LOOKING GLASS SOUND - Catriona Ward

Wilder Harlow is a writer and he's now working on the last book he will ever write. This one is the story of his own childhood. At sixteen years old, Wilder's uncle has died and has left his Maine summer cottage to his parents and while visiting, Wilder meets two people who will become life-long friends - a boy named Nathaniel and a girl named Harper.

But the town has a dark secret - it is home to a serial killer known as the Dagger Man of Whistler Bay who takes polaroid photos of children while they are sleeping. 

Years later and Wilder heads off to college where he meets Sky, a boy who seems to be a kindred spirit. But Sky betrays Wilder by stealing his unfinished manuscript - his memoir - and turning it into a horror novel that becomes a best-seller, titled Looking Glass Sound.

I've been impressed with author Catriona Ward, who rather burst onto the horror scene just a few years ago with some really powerful works which I've enjoyed. This might be her best work yet, but frankly, I don't think I'm up to the task of disseminating it.  That is, to say, there's a lot to this book. A story within a story within a story and layers and layers characterization and setup.

I can see the intricate tapestry that Ward has woven here, but I can't see it from a distance - I can't see the big picture so I can't make out what it's supposed to be. This is the sort of book that needs to be read slowly and carefully and probably with some flipping of the pages back and forth ("wait ... two chapters ago, didn't I read...? Oh... right...").

Catriona Ward is a brilliant, careful writer and she requires brilliant, careful readers to get the most from her her work.  Unfortunately, I wasn't careful this time around (and I'm never brilliant) so I was mostly confused and feeling three steps behind and never able to catch up.

I did something I don't usually do, but I looked at some of the other reviews for this book and I see that it's pretty evenly split between those (careful & brilliant) readers who absolutely loved this, and those who didn't understand what was going on.

It's worth reading, but know going in that you will be expected to pay attention. This is no light, beach read.

Looking for a good book? Catriona Ward is a marvelous writer and Looking Glass Sound is intricately and heavily plotted, but the casual reader will likely feel stymied by what's going on.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

* * * * * *

Looking Glass Sound

author: Catriona Ward

publisher: Tor Nightfire

ISBN: 9781250860026

hardcover, 342 pages

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