This felt a bit messy and chaotic to me. Also I feel like there were some things just never explained and that made me feel meh towards the story. I wish there was more backstory.

This action packed story had me flipping the pages into the wee late hours of the night, desperately needing to know what happens next. If you’re looking for a book that will have your pulse racing, your palms clammy, and tearing your eyes from the pages a near impossibility, look no further.

It starts with a simple instruction: don’t enter the room in the basement. WHY DO PEOPLE FEEL THE NEED TO GO INTO A ROOM THAT IS FORBIDDEN?! It’s an obvious thing - if you enter a room that is locked for a reason (and the only locked room in a giant house), there will be consequences. It’s a given. Yet…

Enter Nina, Maria and the most diabolical escape room / torture chamber that I’ve ever read. These rooms are my nightmare. I wouldn’t last the first room. It was entertaining to play along with the puzzles, which is why I KNOW I wouldn’t make it!

While this story was fun, quick and unnerving, I did also appreciate the individual character stories. It made each of them more human, so when they were fighting for their lives, you wanted them to make it, you felt their pain and you wanted them to live to the next challenge.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this arc. I received this arc in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.

We are following Maria and Nina throughout this story. Maria’s story happens three months prior to Nina’s. Maria is brought to the island and the house under the ruse of being a nanny and then after days of not meeting her new clients she finds a green button and is forced to play in escape rooms that are designed with a specific player in mind. Whoever is brought to the house is not supposed to survive. Maria escapes the island but ends up dying anyways by going to the women Lucienda’s house. Lucienda wants to get away from the game and helps to save Nina. Nina is brought to the house because her father originally built the house but with safeguards in place so that nobody died. Nina figures things out and wants to figure out why her father built the house and never told her. Lucienda goes to Nina’s house and her father gives Lucienda a way out and she rescues Nina. Turns out the older women Nina befriended her first day there is the one organizing the escape rooms and even built a new one after Nina escaped. Nina and Lucinda escaped as well as Joe and Joon-gi who are all in witness protection.

Steadman writes another super-suspenseful, twist-filled novel that kept me reading past my bedtime. The chapters are told from different points of view and at first it’s not clear how they fit together. Nina just lost her father and found out how he left her a fancy house in the Caribbean. Maria is a nanny waiting for her charges. Other characters pop up here and there, but these are the main stories, and both are equally engrossing. The house Nina inherited sounds wonderful, but the sense of dread slowly permeates every feature. Maria has an unexpected paid vacation in paradise, but her obsession with the basement of the house she’s staying in starts creeping into every waking second. The other characters are not what they seem. Which takes me to one of the issues I had with this novel: someone who suddenly changes radically and, even if this transformation is explained, it seemed a little too out of the blue. Also, the plot ends a little too suddenly. These are minor details that also show how much I was enjoying this novel, I didn’t want it to end. Nina and Maria are resourceful and easy to root for. The author clearly knows how to deliver a propulsive novel.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine.

I have read several previous books by this author and enjoyed them so I knew this would be worth the read. I was so curious about Nina’s dad and the house she knew nothing about and then this book quickly became a fast paced page turner. Near the end, I understood what was going on, but it was still a good read and I especially liked the final chapter with Oksana.

A well written, fast paced, psychological thriller that kept me engaged throughout. With interesting characters and a unique premise, it is told from multiple points of view and I couldn't stop reading. I read it straight through in one day. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced reader copy.

I really enjoyed Steadman's "Something in the Water" and was excited to get approved for this ARC. This story felt much different, and I have mixed feelings about it. It is well written, intriguing, and certainly twisty, and the story moves quick enough that it kept me turning pages. In the beginning, I had lots of theories for what was going on and how it was going to come together, but they were all ultimately wrong. The fact that the two main POVs were not happening concurrently threw me off for quite a while.

However, the basic premise is pretty out there, and the rationale behind it felt a bit flimsy—both of which made it hard for me to suspend my disbelief. I also thought the big finale felt a bit forced, especially the heroes who come to Nina's rescue. Finally, about 2/3 of the way through the book, the chapters in Nina's point of view randomly switched from first person to third person....Hopefully this is caught in the final round of editing, because that felt pretty sloppy. I did enjoy the reunion in the end, even though the epilogue was a lot of info dumping.

All in all, an enjoyable read that kept me guessing. I give it 3.5 stars.

Deep in the throughs of grief over her dead father, Nina is shocked to find out he was the owner of a luxurious house in the British Virgin Island. Nina has never heard of this house before and is equally shocked to hear she is now the sole owner. Soon Nina is on a flight from London down to the Islands to speak with lawyers and take formal ownership over the house. At first things appear as normal as you’d expect in a situation like this. However, as Nina begins to explore the house and try to piece together why her father owned it, strange things start to happen. It begins with mildly threatening notes telling her to leave, and quickly escalate. As Nina begins to unravel more about the house she starts to fear she may never leave.

“Look in the Mirror” is one of the more unique concepts for a thriller novel out there. It jumps right into the action and doesn’t really slow does at all. For the most part, the reader is following Nina as she pulls back the layers of this unexpected inheritance. However, we are treated to other characters point of views that all come to a crux at the novel’s finale. There were a few plot holes not fully explained, but in the end still a a fun read with plenty twists and turns along the way.

Why would your father keep an entire home on a tropical island hidden from you? Why would he wait until he was dead to let you in on this secret? Why would he build a white room in the basement that you aren't supposed to go into? And just how deep into the rock of the island does that basement go? Nina is about to find out all this and more. Maria, a different visitor to the house, has her own questions that need answered. When you read this book, make sure by the time you reach ~30% of the way through, that you have no plans. The whiplash POV switches, the crazy twists and turns, and the completely unhinged pace will glue the book to your eyeballs. I LOVED this crazy book.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Nina and her widowed father are extremely close, so when he passes away Nina is overwhelmed. But she is caught off guard when a letter appears sharing that he has a property on an island that she never knew about. Nina quickly goes to the island in hopes to learn more about her father but instead she quickly realizes something is not right. She identifies clues of what it could be, but she has no idea what she is in for. This novel also switches points of view of others who have visited the island home and the unfortunate events that occur.

While "Look in the Mirror," by Catherine Steadman was fast-paced and mysterious, it was ultimately a little too "odd" for my personal taste.

The story follows two POVs - Nina, who has inherited a mysterious, luxurious vacation home from her father. And Maria, who accepts a job as a nanny for a super-rich family. But when she gets to the home, and the family never show up, she decides to break the one rule she was given: Don't go in the basement.

I love a good mystery/thriller. But "Look in the Mirror" was very different from the typical thrillers I gravitate toward. Rather than guessing who the "bad guy" was, I was simply trying to guess what the heck was going on the whole book. I don't mean that in a negative way necessarily.

It was well-written, and the story was engaging. I genuinely did want to know how everything was going to come together. There were a couple of twists that I saw coming, but there was still an element of surprise throughout the book. The problem for me is that the lead-up felt a little too outlandish (it almost felt like science fiction) and the resolution fell flat.

The story felt more like "Squid Games" than a typical mystery, and in general, that is not my style. If you are a fan of Steadman, please be advised that this is very different from her previous work.

If you like psychological thrillers filled with action and mystery, you may very well like this book. But if you are looking for a classic murder mystery, or thriller, you may want to skip this one.

The book has 2 main narrators. The first is Nina (told in the first person). Nina's father recently passed away and she finds out that he has a secret house in the British Virgin Islands that he left to her. With nothing really going on in her life in England, she sets out for BVI and to learn about him. While she's there, she starts to get odd notes left on her front door - "leave now" and "don't go into the basement". Oh, yeah, and the basement has a locked door that no one can get it to open and no one has any idea what's behind it.

The other main narrator is Maria (told in the third person). She's a nanny who's waiting for a family to arrive. They don't but while she's waiting, she gets to enjoy their vacation home which has a mysterious locked door in the basement which she is told to not go into under any circumstances. And, would you know it, a power surge happens and the door is unlocked.

There are a few other characters who narrate chapters but they're fewer and far between. I appreciate how the author only used first person POV for one character. I struggle when there are multiple narrators all in first person (especially when the voices all sound the same).

The first half of the book was interesting and I was curious what the reveals were. However, when we finally find out what's going on, it felt like a ripoff of <spoiler> Squid Game </spoiler>. I know they're not the first to come up with that plot but this book felt like some fan fic of it. I wanted to care about the characters and puzzles but my mind kept wandering back to <spoiler> Squid Game and how I hope season 2 will be good but it'll probably be terrible, not that it'll stop me from watching. And how do you actually play squid game? I'm still confused by that. And.... </spoiler> and then I realize that I wasn't paying attention for multiple paragraphs of the book and need to reread.

It wasn't a bad book but not great or memorable or original. This is my first book by Steadman and I don't feel super impressed.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

Page Turner for much of this book. I enjoyed the guessing and the stories.
Character development was good. A locked room book is always a good thing, although I refused to read it at night.

Look In The Mirror

3.5

I started this book thinking a trip to the British Virgin Islands might be nice; now I’m not so sure 😅

Nina is mourning her father’s death when she finds out she’s been left a house in the British Virgin Islands. When she arrives, the house is much more than she imagined.

This started out really slow, even with the multiple POV and it took me a while to get into it. The game like components were interesting, but the ending felt really rushed. Maybe not my favorite thriller by her, but check this one out in July if it sounds like it might be for you!

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC!

Wow - this Catherine Steadman book kept me so engaged. I have been sucked back into mysteries, and I absolutely devoured this one. The author does a great job at weaving the characters together. Based on the table of contents, I was turned off by the POV included 4 different people, but I was absolutely impressed with how seamless it felt.

I wish the ending was a little less sudden. I felt like there was more room for detail before we hopped 2 years ahead -- but the flip side is that I really enjoyed the ending.

Definitely would recommend to a friend!

Another thriller from Catherine Steadman! I loved The Family Game and I wasn't sure if she could match that energy, but she totally did! This book was a wild ride that keeps you guessing the whole time. The ending was just the way I like it: closure with a side eye. Can't wait for more from this author!

Name of Book: Look in the Mirror
Author: Catherine Steadman
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group ~ Ballantine
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: July 30, 2024
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Pages: 304

Story features two women Nina and Maria
Nina is a 34-year-old Cambridge professor who unexpectedly inherits wealth from her father’s estate. She is now the owner of a3-bedroom, Beachfront Estate in Pond Bay, Gorda British Virgin Island. Nina is shocked as she has no knowledge of this vacation home and actually thought her father had never been to the Caribbean. It appears her father had another life.

When she arrives at the secluded beach house in the British Virgin Islands she explores and finds it has a locked door-once she entered she finds malfunctioning, high-end technology.

The other woman in this story is ~ Maria
Who is a Cornell medical student, however due to the expense involved she finds she can make more money as a Nanny. So is now a highly educated child-minder to the super-rich.

She interviews for a Nanny position to care for children of a single father who live in a secluded mansion. She is told she will have many amenities to use, only one restriction that is she is forbidden to go to the basement which is locked.
When she arrives at the mansion no one is there and while waiting for the family arrive an electrical malfunction results and the basement room’ is unlocked. She soon realizes she’s not in this house to mind children but it seems there is something more sinister awaiting her.

Curious if locked rooms just might be the connection of these two women.
Are they pawns in a dangerous game?
I love a good thriller however; as I read on I was getting a strong vibe of the resemblance of several ‘reality show’ stories that have been circulating.

Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group ~ Ballantine for granting ‘my wish’ with this early eGalley. Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 30, 2024.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

WOW this was an addictive book! A perfect summer thriller for a beach read for sure. Loved the characters and only wish we got to know them even more. This kept me guessing until the end and I was fully on the edge of my seat!

Catherine is a queen. Her last 3 books have been incredible. Not your average thrillers that’s for dang sure. I loved loved this book and flew through it. I did feel like the ending kinda fell flat but idc I was obsessed!!! More please!!

This book was different but I feel like it had some holes. Makes a girl question her dead father the way no one should ever have to do. I was surprised at the very end when the owner was finally revealed.