Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the eARC! This was so interesting! I loooooooooved the locked room aspect and the escape room-esque elements. Absolutely unique and engaging! I couldn’t put it down and was so curious and on edge throughout! Catherine Steadman has done it again!

This was an odd one for me, for a good portion I was very into it and really enjoyed wondering what exactly was going on. Initially you hear from Nina as she travels to this property she never knew her father owned until he passed and Maria a nanny to the super rich as she waits for her next assignment to start. I liked both women’s viewpoints but Maria’s a bit more as her situation brought more tension and suspense. Somewhere along the way things lost me though, especially the last quarter or so. Once things start getting revealed I found it to be silly and outlandish and I just didn’t buy into the explanations behind most of it. I’m not usually too judgey when it comes to things being too over the top but I found the motivations beyond ridiculous. I seem to be in the minority here though.

I loved this story! It was engaging, mysterious, and kept me guessing. I loved the ending. It was very satisfying. I did not expect for the story to go as it did, which made it all the more enjoyable.

Steadman’s thrillers always seem totally implausible and unrealistic, but I find them relatable at the same time. I was gripped to the plot. She is so great about creating twists that I don’t see coming that also make complete sense once they are revealed. I loved the dual POV, especially when it is later revealed that the plot lines weren’t occurring at the same time. Very nice twist that I didn’t see coming and changed how I viewed the story.

This book was a bit too much for me. It was somewhat confusing and then it lost me. It is very rare for me to not finish a book but I did not completely finish this one. This does not mean it is not a good book - it was just not a match for me and the style of reading I enjoy. I will give it another try as we all know that sometimes it is the timing of when you read a book that impacts you the most. Having read this at a time when there was some inheritance issues in my own family, it may have just been a distraction to my reading. Thanks NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Catherine Steadman is not afraid to "go there" and I absolutely love her for it. This book, much like her last novel, is absolutely crazy and I enjoyed every single second of it. An autobuy author for me, always. Can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

“Look in the Mirror” was a twisty turny story. I enjoyed the first 25% of it, but then I found the story to be too wordy. It puttered out and not much happened to keep me interested.

This was an interesting, slow-burn type of suspense and thriller. There are two different stories going on, Nina’s and Maria’s (just missing the Pinta’s- lol just kidding). But you’re not really sure how they’ll intertwine. For most of the book I just felt like, WTH is going on. I knew it wasn’t something good, though.

I don’t really want to say much more to spoil the book at all, but once things start making sense, the pace really picks up, and then it turns into a straight thriller. Overall, I had fun reading it, but I feel like I would have liked it more if we didn’t have that weird first half where you’re just in the dark.

This review has been posted to Goodreads and Storygraph on October 18th, 2024. Links provided.

In the midst of her grief over her father’s death, Nina stumbles upon an unexpected inheritance: a breathtaking vacation home in the British Virgin Islands, a luxurious retreat of glass and marble that seems too extravagant for her modest upbringing. Questions swirl in her mind… how did her practical father acquire such wealth, and what secrets did he keep hidden from her? Meanwhile, Maria, a former medical student turned nanny for the elite, is just one job away from financial stability. When her charges mysteriously fail to appear, she indulges in the lavish amenities of the home, relishing the sun-soaked days by the pool and the soothing sauna. Yet, a forbidden basement beckons her curiosity, and as she delves deeper into both the house’s mysteries and her own choices, she realizes that some secrets may be more perilous than she ever anticipated.

While I did like the book in the end, it was a difficult one for me to wrap my head around for the first half of the storyline. Told from alternating perspectives between Nina and Maira (and sometimes a few other characters later in the book), I had difficulty understanding the timeline of the two women’s experiences (although I know this was ultimately supposed to add to the mysteriousness of the overall plot). While I found the second half of the book faster paced and I was more invested in the outcome, my experience during the first half of the book left me more confused than enticed with what would happen next. I thought the writing was good and the plot (without giving any spoilers away) fairly interesting, although not the most original. Sometimes there are suspense books that when I discover the plot twist, I immediately want to go back and read the book again as soon as I finish it because the twist was so well done. Unfortunately, I did not feel that way when the twist was revealed for Look in the Mirror. Also, I felt there were some plot holes and questions still left unanswered by the time I finished the story. While it wasn’t my favorite book, it was my first time reading anything by Catherine Steadman and I would definitely still be interested in reading one of her other books in the future.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read to an ARC of Look in the Mirror in return for my honest review.

As usual, Catherine Steadman writes a great book! This one was pretty solid, not my favorite by her but def good enough to absorb yourself in!

This was a great read with plenty of twists and turns. Would you go in the room they said not to? I would stay far from it! Do you want to know what's behind the door? Read this book and find out.


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Well--it started out really cool. A luxurious house with a forbidden room -- but then it got a bit too far-fetched--though it was entertaining enough.

This, although straightforwardly written, was one of the most convoluted plots I’ve read in recent years. Maria, a nanny looking for wealthy clients, and Nina, a woman who had just lost her father and inherited a house in the Caribbean, are the protagonists. The house is the star. Each woman comes to the house at a different time and each is left there alone. Both “investigate” the house and find an electronically locked door in the basement and are warned never to enter it. Every thriller reader knows what this leads to, but the do they? Thanks to Net Galley and Ballantine Books for an ARC for an honest review.

Was a little confused at times but otherwise loved this book! Will definitely be recommending to fans of mysteries and thrillers

This book took me a little bit to get into. I'm not sure if I would've had a different experience if I read a physical copy instead of a digital, but I did struggle to get into at first. I was mostly confused about who the different people were. It definitely was a good thriller in the sense that it kept me on the edge of my seat, but in the end I just wasn't wowed by it. I think there are other thrillers that are a bit better done, but this one was interesting. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC!

Nina's father passed away and left her a mysterious house she never heard of in the British Virgin Islands. However, having a house she didn't know about isn't the only mystery, but also what is in the basement and who is leaving threatening notes for her.

Look in the Mirror approaches the story from different points of view, Nina and Maria (mostly), who are staying in this house alone at different times. I'm not sure what it was, but it took some time to really catch my attention. When if finally did, I way dying to understand what was going on. There were some twists, but it wasn't my favorite.

Nina’s dad just died and she’s got no one else in her life now. The two of them were both guilty of being academic loners, finding more comfort in their books than in others. So how did Nina never know about her dad’s house in the British Virgin Islands? When it’s left to her after his death, Nina realizes there’s more to her dad and this house he left her and she’s going to find out all about it.

Read if you love games, escape rooms, and screaming “omg no don’t go in there dummy!!! This was definitely a fun vacation thriller that would be perfect for a medium flight!

When Nina inherits a house from her dad, she decides to visit since she had never heard of it. Meanwhile there's another story of Maria, who was hired as a nanny for a family that never arrives. Overall, a thriller with each woman trying to figure out what is happening and how they can survive, as they discover more secrets about the house. This one wasn't as gripping as her previous books and the twist was unpleasant. Fans of Ruth Ware might like this one.

This one is different for Steadman. I’m left with a lot of locked room vibes…. Sort of. Multiple points of view, but also a very disjointed and often times feels rushed. Decent read but also a few plot holes that could have been filled to be a better read. Thanks to NetGalley for the read.

loved the secret island setting / premise at the beginning but then it took a turn that I didn’t love (kinda just gave me the ick) but overall was a quick, bingeable read — nothing to rave about in my opinion