What Did I Just Read???

 

TITLE: Looking Glass Sound

AUTHOR: Catriona Ward

PUBLISHER: Tor Nightfire

PUBLISHING DATE: August 8, 2023

PAGES: 342   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: In a lonely cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood summer companions and the killer that stalked the small New England town. Of the body they found, and the horror of that discovery echoing down the decades. And of Sky, Wilder’s one-time best friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel, Looking Glass Sound. 

But as Wilder writes, the lines between memory and fiction blur. He fears he’s losing his grip on reality when he finds notes hidden around the cottage written in Sky’s signature green ink. 

Catriona Ward delivers another mind-bending and cleverly crafted tale about one man’s struggle to come to terms with the terrors of his past… before it’s too late.

MY THOUGHTS: I'm going to be honest here, it took me awhile to even review this book.  I've actually had to sit on it for some time and my final rating has gone back and forth between two and three stars so many times I have whiplash. This is the third book I've read from this author.  The Last House on Needless Street absolutely didn't work for me and yes, I know I'm in the minority.  On the other hand, I loved Sundial. I can respect Ward's writing style and will probably continue to read her books, but I don't have a strong opinion either way.

I'm not going to talk much about the plot.  Part of me thinks it is best to go into this book blindly, but the other part of me is afraid I will only make things more confusing.  I will say the book takes the whole "book within a book" trope to new levels with peculiar characters that you are either going to love or hate. I never truly connected with them, and they are all haunted in their own ways. 

The ending of this book delivered a final shock which I think fans of the author have come to expect.  I finally decided to go with a 3/5 rating because the book has stayed with me over time, and I have come to appreciate it more as time passes.  However, it's not one I could easily recommend unless you love the author or are in the mood for one confusing fever dream. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for the e-galley.

RATING: 3 PAWS