What a cleverly written, mind blowing read!!! This faced paced, multiple point of view book will keep you on your toes. As soon as I saw that amazing cover and the title Look In The Mirror, I knew I had to read this book. This one has it all clever storytelling, hard to put down, a suspenseful plot, fast paced and makes for a great vacation read. I’ve never read Catherine Steadman before but I’ll definitely be adding her books to my TBR list.

Well holy cow! What did I just read - was exactly my reaction as I turned the last page of this very unexpected story. I have been a fan of this author from her very first book and this one just blew my mind. Poor Nina! To lose her father and then go through what she went through - thinking she was learning something she never knew about him. Well she was, just nothing that she imagined, I’m guessing.

I have a feeling this one will stay in my mind for a very long time. And probably make me highly suspicious of vacation rentals for a very long time too.

I recommend this book to lovers of suspense, and locked room adventures. It was kind of delicious!

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced readers copy. All opinions are my own

this book was enjoyable. I enjoyed Maria’s povs but I appreciated the alternating povs. This was a short read and the chapters were fast paced. Really easy to get through and the concept was really fun! I had anxiety the whole time which I guess makes sense with this thriller/horror thing going on. I feel like a lot of stuff got left un explained and it got a little hard to believe at some points. Overall an enjoyable read.

This book was beautifully written. The way it was worded was an art form. It showed more depth than a lot of psychological thrillers do nowadays. The content and the plot was extremely unique to the psychological thriller genre as well. I’ve always been impressed by Catherine Steadman’s novels. Her voice is one of my favorites because she sounds well educated and writes with such style. She sounds as if she is writing from the old world in a modern way. 5 Stars!

This book is a good one! It drew you in from the beginning and the storyline made me binge read. The two story lines don’t seem connected at first but eventually all come together into a twisty, suspenseful, slightly predictable ending. If you are looking for an easy beach read-this is it. You will not be disappointed.

Where to start. This is my second Catherine Steadman book (I read Something in the Water a few years back). I expected leaps and turns, as Steadman has demonstrated in the past and boy did this book deliver. It wasn't enough for me., though. Firstly, I had a very difficult time imagining the scenery. The main character, Nina, from London, loses her father, as an only child, being raised by him, is cause for some serious grieving. Nina learns he's left her a house in the BVI. While it's all strange to Nina how her father had this piece of property without her knowing, Steadman does dive in deeply in the relationship Nina had with her father, helping us to understand the background. We learn very little about Nina in the first half of the book.

Did I mention there are altering points of view? Meet Maria, who is a medical student, turned Nanny, primarily seeking to earn a lot of money to pay off loans and live a life she's dreamed of. With trauma in her background, entering into the states seeking asylum, she's endured a life's worth of challenges. Nina arrives to this house, where the single father and children never show. Steadman has you guessing from the very beginning, who are these people? Who is Maria? How does this relate to Nina?

The alternating points of view primarily caught my attention. The deeper we got into the story the more the house and what was happening lacked in detail. It was really difficult to understand what was happening in the house or why. It was hard to picture Maria's story and to connect the dots to Nina.

Thus allowing it difficult to be "Team Nina." Nina is a genius and no question, she knew her father, but Steadman gave us zero inside to who she was as an individual, other than an old lady professor. The character development and depth of detail lacked entirely in this book.

I hated the ending. It was all over the place and seemed a little far fetched. The writing is disorganized. It felt as though Steadman rushed to complete the end without going back and really reviewing what she put down on paper.

Overall, a 2.5 from me.

I loved the initial suspense and action and had to know what was going on! I can't say a whole ton about it because I don't want to spoil it for anyone. I loved the aspect of a locked room and mysterious inheritance. This story had such a strong start, but did fall a bit flat for me in the end and I had some unanswered threads lingering. It was a fun quick read thriller, overall.

3.5 rounded up to 4 for this review

When Nina’s father passes away, she is left bereft. She has no other family, no relationship, and not a lot of friends. When word comes that her father (a man of mediocre wealth) has left her a home in the British Virgin Islands, she is shocked. Does she even know her father at all? When she arrives and things seem weirder and weirder, she questions everything she ever knew about her father. As we see another POV from Maria, a nanny at the same house prior to Nina’s arrival, we begin to assume that things in the house are very nefarious.
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💭Thoughts💭
I’m becoming such a fan of Steadman’s books. Her way of writing in such a way that you have no clue what could happen next is so superior to other authors that are in this same genre. While I definitely preferred the Family Game to this novel, I did really enjoy it and found myself shocked at every twist.
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⌛️Favorite Moment⌛️
The description of all the rooms and the thought behind all of the games was really cool. I wish we had gotten glimpses of Maria’s game as well, but I understand why the author wanted the element of surprise.
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🎉 Theme Ideas 🎉
Brush up on your puzzles and mind games! Play sudoku, chess, word scrambles, and more. Maybe then you have a chance of passing the rooms.

I could not put this book down! The story took some twists and turns that I really was not expecting and kept me on the edge of my seat. Which is hard to do nowadays as it has been difficult for me to find a unique thriller.

I did have some questions after reading, however. I didn't truly understand WHY Nina's father created the house. There was a bit of a disconnect there that could be flushed out. Additionally, the chapters covering the chess room and the room with the hot coals both felt rushes in comparison to the chapters covering the other escape rooms. I really don't think I understand what happened in the chess room. And the hot coals room was rushed, although it ultimately didn't seem to matter because Nina escaped soon after. Was there any significance to the wooden door? Or was it a red hearing? Perhaps it wasn't necessary?

The relationship between Nina and Joe also happened very quickly. We get a lot of character development for Nina but almost none for Joe - we get his "history." But the development of the relationship itself was also rushed and a little unbelievable. Joe had just met Nina, had one sort-of date, and then suddenly was willing to rush into the house and save her. Then she accidentally stabs him. But they still end up married in witness protection? They were practically strangers.

Thank you to Catherine Steadman, NetGalley, and Random House Publishing/Ballantine Books for granting me an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine Books for this ARC of Look In The Mirror by a favorite author of mine, the brilliant Catherine Steadman.

Wow! This book took me for a funhouse ride!

Catherine Steadman is expert at creating tension and suspense and this book was no different, though the unique plot line was!

I requested this book initially because anything with “Mirror” in the title intrigues me and Catherine Steadman is an auto-request.
I did not know what dangerous excitement awaited me until I began to read the book.
I was riveted to every action-packed, propulsive chapter. It is an edge-of-your-seat story.

I have read a few reviews stating this was a locked-door mystery. The locked-door part I agree with but it is definitely a thriller in my view! One with an unprecedented and creepy plot! I was morbidly fascinated, bit by - slowly - understood bit.

The nail-biting story is fast-paced and does not let up from beginning to end. Each chapter ends in a cliffhanger.

The story primarily has two seemingly separate young female characters and we experience their stories in alternate first-person points of view - a thriller form I love. There are a few more POV chapters as the story starts to wrap up. I found all of them sympathetic despite some of their questionable involvements in the plot. Lucinda’s chapters fascinated me as she soon becomes a third main character, central to the plot.

Why did Nina’s beloved late brilliant father leave this foreign BVI mystery house to her? Why is it so different than the cozy home she knew with him? Maria, traumatized yet tough medical-student turned nanny to the Uber wealthy comes to realize that she accepted a very different job. Who hired her? And why?

We are instantly sucked into the mysterious experience of each!
When their SHOCKING connection is later revealed it did not at all slow the suspense - it only increased it!
How would these smart and courageous women - including Lucinda - fare in the end?

This book carries a statement about exactly what and who money can buy. Or what fear can allow.

Five stars as always for this author’s books!

This book blew my mind! It took me a minute to realize what was happening with the plot, then I was so intrigued I could not put it down. (I'm afraid if I say more, it will include spoilers.)
I highly recommend this mind bender for those who enjoy a solid, but totally bizarre tale. Catherine Steadman has a best seller on the horizon when "Look In the Mirror" is published July 30, 2024. I cannot thank you enough, NetGalley, Random House & Ballentine for allowing me the privilege of this ARC.
Catherine Steadman. #LookIntheMirror #NetGalley #RandomHousePublishingGroup #Ballentine

I've loved this author's other books but this one fell a little flat for me. There were certain creepy aspects of it that I liked but overall I didn't think the story flowed super well and it was hard to picture

A fast-paced locked room story that will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. However, I found the whole premise a bit over-the-top for my taste.

Look in the Mirror Is so horrific and terrifyingly suspenseful that i did not
put the book down until the end. Scene after scene compels you to hold your breath as the mystery unfolds. This one is a winner.

This started off SO strong, and then it became a bit too unoriginal for me. I can’t say what it compares to or else that would spoil it, but it was clear that this was inspired by that show. If I hadn’t watched/read something like this before, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more!

Thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for the eARC!

I loved “Something In The Water” by Catherine Steadman, but found her next two that I read, “Mr. Nobody” and “The Disappearing Act,” to be less than I had hoped. Nonetheless, I was happy to receive a copy of her latest, “Look In The Mirror” from Random Mouse/Ballantine and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. Most recently, in my relationship with Steadman’s books, I wrote about Mr. Nobody, “I’m willing to say maybe Mr. Nobody was just a hiccup or possibly it was just me. In any case, I’ll gladly read Ms. Steadman’s next book. “

In this latest thriller, there are two young women, Nina and Maria, and their stories are told in tandem. Nina apparently has inherited a fabulous house on an island in the B.V.I., but she has no idea how or why he owned it, or left it to her. Or did he? Maria is a nanny for uber-wealthy people who just wants one last job to set her up to quit working.

Weird things happen to both of them, and there is lots of creepy action. Overall, it is strange and entertaining. Not my fave of hers, and I doubt I will be eager to read her next one, as my ratings for her books have steadily declined. But I appreciate the effort, and was happy to avoid the news for another day. Three stars.

Thank you for the advanced copy of Look in the Mirror.

I finished this book a few days ago and I am still thinking about it. That being said, it definitely was not what I was expecting. I enjoyed the two following along with the two storylines of both Nina and Maria and slowly learning the trouble that they are having with this house on a secluded island. I wasn't a big fan of how the story wrapped up, but I have a hard time determining what I would have liked to see. It is a page turner and does keep you invested, but it was not my favorite story by Catherine Steadman.

This rating reflects my own opinion and it may be just the cup of tea of others who love thrillers. I ;do not love thrillers. I find the whole genre manipulative and boring. I would give five stars to the creativity of Catherine Steadman for coming up with the safe-room, house challenge and the young women victims. I would give fewer stars to the writing. (Well, Steadman earns the big bucks for her acting.)

The chapters follow Nina, our heroine if there is one, Maria, a refugee survivor, Lucinda, the recruiter, John and Jung-Ji, the electronic wizard. The seeing is lovely, British Virgin Islands, and the suspense builds. Usual thriller warnings, Look in the Mirror, Don't Open That Door, Don't go in that room. Of course they will be ignored.

My apologies to the author and publisher. I promise to swear off the thriller category from now on.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early ARC copy to read and review.

The pros: the prose is better than average for mystery thrillers, the mystery was pretty gripping, and the scenery really comes to life.

The cons: the big reveal is a bit underwhelming, there are several times I wanted to shake the main character for making really poor decisions, and there isn’t enough setup at the beginning to really make readers care about the characters.

I would definitely read this at the beach or on a trip but it’s definitely a middle of the pack mystery.

Such an awesome thriller! There were so many twists and turns, and it kept my attention the whole time. Definitely pick this one up!