Name: Sherany's review of Sundial by Catriona Ward
Item: Sundial
Rating: 5
Author: Sherany

Catriona Ward

Sundial is a twisty psychological horror novel perfect for fans of The Push and Girl A, from Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street. All Rob ever wanted was a normal life. Nothing like her childhood, growing up in the lonely, wild Mojave Desert on her family's ranch, Sundial. Surrounded by dogs, coyotes, and research assistants. For a while, it seemed like Rob got her wish: A husband, two daughters, the white picket fence, and margaritas with the neighbors. But when a frightening accident in her home reveals a disturbing secret in her oldest daughter's bedroom, Rob knows her luck has run out. What's buried out at Sundial could never stay a secret forever, and Rob must risk one last trip out there to protect her family's future. "The new face of literary dark fiction." --Sarah Pinborough, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes

Sundial

Sherany

the 'book within a book' thing is not my cup of tea, however the world of Sundial is so easy to follow and the flow had me hooked from the first line

Molly M

it wasn’t terrible or anything ? but the way the author writes a 12 year old is really inaccurate. also how is the protagonist the “child whisperer” if she treats kids like that????

Grace M

Catriona Ward is undoubtedly one of my new favorite authors. Sundial was such a compelling, disturbing read. In many ways, I liked it even more than Looking Glass Sound (one of my top reads of the year). 
The only thing I didn’t love, surprisingly, was the story within a story element. I understand the purpose of it within the narrative, but I felt it was overall unnecessary. The main story is strong enough on its own.

Adeline

Sundial is a new, twisty psychological horror novel from Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street. “The new face of literary dark fiction.” —Sarah Pinborough, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes You can't escape what's in your blood... All Rob wanted was a normal life. She almost got it, too: a husband, two kids, a nice house in the suburbs. Far from her childhood home, Sundial, hidden deep in the wild Mojave Desert. But beneath the veneer, Rob is terrified for her oldest daughter, Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her too much of the family she left behind. Running from her past has led her directly back to it -- what’s buried at Sundial could never stay a secret forever, and Rob must risk one last trip out there to protect her family, and her future. “A true nerve-shredder that keeps its mind-blowing secrets to the very end.” —Stephen King on The Last House on Needless Street At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Molly Morgan

She has done it again, my dudes. I didn't love this one in the same way I loved "Last House on Needless Street", but I did love this book!

It's so psycho-twisty turny. Fucked up family dynamics. Fantastic POV's that give you the absolute heebee jeebees. A great read for horror/psychological thriller fans.

TRIGGER WARNING: Be wary of reading if animal cruelty bothers you intensely. I wouldn't say it's descriptive at all, but it is present. It made me uncomfy at times and I'm a avid user of "Does the Dog Die?"

MAJOR TWs with this one please check those before reading this book if it’s on your TBR

 I went into this book completely blind. And honestly I almost DNF’d it. I feel like there was sooooo much happening in this story. So many storylines to keep up with. I had to reread a few chapters so that I truly understood what is happening at points. There were moments that PULLED me in, left me speechless, and gave me that WTF moment… they are the reason I finished the book. Also, the story that is sprinkled through the book (grey pages) those TOTALLY could have been left out and it honestly left me with more questions. I just didn’t love this one, it left me bored, confused, and let down.

BROOKE A

MAJOR TWs with this one please check those before reading this book if it’s on your TBR I went into this book completely blind. And honestly I almost DNF’d it. I feel like there was sooooo much happening in this story. So many storylines to keep up with. I had to reread a few chapters so that I truly understood what is happening at points. There were moments that PULLED me in, left me speechless, and gave me that WTF moment… they are the reason I finished the book. Also, the story that is sprinkled through the book (grey pages) those TOTALLY could have been left out and it honestly left me with more questions. I just didn’t love this one, it left me bored, confused, and let down.

Jasmine

As much as I fell in love with The Last House on Needless Street, Sundial is better. No one I can think of writes such strange stories but makes them so incredibly relatable. However, I don’t know what that says about me. Whatever. There’s no good way to summarize this book, so I’m just going to tell you to buy it as soon as humanly possible. 

This is an author that I personally hope has an insanely long career writing all of the books. I’ll be there to buy alllll of them immediately! 

So many thanks to the publisher for sending an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

*** FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET, A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK *** 'A thrilling hall of mirrors filled with deeply disturbing twists' - ALEX MICHAELIDES 'Impossible-to-put-down. Sundial is a heart-in-the-throat smash' - JOE HILL 'A desert-dust nightmare with a scorpion's sting, and I loved it' - EMMA STONEX ________________________________________ You can't escape the desert. You can't escape Sundial. Rob fears for her daughters. For Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. For Annie, because she fears what Callie might do to her. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her of the family she left behind. She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice. Callie is afraid of her mother. Rob has begun to look at her strangely. To tell her secrets about her past that both disturb and excite her. And Callie is beginning to wonder if only one of them will leave Sundial alive... From the bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street comes a stunning thriller exploring the toxicity of the mother-daughter bond, and the power of the past to twist the present. ________________________________________ 'Ambitious, brutal and breathtakingly original' - TAMMY COHEN 'A wild, twisted family gothic unlike any you've read before' - PAUL TREMBLAY 'Dark and unsettling, creepy and enthralling' - LISA HALL 'Evocative, lyrical and beautiful. I loved it' - ARAMINTA HALL

Helen Borham

This book was a wild ride. It was gripping and unpredictable. Even 100 pages from the end I couldn’t be sure where the story was going. I thought the author crafted a great group of characters and that the multiple POV format worked well with the narrative

I would say I liked this book, rather than loving it. This was partially influenced by the content which was always going to be a difficult and slightly less enjoyable read. I also feel like the concept and backstory was quite complex. Whilst I understand why and how this contributed to the plot it did impact my enjoyment of the book

Moray Lyle McIntosh

I found Catriona Ward's Last House on Needless Street difficult to rate because it required such a leap, such a determination to suspend disbelief and ignore the essential silliness of some of its conceits. At the same time it was so cleverly constructed and so utterly gripping that I couldn't stop reading it. I pushed through and enjoyed it in the end. Unfortunately, she hasn't managed the same trick here. The silliness remains in the sheer unlikeliness of everything that happens but this time, much is predictable. The emotional resonance is missing from the characters, I just didn't root for Rob and Jack in the same way. There was more potential in Callie but she is underused and the whole present-day narrative was used just as a way to inject some mystery into the unfolding of Rob's past.

I don't even want to go into the ideas about predispositions to violence and "badness", it's the sort of reductive essentialism that I can't get on board with.

Wiktoria Balcerak

Reading this book took me a long time, but I binged most of it in one day. At first, you might think it's slow but oh boy, does that change later! Sundial is a story of family, upbringing, magic, nature vs nurture and a ton of other things. I'm not including any description of the plot because I feel like everyone should just experience it for themselves. Please check trigger warnings if you have any! I can't stop thinking about this story and everything that happened in it. It was extremely vivid, real and scary. I don't know if it should be classified as horror or thriller because it seems to fit both of these categories - if you read The Last House on Needless Street you probably understand what I mean. The plot twists in this book, the reveals, the memories slowly being revealed, it was all amazing and the last plot twist made me up my rating a star! Giving it 4 stars just because the beginning was a little bit slow and I wasn't a fan of the "book inside a book" parts (that might change if I ever decide to reread this book).

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this book early!

Sherany &
Sundial by Catriona Ward

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Sundial by Catriona Ward