Look In The Mirror | Catherine Steadman
REVIEWED BY LINDA HILL
Following her father’s recent death, Nina discovers he has bequeathed her a fabulous modern house in the British Virgin Islands. Meanwhile, Maria is a nanny for super-rich clients and is awaiting their arrival in a luxury island home. But are things quite as idyllic as they seem?
Look In The Mirror: book review & synopsis
Look In The Mirror is a brilliant story. It’s exciting, fast-paced and terrifying. This really is a locked-room thriller that has readers holding their breath at the same time as the characters!
With viewpoints alternating between Maria and Nina, it’s tricky to establish timescales or to work out who is responsible for the threats and danger both women experience, making the structure a compelling one.
The well-established concept of avoiding going into the basement alone is given a total makeover here, with a fresh and modern story that feels only too scarily possible. Without spoiling the narrative, whatever your worst nightmare or fear, you’re likely to encounter it between the pages of Look In The Mirror.
As well as the cleverly constructed plot that provides surprise after surprise, there is a fascinating iterative image of Eliot’s Four Quartets. This adds an extra layer of puzzle and intrigue as Nina battles to recall her father’s favourite poem in order to stay alive, effectively making the reader an active solver of puzzles, too.
The characters are well drawn…
I loved the way some of them metaphorically look in the mirror and decide they don’t like their own reflection. They display a range of traits, including love, selfishness, greed and altruism that makes them layered and real. There’s a sense of obfuscation about Maria’s past that isn’t fully explained.
Nina, in contrast, is more straightforward and therefore more relatable. Her love for her father is at the heart of who she is. I thought it was a genius touch to have so much of the action created through the work of Nina’s father and yet he’s hardly physically present in the novel.
One of the most terrifying aspects of this story is the fact that there’s the potential for it to be happening right now across the globe. Catherine Steadman looks into the dark soul of the world and shows us just what is possible, but of course, you’ll need to read the book to see exactly what I mean!
Look In The Mirror is a cracking story. It elevates the pulse, entertains and is a compelling tale. And next time you look in a mirror in your own home, you might want to take a closer look…
Look In The Mirror by Catherine Steadman is out now (Quercus, HB, £16.99) and available from Amazon.
Read more fiction reviews by Linda Hill including I Died On a Tuesday by Jane Corry, Redemption by Jack Jordan, Our Holiday by Louise Candlish, The Unforgettable Loretta, Darling by Katherine Blake, My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes and The Intruders by Louise Jensen.
