Publishers Weekly
05/20/2024
A British academic receives a shock from beyond the grave in Steadman’s propulsive but ultimately disappointing latest (after The Family Game). Nina Hepworth, 34, teaches literature at Cambridge and has lived most of her life in the shadow of her brilliant mathematician father, John. After John dies of natural causes, Nina learns that he owned a piece of prime real estate in the British Virgin Islands, which he’s left to her. Stunned, she flies to the Caribbean to inspect the premises, a glass-and-steel mansion overlooking a private beach. Soon, however, Nina’s elation is tempered by her discovery that the house is rigged with all sorts of unsettling surveillance technology, prompting questions about what her father was up to. In a parallel story line set in the recent past, a young nanny named Maria takes a live-in gig at the same house, only to be ghosted by the people who hired her. She happily sticks around, but before long, she begins to suspect that she’s being watched. Toggling back and forth in time, Steadman briskly builds toward the bloody revelation linking Nina’s and Maria’s stories. Unfortunately, it’s an implausible letdown. This fails to stick the landing. Agent: Camilla Bolton, Darley Anderson Literary. (July)
From the Publisher
Addictive, thrilling, intoxicating.”—Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of None of This Is True
“I tore through this nail-biting, pacy read in a day and it left me wanting more. Unpredictable and deeply unsettling, this is a must-read.”—Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author of The Retreat
“Hypnotic and pulse-pounding, Look in the Mirror is both a dazzling puzzle-box of a thriller and an evocative exploration of trust, power, and how well we really know the people we love. I flew through its lush prose and intricate plot in 24 hours flat—and didn’t want it to end!”—Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of The Spare Room and We Were Never Here
“Look in the Mirror is an astonishing adrenaline rush of a novel, one that keeps you guessing from start to finish. This is the best novel I’ve read in ages.”—Danielle Trussoni, New York Times bestselling author of The Puzzle Master
“A gloriously, lushly evoked setting and an utter white-knuckle ride of a plot that took me into a heart of darkness . . . Catherine Steadman more than delivers on the brilliant twists and thrills I’ve come to expect from her writing, yet still rings the changes—this feels totally fresh and unique.”—Lucy Foley, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Apartment
“Look in the Mirror . . . is tense, completely terrifying, and impossible to put down.”—Flynn Berry, New York Times bestselling author of Northern Spy
“The most irresistible set-up! This book has it all: superb writing, mysterious academics, sinister puzzles, and brilliant characters. The perfect (unputdownable) book club read.”—Will Dean, author of The Last One
“An inheritance puzzle turns sinister in this beguiling, atmospheric mystery. . . . A seductive, expertly plotted page-turner that will give you the shivers.”—Louise Candlish, bestselling author of The Only Suspect
“An absolute rollercoaster of a read, Look in the Mirror will leave you breathless.”—Jane Fallon, bestselling author of Over Sharing
“A summer thriller that will keep you from looking at your own reflection for days, Look In the Mirror is a nail-biting page turner. . . . Will keep readers glued.”—HuffPo
“This page-turner left me breathless—and sleepless—until its shocking conclusion.”—Katherine Wood, author of Ladykiller
“I read Look in the Mirror in one breathless sitting. Utterly compelling, twisted, and original . . . I loved it!”—Lucy Clarke, author of One of the Girls
“Smart and spine-tingling . . . I inhaled it.”―Harriet Walker, author of The Wedding Night
