3.5 stars, rounded up

I was all-in on Catherine Steadman's latest LOOK IN THE MIRROR (publishes July 30, 2024). Shortly after Nina's father passes away, she finds out that she's inheriting an incredible, unique house of his on the British Virgin Islands. I love a creepy house even in a tropical setting!

At the same time, we are introduced to Maria, who is a medical student that also freelances as a high-priced nanny (interesting combo), and she is working at the house on a 10-day stint; however, her charges haven't yet arrived. The mysterious locked room she's not allowed into has a glitch and unlocks. And while Maria is smart, she's not immune to curiosity...

As I said, the premise was unique and fabulous. About halfway in, the novel lost some steam for me. What I did like is that there wasn't insane twist after insane twist. If you're in on the premise, then the rest of the story seems plausible, at least to me. I think the second-half problem FOR ME was that the novel then had an identity crisis. Is it an escape/locked room thriller? Is it an origin story? Is it a mystery? It becomes a little bit of everything, and I think I would have preferred the author to pick a lane.

Personally I have read almost all of Steadman's novels, and her others have all been just okay for me. This is actually my favorite by her, but it's still not a 5 star experience for me.

#catherinesteadman #lookinthemirror #july2024books #july2024release #netgalley #netgalleyreview

Thank you to net galley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I found. this book slow and hard to get into. I kept waiting for something big to happen and I felt like that didn't hit until I was about 75% into the book. I enjoyed the last quarter of this book and would overall give it 3 stars. I liked how Nina wound up with the boy she met on the island at the end, and I thought it was crazy that the game continued on the ship even after it was found out about, and people went to Jail.

Nina's father dies and she discovers she has inherited a house in the Bahamas. Puzzled by this, she flies to the house in order to see if he's left any clues to why he has this house but never told her about it. She discovers that her father had more secrets than she thought.

Maria is a nanny, working for the top 1%. She books a gig in the Caribbean, but the family never shows. Given the run of the house, she settles in, but then breaks the one rule: do not go in the basement.

Can both of them escape the horrors that lurk below the literal surface of the house?

Catherine Steadman is the QUEEN of writing rich people playing twisted games, and I eat it up every time! This book kept my heart rate up and I couldn't stop thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. It was a great mystery, and just the right amount of unsettling.

I couldn’t put this one down, as evidenced by the fact that I read it through in 2 sittings.

Nina’s father has passed away and left her an incredible home in the British Virgin Islands that in description reminds me a lot of the house in Ex Machina. The only problem is that Nina knew her father really well and he wasn’t quite this rich nor did he own a house in the BVI. Or did Nina not actually know her father at all?

Look in the Mirror is a page turning, escape room of a book that will have you holding on for dear life until the very last page.

Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group for this opportunity! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

When I say this book was not what I was expecting, I say it in the best way possible. I like to go in “blind” when I’m reading new books (meaning I don’t read the synopsis right before reading), however I did read this synopsis and did not see the book going in the direction that it did at all. It’s hard to explain all my thoughts on this book without spoiling anything so I’ll just say if you enjoy popcorn thrillers, Look in the Mirror is a perfect book for you!

4/5 stars because there were some parts (particularly with Maria) that seemed far fetched and hard to believe. I also had to go back & utilize my search function on my Kindle to remind myself who someone was once I got to the epilogue. Overall, a fantastic read that will keep you on your toes!

Release date: July 30, 2024

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

4 and 1/2 stars rounded up to 5! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This story focuses on two seemingly unrelated women… Nina who just lost her beloved father and finds out she inherited a mansion in the Virgin Islands (and that she may not have known her father as well as she thought she did!)… and Maria, a nanny to the rich and famous, who’s current job assignment has her in a creepy situation… she’s put up in a high tech house and told to await the arrival of her boss and 2 young charges. She’s given one rule… don’t go into the basement room. 👀 What could go wrong?!

I absolutely loved this book! It pulled me in immediately and I loved the alternating storylines. Maria’s story had me staying up late to see what was going to happen next.

I really connected to the characters and was rooting for them. This book was a nail biting, heart pounding delight!

My review went live today on Goodreads!

a bit of a slow start but once it picks up around 1/3 of the way through I could NOT put it down! I had NO idea what was happening here and definitely did not expect that reveal! It almost borders on horror territory, and expands on the direction of Steadman’s last book (Family Game). I really enjoyed this, and the author has become a consistent auto-read for me!

Catherine Steadman is a GENIUS. I have been obsessed with her since her debut novel "Something in the Water." Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group for the chance to read this one before it's release date.

The Family Game quickly became my top read from Steadman and Look in The Mirror might just take it's place. One fact is for sure: I will never look at an escape room the same, ever. Look in the Mirror is a slow burn. It really didn't take off for me until the 60% mark, but I was so invested with the characters, turning the pages late into the night was not an issue. It almost feels as Steadman is leaning into the horror genre and let me tell you... I am here for it!

Look in the Mirror is intricately crafted, well plotted, great strong characters, and so many surprises. THAT ENDING WAS AMAZING.

Absolutely 100% do not miss this one!

This is a very well written, original thriller. Scary and disturbing, at times too much for me. Two women, two separate story, find themselves trapped alone in the house. Who is trapping them, what is the goal, what do they have in common if anything? This is also a commentary about society, what we value and our lack of connection. I would prefer a little less action and more character driven, it was that but for me, less action is my preference. 4.5

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. Catherine Steadman is an autoread author for me so I was very happy to see this NetGalley approval pop up. This book was a fun ride and I think it’s best to go in not knowing too much. I think readers who enjoyed her previous book, the Family Game, will also enjoy this - while the books are different, both have plot elements that sometimes ask the reader to suspend belief. I very much enjoyed this and look forward to the author’s next book.

My students will love this one, a well written thriller/horror about two women and the house that seems to trap them. Who is controlling the house and why.

Look. I was already a fan of Catherine Steadman. But this book... omg. I think my heart rate *still* hasn't come down?

An incredibly dark, twisty, (did I say dark?) rollercoaster of a novel. Between the interwoven timelines and multiple POVs, between the way the reader and characters are both puzzling out the game in real time, between the foot perfect pacing, this is like the ne plus ultra of thrillers. Like the platonic ideal of a thrilles. Like I should send Catherine Steadman my cardiologist's bill of thriller.

The empty room is still haunting me!

WOAH!!! This book was a major mind freak, totally different than what I was expecting. But in a GOOD way! The book was full of major twists early, quickly dropping you right in the middle of the action.

I have LOVED all Catherine Steadman books, so when the opportunity came to read this one early, I was so excited. She always does a great job drawing the reader in and shocking them with all the twists. This one was especially crazy!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own. This book is out 7/30/2024! Don’t miss it.

Review posted on IG!

I went into this one blind and was absolutely blown away. I thought I'd figured out the twist after only the first few chapters and was prepared to be underwhelmed, but I'm delighted to admit that I was way off with my assumptions. This twisty turny thriller had me glued to my couch and I found myself unable to move until I knew how it ended. It can sometimes come across as a bit messy and disjointed when a story rotates between different narrators, but Look in the Mirror was pleasantly not guilty of this offense. Each character had a clear voice and purpose and their stories ended up folding together neatly. None of them felt forced or extraneous in any way. After reading this, I can proudly say that I'm a changed woman who will definitely think twice before entering places that are off-limits or impulsively pressing mysterious, unlabeled buttons.

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House, & Ballantine Books for the ARC!

This is a PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER among psychological thrillers! Wow! I tore through this from this morning to the early afternoon. There've been some books recently where my eyes kept straying to the bottom right of my iPad to see how far along I was—not so with “Look in the Mirror”. It’s brilliant.

The ever-changing viewpoints start slowly at first, between Nina and María (no Pinta? Lost opportunity there 😄). I have read enough fairytales to know not to go into *the one room off-limits*, especially if it’s located in the freaking BASEMENT, so María’s POV gave me a lot of anxiety. I’d like to think that I would be perfectly content to while away my days in paradise and never give in to that temptation. Would this be a good thriller if María were like me? Nope. You may make your inferences here.

On the other hand, Nina finds out about a Caribbean house she’s just inherited from her father, and it completely blindsides her. She, of course, jumps at the chance to solve the mystery of how he could have concealed this purchase from her, and she promptly flies to the British Virgin Islands. However, as Nina begins some digging, something’s not quite right about all of this.

Then the cryptic messages start appearing. Are they warnings…or threats?


Wooooo, you will be utterly shocked! Steadman had me doing a double take more than a few times in this story. I’ve been waiting for an exciting, original thriller for a little while, and this DELIVERS. Be sure to grab a copy on July 30!

I received an e-copy from NetGalley and Ballantine Books (thank you so much!), and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Nina is shocked to find out her father has left her a beautiful vacation home in paradise—- but this house is not what it looks like!
Maria, a nanny for the rich is at the beautiful home waiting for her clients. Orders are don’t go in the basement—- this room is off limits,—- will curiously kill her? Grab this book to find out!

Thank you to Catherine Steadman, Random House and Ballantine Books for this ARC through NetGalley.

Catherine Steadman is my kind of thriller writer. She does it again with this story by quickly pulling in the reader but giving enough mystery and slow build to keep you on the edge of your seat. I enjoyed the suspense of figuring out how the characters connected and the purpose of the House and connection with Nina’s father. My favorite part was the puzzles that were incorporated into the plot. Not only did they enhance the suspense level at various points in the story, but it was an interesting way to interact with the reader. I found myself trying to solve the riddles and anagrams along with the main character and was truly invested in Nina succeeding. The ending does leave you thinking about today’s world and the implication of how this could happen.

I would definitely recommend this read to anyone that enjoys a good thriller and to fans of authors like Lucy Foley, Lisa Jewell or Mary Kubica. This is a fast paced read that will draw you right in. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

This was such an interesting read! "Look in the Mirror" is definitely a captivating read that kept me on the edge of my seat with its thrilling plot and well-crafted locked room mystery.

While some twists may be predictable and a few elements seem a bit far-fetched, the book still delivers plenty of excitement and suspense. As you delve deeper into the story, you'll find yourself engrossed in solving the mystery alongside the characters, who I found to be pretty well crafted as well, eagerly anticipating the outcome.

The plot centers around After Nina's father passes away, she inherits a stunning vacation home in the British Virgin Islands that she never knew existed. As she uncovers the mystery behind her father's secret property, she realizes there may be more hidden secrets waiting to be discovered. Meanwhile, Maria, a former medical student turned nanny, takes on a new assignment that she hopes will provide financial security. When her young charges don't show up, Maria decides to explore the house, breaking the rule of avoiding the basement. Her curiosity leads to regret and concerns about getting paid.

Despite some missed opportunities for further development, though, this book remains a compelling read that is definitely worth picking up.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Look in the Mirror is classic Steadman - in that it’s excellent, and also twisted AF. I really enjoyed it, although there were some super bizarre moments. I

This book started off so creepy and scary. I read the first 20% in two hours with a pit in my stomach, I thought for sure it was going to be a be favorite. I was sadly disappointed. I didn’t enjoy the chapters from anyone else over than Nina and Maria. I was so sad when Maria died, she was my favorite. I didn’t enjoy the games or that they are an escape room. That seemed lazy to me. I also hated the ending. Everything was too wrapped up in a bow. It would have been better if the person in charge has been her mother and she was crazy. Oh well.