** A GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF 2023 **
'Ward's most complex and brilliant book yet' - GUARDIAN
'A darkly moving and heartfelt exploration of obsession' - DAILY EXPRESS
Writers are monsters. We eat everything we see...
In a windswept cottage overlooking the sea, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood companions and the shadowy figure of the Daggerman, who stalked the New England town where they spent their summers. Of a horror that has followed Wilder through the decades. And of Sky, Wilder's one-time friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel, The Sound and the Dagger.
This book will be Wilder's revenge on Sky, who betrayed his trust and died without ever telling him why. But as he writes, Wilder begins to find notes written in Sky's signature green ink, and events in his manuscript start to chime eerily with the present. Is Sky haunting him? And who is the dark-haired woman drowning in the cove, whom no one else can see?
No longer able to trust his own eyes, Wilder feels his grip on reality slipping. And he begins to fear that this will not only be his last book, but the last thing he ever does.
Discover the new dark thriller from the bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street.
'So beautiful, so dark and so vivid' - JENNIFER SAINT
'A beautifully sinister tale of perception and identity' - JOANNE HARRIS
'Enthralling and heartbreaking' - M.R. CAREY
Genre: Horror
'Ward's most complex and brilliant book yet' - GUARDIAN
'A darkly moving and heartfelt exploration of obsession' - DAILY EXPRESS
Writers are monsters. We eat everything we see...
In a windswept cottage overlooking the sea, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood companions and the shadowy figure of the Daggerman, who stalked the New England town where they spent their summers. Of a horror that has followed Wilder through the decades. And of Sky, Wilder's one-time friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel, The Sound and the Dagger.
This book will be Wilder's revenge on Sky, who betrayed his trust and died without ever telling him why. But as he writes, Wilder begins to find notes written in Sky's signature green ink, and events in his manuscript start to chime eerily with the present. Is Sky haunting him? And who is the dark-haired woman drowning in the cove, whom no one else can see?
No longer able to trust his own eyes, Wilder feels his grip on reality slipping. And he begins to fear that this will not only be his last book, but the last thing he ever does.
Discover the new dark thriller from the bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street.
'So beautiful, so dark and so vivid' - JENNIFER SAINT
'A beautifully sinister tale of perception and identity' - JOANNE HARRIS
'Enthralling and heartbreaking' - M.R. CAREY
Genre: Horror
Praise for this book
"You think you want to be a #Writer little one? *EVIL CACKLE* Read this gut-wrenching heartbreaking beautiful horror first!" - Tina Baker
"One of the finest literary craftsmen currently working is writing horror. Looking Glass Sound is a masterclass in atmosphere. Nearly every sentence is faultless, gutting and precise. Come for the family secrets but stay for the humanity, tenderness, and empathy that are so central to Ward's storytelling. This book will truly haunt you long after you read." - Olivie Blake
"This twisted tale of ghosts and murderers, derailed lives and childhood traumas is a vertical labyrinth that will take you straight down into the heart of darkness. Enthralling and heartbreaking." - M R Carey
"Catriona Ward is an inspired spider and Looking Glass Sound is her most masterful web yet... while we, dear readers, are nothing more than mere flies happily trapped within the pages of this brilliantly intricate novel." - Clay McLeod Chapman
"Complex, compelling, deeply unsettling." - Tammy Cohen
"Serial killings, magic, literary theft, love and betrayal... So clever and original." - Mark Edwards
"Stephen King meets Atonement meets... screw it, you've read nothing like it before. This is so much more than a horror novel. Impossibly compelling, brilliantly plotted and incredibly moving all at once. This is Catriona Ward at her most special, most intimate and most ambitious. I think at this point we can all just agree to follow Ward wherever she takes us." - Virginia Feito
"So, so brilliant. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. Her characters, the way she weaves together all the storylines, the reveals - all of them brilliantly done, and all while my heart was banging out of my chest." - Lisa Hall
"This gripping horror is a masterful exploration of storytelling. It will lure you to the dark side before quietly blowing your mind, time after time. A haunting tale of friendship, creativity and revenge, with prose as deep and sweeping as the cliffs of Looking Glass Sound itself." - Janice Hallett
"One of those books that as soon as you finish reading you immediately want to read again. Darkly mind-bending and softly gut-wrenching, this is another masterpiece from the incomparable Catriona Ward." - SJI Holliday
"In the right hands, narrative can be a kaleidoscope, fracturing into more and more wondrous configurations. Just - I think Catriona Ward maybe spilled a little blood into her kaleidoscope, here..." - Stephen Graham Jones
"Ward will break your heart, mend it, and then break it again for good measure. A novel that will define a generation." - Awais Khan
"Do not miss this book. Authentically terrifying." - Stephen King
"Murder, magic and monsters from the deep: Ward weaves her dark magic once again in this atmospheric, horror-drenched coming-of-age tale, with twist after head-spinning twist." - Ellery Lloyd
"A marvel of storytelling, sinister as hell, and, at points where I thought I understood where it was going, Catriona drowned me with her signature 'oh no, you don't' dark turns." - L V Matthews
"One of the most talented writers working in the thriller genre today." - Alex Michaelides
"I couldn't tear myself away. Looking Glass Sound is slyly addictive. Falling into a Catriona Ward book means knowing you'll be caught and never let go. Unconventional, imaginative, and brazenly twisted." - Hailey Piper
"Unbelievably good... so clever, so haunting and melancholic. A novel about obsession, love and loss; an exploration of trauma and delusion; a meditation on writing and what it means to create, to be trapped in a world of your own making, tormented by your own characters. It's so beautiful, so dark and so vivid." - Jennifer Saint
"Unsettling, moving and propulsive, Ward once again proves she is at the top of her game with this twist-packed page-turner which will break your heart and keep you up all night." - Holly Watt
"Looking Glass Sound staggered me; it enslaves you with a compelling beauty before delivering a brain-melting final blow. I'm still aching for these characters and overcome by this remarkable book. Catriona Ward is a writer like no other." - Matt Wesolowski
"One of the finest literary craftsmen currently working is writing horror. Looking Glass Sound is a masterclass in atmosphere. Nearly every sentence is faultless, gutting and precise. Come for the family secrets but stay for the humanity, tenderness, and empathy that are so central to Ward's storytelling. This book will truly haunt you long after you read." - Olivie Blake
"This twisted tale of ghosts and murderers, derailed lives and childhood traumas is a vertical labyrinth that will take you straight down into the heart of darkness. Enthralling and heartbreaking." - M R Carey
"Catriona Ward is an inspired spider and Looking Glass Sound is her most masterful web yet... while we, dear readers, are nothing more than mere flies happily trapped within the pages of this brilliantly intricate novel." - Clay McLeod Chapman
"Complex, compelling, deeply unsettling." - Tammy Cohen
"Serial killings, magic, literary theft, love and betrayal... So clever and original." - Mark Edwards
"Stephen King meets Atonement meets... screw it, you've read nothing like it before. This is so much more than a horror novel. Impossibly compelling, brilliantly plotted and incredibly moving all at once. This is Catriona Ward at her most special, most intimate and most ambitious. I think at this point we can all just agree to follow Ward wherever she takes us." - Virginia Feito
"So, so brilliant. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. Her characters, the way she weaves together all the storylines, the reveals - all of them brilliantly done, and all while my heart was banging out of my chest." - Lisa Hall
"This gripping horror is a masterful exploration of storytelling. It will lure you to the dark side before quietly blowing your mind, time after time. A haunting tale of friendship, creativity and revenge, with prose as deep and sweeping as the cliffs of Looking Glass Sound itself." - Janice Hallett
"One of those books that as soon as you finish reading you immediately want to read again. Darkly mind-bending and softly gut-wrenching, this is another masterpiece from the incomparable Catriona Ward." - SJI Holliday
"In the right hands, narrative can be a kaleidoscope, fracturing into more and more wondrous configurations. Just - I think Catriona Ward maybe spilled a little blood into her kaleidoscope, here..." - Stephen Graham Jones
"Ward will break your heart, mend it, and then break it again for good measure. A novel that will define a generation." - Awais Khan
"Do not miss this book. Authentically terrifying." - Stephen King
"Murder, magic and monsters from the deep: Ward weaves her dark magic once again in this atmospheric, horror-drenched coming-of-age tale, with twist after head-spinning twist." - Ellery Lloyd
"A marvel of storytelling, sinister as hell, and, at points where I thought I understood where it was going, Catriona drowned me with her signature 'oh no, you don't' dark turns." - L V Matthews
"One of the most talented writers working in the thriller genre today." - Alex Michaelides
"I couldn't tear myself away. Looking Glass Sound is slyly addictive. Falling into a Catriona Ward book means knowing you'll be caught and never let go. Unconventional, imaginative, and brazenly twisted." - Hailey Piper
"Unbelievably good... so clever, so haunting and melancholic. A novel about obsession, love and loss; an exploration of trauma and delusion; a meditation on writing and what it means to create, to be trapped in a world of your own making, tormented by your own characters. It's so beautiful, so dark and so vivid." - Jennifer Saint
"Unsettling, moving and propulsive, Ward once again proves she is at the top of her game with this twist-packed page-turner which will break your heart and keep you up all night." - Holly Watt
"Looking Glass Sound staggered me; it enslaves you with a compelling beauty before delivering a brain-melting final blow. I'm still aching for these characters and overcome by this remarkable book. Catriona Ward is a writer like no other." - Matt Wesolowski
Visitors also looked at these books
Used availability for Catriona Ward's Looking Glass Sound