Catherine Steadman simply does not miss.

I love all of her books, and this one might be my favorite. I'm normally not a fan of multiple perspectives, but if anyone can make them work, it's Steadman. Sure enough, somehow she made each narrative equally suspenseful. The start of every chapter felt like a welcome return to a storyline — even if it did steadily raise my heartbeat.

I read a lot of thrillers, but it took me quite some time to understand what was happening. And even then, I still wasn't sure how the book would end. It's unusual to find a new twist to this genre, but again, I'm not surprised Steadman is the author to do that. My only complaint is that I couldn't put the book down and I finished it in a day — and now I probably have to wait a while until her next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy of this fun thriller! I'm a huge fan of the author, Catherine Steadman.
This book was fun going into without too much information on the plot.
The main character Nina recently lost her father, a brilliant mathematician and civil engineerher. She is notified that her father left her a house in the British Virgin Islands. Desperate for more closure and information on her brilliant father, she travels to see the house before deciding what to do with it. When she gets to the impressive house on a very remote island she starts to realize there is more to the house than she first assumed.
Wirhout giving too much away, the first half of the book was especially fun and exciting to read. It was tricky understanding who to trust and what the purpose and background of the house was. I really enjoyed Nina's character. She was smart, practical, and easy to root for. The other main character Maria was really interesting. She was more driven with instinct than Nina's calm perseverance and intellect
The alternating perspectives kept the plot fast-paced and interesting, especially in the first half.
I think my only complaint is there might have been too many additional narrators as the book went on, especially towards the last quarter of the book. It felt a little convoluted and I wanted a little more but still I overall loved the book. It was a complex and clever thriller and I highly recommend it!

I enjoyed this book! It was twisty and surprised me many steps of the way!

At first, I could not figure out how this story would come together. You have Nina, a 34 year old woman living in London whose father recently passed away. He left her a property on the Virgin Islands that she had no idea about. Then you have Maria, a nanny who is saving money to go back to med school. She is a nanny for the rich and when she arrives, the house keeper gives her the rules and expectations, one being to not go in the locked room in the basement. She is waiting for the family to come but when they never arrive, things start to become clear that something is not as it seems.

That is all I can say before giving up all the details and spoiling the story! Things really aren’t as they seem but they do come together really well. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and the storyline. It was a quick read, definitely a great summer thriller.


Thank you to Netgalley, Ballantine books and Catherine Steadman for this arc in exchange for a review.

Pub Date: July 30, 2024

My fifth read by Catherine Steadman. The previous four have all been solid four stars, and this one got dangerously close to going all the way, but a few logistical snafus in the end kept it at four.
Still impressive. A most impressive solid performance in a genre so overpopulated by trite clichés that I’ve all but given up reading it. I make exceptions for Steadman. Totally worth it.
Behind the prismatic cover of this book lies a tale of deceptions centered around an unexpected inheritance and a particularly tricked out basement. It’s impossible to tell how much is too much in discussing the plot here, and so to avoid giving anything away, let’s just say this is a novel of extreme survival and leave it at that.
Steadman got a knack for detail which usually hampers (and needlessly bulks up) these sorts of thrillers, but in her work comes across seamlessly and, at times, literary. It is also commendable that she chose to do something different from the usual (missing child - driven mother, spouse with secrets, friends with a decades old secrets reunite, etc.) genre presets. And she gets the suspense just right, keeping you turning pages.
It was the ending that left a lot to be desired here. From the neatness of the bow with which it was all tired up to some questionable logistics. Nevertheless, the book is very entertaining and very much worth a read.
Please stop now if you haven’t read the novel. I’d like to discuss those logistical snafus without accusations of giving too much away. Okay? Okay, thanks.
So, our presumably very intelligent protagonist doesn’t do a lot of work verifying her mysterious inheritance before jutting off to the remote island, does she?
But more importantly, her allegedly brilliant and lovely father has no qualms designing a place clearly meant for nefarious purposes. Moreso, he seems more or less okay with it so long as it doesn’t affect his daughter. Moreso, he in fact suspects it may affect his daughter (this is during Lucinda’s visit) but nevertheless does nothing—NOTHING—to warn his daughter about this possibility or prepare her in any way, BUT he does rely on Lucinda’s good graces and kindness enough to ask her to avoid involving his daughter. In other words, he’d rather depend on someone with a proven track of evil deeds than simply warn his beloved only daughter. Interesting. And finally, why would a witness protection program relocate British citizens to the smaller towns, US? Isn’t the entire point of it to make people disappear? How’s putting a foreign national in a staunchly monolingual, socially conservative south of the country generally bewildered by accents going to help them blend in?
Anyway, those are just some things that didn’t make much sense. Still a very fun read. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

When Nina’s beloved father passes, she finds something surprising in his will....a house located on a small island in the Caribbean. Nina knows is so confused- why did she not know about this property? The only way to learn more is to travel there.

Interspersed with the stories of other characters located on the island, Look In the Mirror is by far the creepiest story I have ever read! If you like thrillers, look no further. This is one of a kind and will haunt you even in broad daylight! Thank you Catherine Steadman, I hope I can sleep tonight!
#randomhouse #ballantine

Wow. A deadly escape house designed by the protagonist’s own father, each room named after a verse in “The WasteLand” and the protagonist an Oxbridge literature professor. Extremely high concept, but it works. 3:5 rounded up.

Look in the Mirror is very dark, suspenseful, and twisted. The beginning started out strong, but then the middle got a little convoluted. I think I just don't have a dark mind so some things were hard for me to grasp. There is not much character development so be aware if you enjoy connecting with characters this may be difficult to do in this story. The setting and house where the majority of the story takes place are thoroughly described and it was easy to immerse myself in the story. I read this in one sitting, it was very hard to put down. If you like dark thrillers you will love this one!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“Look in the mirror” is the new suspense thriller by Catherine Steadman. The book is told in alternating points of view by Nina and Maria who are both trapped in a house on an island in the Caribbean. I read the book quickly as it was suspenseful and I wanted to know what the hell was going on as it wasn’t clear until about 70%. Then once I realized where the plot was going, it quickly got campy and went downhill. Overall, it was interesting, just disappointed in the execution.

I was thrilled to receive this approval. I immediately dove head first into reading Look In The Mirror. I will have to say that the first 20% of the book, I couldn't put it down. Then, unfortunately, things begin to become quite repetitive and boring for me. I think I am more of a character development person when it comes to reading my books. I have to get to know the characters to feel any empathy for them or even get invested in the story. There was not any real character development in this book. If you are into architecture/design, and enjoy descriptive details along that line, then you'd love this book. I felt that all I was reading about was the house that Nina's father has left her in his will. Yes, Steadman did a fantastic job with this, to the point where the house itself almost felt alive. I just got terribly bored. I had a hard time continuing, honestly. I am going to give this 3 stars, as I do not feel it was horrible enough to give it any lower, but not mind blowing to be near a 4 or 5 star read for me.

This is an unhinged popcorn thriller that I could not put down! Catherine Steadman has a dark, twisted imagination, and she knows how to write a fast-paced story. Although the plot is fluffy, this is also a bloody and violent popcorn thriller so readers should be aware. Look In the Mirror follows 34-year-old Nina, a Cambridge professor who inherits a mysterious house on the British Virgin Islands after her father's death. When Nina arrives at the house, she soon discovers that her father, a life-long lover of games and puzzles, has left one final puzzle for her...and it has dangerous, deadly stakes. Meanwhile, a young woman named Maria, normally a nanny for rich families, finds herself alone in the BVI in a pristine summer home. Maria's warned not to go into one room in the basement of the house...but Maria can't resist. And when she pushes a mysterious button in the basement, she's left to contend with a deadly puzzle of her own. Of course, Nina and Maria's stories are connected.

While some of the twists in the book were predictable and others were far-fetched, I couldn't put this down! This moved lightning fast, so Catherine Steadman gets major points for that. As with some of her past books, though, I thought some of the plot points hinged on entirely ridiculous backstories; some of the rationale in the book was flimsy, though perhaps that's not so important when suspension of disbelief is key to enjoying the entire plot. Also, I will say, even though Maria and Nina are supposed to be intelligent, they both choose to push the button in the basement...and if we've learned anything from horror films, it's never push the button! If neither of them took that action, there would be no story — but it's inconsistent with their characters.

Still this is a book to read for the story and not the character development and what a story it was! This is a fun, bloody, twisty ride...and you'll want to look in the mirror after reading it to make sure no one is there, watching you.