a thing?
5 bright shining stars! Highly recommend!

Sigh. This book had me hooked for a bit and then it just got…messy? Not sure if that’s the word I’m truly looking for. 🧐

The timelines kept jumping around between two different characters, Nina and Maria. I couldn’t tell if they were in the house at the same time or not! 🤔 I did like Maria’s character and thought her story was going to take a different arc from how it ended up. 😔

The ending seemed rushed and a few things seemed pretty far-fetched, but I won’t get into that so I don’t give spoilers out! 🤐

The house definitely was giving some creepy vibes, which I’m always here for!! 👀🙌

I always say every book isn’t meant for everyone, so feel free to still give this one a try!! 🤓 I still plan to read more from this author as well!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine Books for this ARC. I absolutely loved Catherine Steadman’s creepy don’t go in the basement page turner! I wouldn’t trust an escape room after reading this book. Highly recommend reading.

3.25 stars

This was really difficult to rate, because while I binged it in a few hours and was really caught up in parts, some of the reveals and motivations did not work for me and I ended up wondering what the heck I'd just read once I finished. I had a lot of fun theorizing, and obviously this is a biased take, but I'd have preferred some of my guesses to what actually happened. 

This is a multi-POV book that mainly follows Maria and Nina. Maria's POV is entirely third person, and Nina's for some reason begins as first person and then switches to third. Weird. Maria has been hired as a live-in nanny for a family's vacation in their state-of-the-art house in the Virgin Islands. Only the family doesn't show up when they're supposed to, leaving Maria living alone in this house and wondering what's going on. The most important rule she's been given is not to go into the basement. So obviously, this book is about her going into the basement. Nina's father just died and left her a mysterious vacation home in the Virgin Islands she didn't know existed. What a coincidence, guess which house it is! And there's a basement that isn't on the blueprints...

I found Maria's POV more compelling than Nina's, because she's thrown into the action more quickly, but I wish there had been more info on...everything, really. Like I said, the reveals were off for me, but it was a fun read and reminded me of a few movies I've liked, but I won't say which since that would fully reveal the twist. A fun thriller with a cool setting to pass the time that will make you question every character. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge fan of Catherine Steadman and loved her book The Family Game. I am thankful to have received Look In The Mirror as an eARC from NetGalley and Random House Publishing. This thriller drew me in from page one. I loved the dual timelines and points of view of Maria and Nina. Maria and Nina are both drawn to a beautiful ocean side house under false pretense. When they are there they are lured into a deadly escape room style type game. This book combines escape rooms, literature, and evil people doing evil things. I was so engrossed in this book I loved it. The only thing that threw me for a loop were the back and forth timelines at certain chapters in the book. Highly recommend!

I loved this book and devoured it quickly. Such an easy and quick read. This novel is a perfect blend of mystery and thriller and I loved every aspect of it from the alternating viewpoints to the imagery provided throughout. At points I felt like I was living the story myself instead of merely reading it.

I loved the idea behind this book--the escape room trope was an excellent choice. I found myself guessing throughout the entire novel and never did piece everything together. The final twist I could not see coming AT ALL. I loved the interwoven mystery of the father and his role in the entire scheme of things and was just as dumbfounded as the main character when things finally clicked into place.

Overall I would rate this book 4/5 and would read it again. I have enjoyed Steadman's previous novels and will continue to look for more written by her.

Nina's father dies and leaves her a house she never knew about. She flies to see the house but is eventually entangled in an awful "game". In an alternating POV, Maria arrives to a luxury island home as a temp nanny to the very rich, but after a few days she realizes the family will not be arriving. As she gets more comfortable in the house, she is drawn to a door in the basement she was told to keep out of.

The book had a lot going on, but I loved the pacing and the POVs. It was also one of the first books in awhile where I did not immediately guess the ending. This is my second book by this author and I will absolutely read more.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

When Nina’s father dies, she finds out he had a secret home in the Virgin Islands. It’s modern; all glass and marble. Why did her sensible father have this home?

I liked the beginning and was expecting a haunted house or spooky home story. I got something completely different, which for me wasn’t of my taste. I had a hard time following. If you like complex puzzles and games, you may enjoy this one. I personally like my entertainment easy to read and understand. I’m not much of a chess player.

“The cat cannot be shooed back into the bag and Pandora’s Box cannot be repacked.”

Look in the Mirror comes out 7/30.

I feel like I don’t have the words to adequately review Look in the Mirror, given how absolutely insane it was, but I’m going to give it a shot. This book had me absolutely riveted.

Right from the jump you’re drawn in with the multitude of questions and the mystery that is this strange house, trying to fit characters together like puzzle pieces and make connections as you go. Personally, I couldn’t successfully figure out what was going on as things quickly got dark and scary.

Once things got going I couldn’t put this book down. I read the last 70% in one sitting staying up until 5am just to see what happened. This was such a unique and chilling thriller that reminded me of a few horror movies I’ll refrain from naming as I don’t want to spoil any twists. My heart was pounding throughout with the sheer anxiety of the situations the characters were put into.
I will say that some scenes were a bit far fetched but I feel like suspending disbelief isn’t a horrible requirement in order to truly enjoy a thriller/horror piece of media.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a twisty, crazy, heart pounding wild ride and although I’ve already had Steadman’s other novels on my TBR, I’m even more eager to get to them now.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing - Ballantine Books, and the author for this ARC.
Publication date 7/30/24

I haven’t inhaled a book this quickly in a long time!

“Look in the Mirror” is an absolutely riveting, smart, puzzling, and heart pounding thriller. Although it starts a little slow as it sets the scene, it quickly picks up and doesn’t stop until the last possible moment.

Set on a remote tropical island, featuring a little too high tech of a villa and a locked basement door, I’ve never felt so claustrophobic reading a book. If I was a nail biter, I definitely would’ve been biting my nails reading the story. I couldn’t put it down, and it kept me up late into the night driven by the need to uncover the mystery.

This is definitely my new favorite Catherine Steadman book!

Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This is a good psychological thriller. I enjoyed the different points of view and the suspense that built throughout the book. Don't want to give anything away, so I will just say this is worth the read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

I don't often read thrillers but when I do they are Catherine Steadman's. While the premise of her books are sometimes a bit outrageous, I cannot put them down. She knows how to build tension and suspense in just the right way and Look In the Mirror is no exception.

The book starts with two points of view. In one, Maria has been hired to nanny at a secluded mansion with a forbidden basement door. But when the family never shows up she finds the door more and more tempting. In the other, Nina's father has recently passed and she inherits a property on an island in the middle of nowhere. As you may have guessed, Maria and Nina's house are one in the same at different points in time. Nina knows about the mysterious door and the rooms hidden within the property. Entering the forbidden room comes at a high price for both.

For the majority of the book the reader is left wondering what the heck is going on with this house, and why? I couldn't put the book down because I had to know the answer! As the book continues we are introduced to a few more points of view from side characters. At times they were necessary but for the most part this could have been done without. I personally also kept wondering if the basement was a "Chamber of Secret's" of sorts, but don't want to give too much away,

In the end I wanted a little bit more from the "reveal" of the book and still had a few questions left unanswered. That being said I ultimately enjoyed binging this book over the course of a weekend and was absolutely along for the ride! If you're looking for unique, twisty, suspenseful, and a bit violent this could just be the thriller for you.

Thanks NetGalley for an ARC of this book. This was a great, psychological thriller. Not like all those other books that tell you they are a thriller, this one really is. Nina inherits a house from her father in the BVI. She is a loner, has been given time off from her lectures to process her father’s death and decides to head out to see what the house is like. Maria has been tasked with being a nanny for a nameless family in a beautiful house in the BVI. Just one caveat, don’t go in the room in the basement. Of course, that is too much of a temptation. Soon Maria wonders what she has gotten herself into, especially when no family shows up. Meanwhile, Nina keeps being told to “go home” and “leave”. This book will keep you guessing. This would be perfect for book club, how much of what we want should we not have? Summer won’t be done before this is published, so put a copy in your beach bag. Thank me later!

This was a confusing, unique, wild ride! Some parts of the story could’ve been told a little better. However, I found myself not wanting to put it down. This is an easy book to binge read with lots of “WTF” moments.

This was an odd one for me, for a good portion I was very into it and really enjoyed wondering what exactly was going on. Initially you hear from Nina as she travels to this property she never knew her father owned until he passed and Maria a nanny to the super rich as she waits for her next assignment to start. I liked both women’s viewpoints but Maria’s a bit more as her situation brought more tension and suspense. Somewhere along the way things lost me though, especially the last quarter or so. Once things start getting revealed I found it to be silly and outlandish and I just didn’t buy into the explanations behind most of it. I’m not usually too judgey when it comes to things being too over the top but I found the motivations beyond ridiculous. I seem to be in the minority here though.

Thank you to Random House Publishing -Ballantine and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Catherine Steadman has created another gripping suspense in Look in the Mirror! Nina is struggling after the death of her father with no family left as her mother died when she was very little. He has thoughtfully planned everything for his passing and left her a sizeable estate. However, when an attorney calls and tells her she has also inherited a home in the British Virgin Islands she is in shock. How well did she know her Dad and why would he keep a house on an island hidden from her. She travels to see it and try to eat closer to understanding her Dad only to find a beautiful house with more and more secrets and even danger. Is her Dad behind this and what is he trying to tell her?

Fast paced, clever and suspenseful from the very beginning — I read it in one sitting and loved it!

This is the best ARC I’ve read in awhile! Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman is a wild ride! Told from alternating viewpoints, we are transported to a luxury home on a small island in the British Virgin Islands. Nina’s father has died and she is contacted by a lawyer who tells her that she has inherited a property in the BVI. She can’t believe her super academic father had a secret life, but she agrees to travel to the island to see the home. We also meet Maria, who quit medical school to make money as a live in nanny for rich families. Her current job takes her to the BVI but after several days, her family still has not arrived. Both stories immediately feel tense and make you think that something is definitely off.

It took me awhile into the story to figure out how the parallel stories were connected but both stories were interesting in their build up. This was a quick, twisty read and not a story I’ve ever read before. I would recommend this one to fans of suspense!