Catriona Ward strikes again with her newest psychological horror masterpiece, "Looking Glass Sound." This one was super eerie, very on brand for Ward.

Set against the backdrop of a desolate cottage in a coastal Maine town, the story unfolds through the eyes of Wilder Harlow, a tormented writer embarking on his final opus. As he delves into his childhood and the difficult to explain events that unfolded over the course of a couple summers, Ward masterfully weaves a tapestry of suspense, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.

Wilder's recollection of his coming of age and the haunting specter of a serial killer takes an unexpected turn when his unfinished memoir is adapted into a bestselling novel by another writer, his closest friend Sky. What follows is a psychological descent into the darkest corners of Wilder's mind, as he questions the boundaries of his own sanity.

Looking Glass Sound really leans into the exploration of memory and its malleability. Wilder's struggle to distinguish between the fragments of his past and the fabrication of his friend's novel serves as a constant reminder that our recollections can be deceptive. The back-and-forth between truth and fiction creates a mind-bending experience- prepare to ask yourself what the hell is going on several times before it all comes together.... and even after that.

If I had one gripe about this book, it's that there were too many conflicting plot points. It did all mingle at the end, but by the time it all made sense I was kind of over hearing the same story several times from different points of view, with changes among each tale. I loved the book, but I feel the fat could have been trimmed a little for a cleaner effect. It was, at times, a lot going on.

I do appreciate Ward's ability to shift between characters as always, however, and I think it could be what she does best. In the end, I loved this book and I think it is her best since Sundial. Looking Glass Sound is definitely a great read if you're looking for something that will leave you wondering and haunted beyond the last page.