Looking Glass Sound

It is an expertly written, utterly involving thriller/chiller that you could call the perfect beach read as long as you don’t mind your beaches clammy, mysterious, and lurking with menace.

Ward is thought of as a genre writer (the genre being mind-bending horror). Still, she deserves much broader consideration as a stylist of the first order, a keen observer of character (especially of the off-kilter, warped variety), and a constructor of dizzying literary puzzles that, at least in this case, pay off magnificently.

My first Ward book, but certainly not my last.

Catriona Ward is one of my favourite modern storytellers. Looking Glass Sound is aptly titled.

Its events are told from different viewpoints, challenging the reader to reassess their opinion of what has happened, including attempts at witchcraft and hints of the supernatural. Some events may not have occurred in real life, as one of the protagonists is suffering from visual hallucinations.

It is a murder mystery set in a closed community that achieves notoriety for the shocking discoveries. The author scatters false trails, resolved in a tragic and surprising ending. The characters are well-drawn, although the reader’s opinion of them… show more.