Catherine Steadman writes very thrilling and captivating books. I like that her books are different from a lot of the stories that are out there. She’s great with building characters and suspense and Look In The Mirror did not let me down. Very well written and wrapped up.

Catherine Steadman has done it again! All of her books have hooked me from the start and are nearly impossible to put down.

This book definitely had a fast-paced psychological thriller feel that I loved! I loved the storyline as well as the characters. The alternating chapters helped to develop suspense and slowly connect the characters.

I wasn’t sure what direction this story would take at the start but was very pleased at the end, the extra twist in the epilogue added that extra mmph that made it a great read start to finish.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

Look In The Mirror by Catherine Steadman is a fast paced thriller. This was my first read by Catherine Steadman and it definitely won’t be my last. I started reading not having a clue what the book was about, other than a thriller. The Cover and title caught my attention and I’m extremely glad that it did.

Nina, still grieving her father's death is astonished to discover that he had a luxury home in the Virgin Islands which she has now inherited. Curious as to how her father managed to build and pay for this luxury home, she travels to the island to get answers from the solicitor's office and the locals. What she discovers there just may cost her her life.

The story switches between various characters involved with the luxury home and the secrets buried beneath it. Each character has a complete story line which all meld together by the end of the book. Readers will encourage each character, cringe when they make a wrong move, and develop a sense of foreboding as the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place. Excellent pacing as the pages turn and the tension builds in a game of life or death.

This book kept me guessing until the end. I really enjoyed the wild ride while reading this book. It took me a while to figure out how the two main characters were connected. I will definitely read more from this author. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Two woman, one house, different timelines. The story alternates between Nina and Maria. There were some good twists in the story and moments that had you yelling at the characters.
I had a hard time with the story unfortunately. I found it somewhat hard to connect with the characters.

WOW! I loved this book. The story has 4 or 5 main characters so it's easy to remember who does what and how they are connected. I was postive I had the plot figured out but I did not. I'm very impressed with this book. It's very different and I loved trying to figure out the riddles. I will definitely re read this and that's saying something!!

BOOK REVIEW



Look In The Mirror

By Catherine Steadman

Plot: Nina and Maria both have different reasons for entering the house, one just inherited the property from her dead father, the other is set as a nanny to the super-rich. Both enter with questions and instead of answers, get sucked into a twisted game where not everyone survives!

Review: Catherine Steadman does it again with a twisted mystery that keeps you guessing. The book only contains a handful of characters, which can be problematic as far as character dynamics. “Look In The Mirror” however does some incredible work with such a small group. Just when I thought I had figured it out, we gained new information and I was left trying to piece together the puzzle. As a fan of puzzles, word games, and escape rooms, this was the right book for me! I would recommend this book to anything with a mind for puzzles. The writing is superb and Catherine knows how to really get you into the mind of each character. This is another knockout read that is going to have everyone looking into their own mirrors!

Look In The Mirror is out July 30th, 2024! Thank you to Catherine Steadman, NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC copy of Look In The Mirror in exchange for my honest review!

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Look in the Mirror, by Catherine Steadman, feels like a fresh take on a locked-room mystery set on an exclusive island. Very twisty and suspenseful, a smart psychological thriller that I couldn't put down! They're almost a little horror to the novel, but saying any more would give too much away. I loved getting to know the 2 main protagonists, Nina and Maria, and was completely wrapped up in their drama until the very last page. highly recommend!

Look in the Mirror is a puzzle-type mystery that will keep you guessing (or at least, hurt your brain). The story is centered around Nina who inherits a mysterious Caribbean house from her recently deceased father. But this house holds unknown and hidden spaces.
There were lots of riddles and chess references that help the characters to solve the puzzles within the house. For me, this got a little exhausting. It was not a relaxing read, you definitely had to pay attention to fine details to understand what was going on. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC in exchange for my review!

This is the most attention grabbing thriller I have read in a while! I loved Steadman’s “Something in the Water” debut novel and recommended it to everyone. I will do the same for this title!

The plot is clever and fresh and told from two points of view. Nina, a college professor inherits a tropical home from her deceased father that’s a complete mystery to her. And Maria, a Nanny takes a job at a tropical home where the only rule is “don’t go into the locked room in the basement “. Both women get a lot more than they bargained for in this heart-stopping thriller. Read it! You won’t be disappointed.

When Nina’s father dies, he leaves her a large vacation home in the Caribbean. Nina never knew of this place and how could father afford such a luxury? She travels to the islands and meets the lawyer who assures her this house is now hers.

Maria is a nanny for the ultra rich. She takes an assignment and gets to their vacation home but the family never shows up. She begins to enjoy the house, pool, and spa, not to mention the local beaches. But where is the family?

This book was definitely a page turner for me! Very exciting with some crazy twists and turns and I have to admit I had no idea where it was headed. The author did a great job with character and plot development and giving you just enough info in each chapter to keep you guessing and turning pages.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Random House Publishing for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review. 4.5/5⭐️ publication date July 30, 2024.

Going into this book I wasn’t sure what to expect especially since the synopsis didn’t really give you much to go on. All I can say is WOW, Catherine Steadman did not disappoint! I loved this book so much! It was heart pounding and kept me on edge pretty much the entire time. I’ll never look at mirrors the same. Thank you Net Galley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine books for sharing this book’s digital copy to review. Will definitely be recommending!

This book was absolutely INCREDIBLE. The entire time I was equal parts stressed and curious. I was CONVINCED that I knew how it was going to end, and what the plot twists were going to be, but Catherine kept me on my toes and I was certainly not correct (except for the epilogue hehe). If thriller/mystery books are your thing, you MUST read this book. I will be recommending it to everyone I know and can't wait to add it to my bookshelf!

This was a good read! I felt like it was very unique and held my interest though the book. Nina's father just died and she feels like her life has been turned upside down when she inherits a secret property. Nina feels like she there was so much she didn't know about her father and the only way to get to know the other side of him is to explore this secret property. The house is beautiful and tech savvy, how did her father afford all this? What was he hiding?
Maria is a nanny trying to save up enough money to finish medical school. She takes ones last job in the Virgin Islands. The family is supposed to meet her at the house and in the mean time, she should enjoy the house. She just can't go in the basement. But the family never shows...

Nina is the daughter of a smart and brilliant man. But how well do we really know our parents? When Nina’s father passes away, she discovers he had a house in the British Virgin Islands, which will now be left to her. But she never knew this house even existed before. So what other secrets has he kept from his only child?
As she visits the estate hoping to find answers, she is left with even more questions. Who was her father and why does this sleek sophisticated house have a locked basement?
Cat Steadman takes locked room mysteries to a whole other level in this sinister and heart-pumping thriller.

3.5 stars rounded up

Grieving her father's death, Nina unexpectedly inherits a house she knew nothing about in the Virgin Islands.

Told through multiple perspectives, there is much more than meets the eye in the basement of the property.

Without giving anything away, this was a very wild ride of a book. Definitely outside the box all while enjoyable.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Grieving her father's death, Nina unexpectedly inherits a house in the Virgin Islands.

Told through multiple perspectives, there is much more than meets the eye in the basement of the property.

Without giving anything away, this was a very wild ride of a book. Definitely outside the box all while enjoyable.

Catherine Steadman has created a compelling psychological thriller in her latest book, Look in the Mirror.

Nina is a loner in London grieving for the recent loss of her father; Maria is a struggling nanny living in New York and hoping to return to life as a medical student. Though they have never met, their lives are about to intertwine in a way they could never have predicted.

When Nina’s unassuming father passes away, she is shocked to learn he left her a secret and extravagant vacation home in the British Virgin Islands. What else could he possibly have kept hidden from her? Meanwhile, Maria has accepted a new position with a family she has yet to meet, and that is not the only thing that seems off. What secrets are her new employer harboring, and is she even safe in their island home?

Steadman does a great job building tension throughout the book, even if the plot requires a suspension of disbelief. Shorter chapters help move it forward, and the puzzles Nina is tasked to solve add a fun element. The alternating viewpoints allow the reader to see how each character is connected, and it is especially easy to root for the scrappy Maria. While the outcome is less than satisfactory, it does leave it open for a sequel.

This would make a perfect pick to bring along on vacation, as it is a fun and fast read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman. This was my second book by Steadman after reading The Family Game. I love a good suspenseful thriller, and Look in the Mirror missed the mark a bit for me. I won't talk about the plot here as plenty other reviewers already have. I will just say that I had a very hard time connecting with the characters and believing the situations. I am fairly good at setting aside my disbelief and going with the flow; however, much of what happened i Look in the Mirror was incredibly outlandish. It also felt rushed in some places where Steadman should have built out the world and characters more. Despite all of that, I flew through the book because I wanted to see how it all shook out in the end.