Looking Glass Sound

By: Catriona Ward

Narrated by: Christopher Ragland, Katherine Fenton

Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

“If you love the novels of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Tana French, here’s your next obsession.”—Kelly Link, author of White Cat, Black Dog

From Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street, comes a masterful story about friendship and betrayal, dark obsessions, and the impossibility of escaping your own story.

In a cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow has begun the last book he will ever write.

It is the story about the sun-drenched summer days of his youth in Whistler Bay, and the blood-stained path of the killer that stalked his small vacation town. About the terrible secret he and his companions, Nat and Harper, discovered entombed in the coves off the bay. And how the pact they swore that day echoed down the decades, forever shaping their lives.

But the more Wilder writes, the less he trusts himself and his memory. He starts to see things that can’t be real–notes hidden in the cabin, from an old friend now dead; a woman with dark hair drowning in the icy waters below, calling for help; entire chapters he doesn’t recall typing, appearing overnight. Who, or what, is haunting Wilder?

No longer able to trust his own eyes, Wilder begins to fear that this will not only be his last book, but the last thing he ever does.

“An origami puzzle of a book, the mystery so beautifully crafted you don’t see the folds, with edges sharp as a paper cut.”—Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining Girls

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Nightfire.

©2023 Catriona Ward (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Looking Glass Sound is my favorite Catriona Ward novel yet, which is saying something. There are twists and turns here that even the most jaded reader will find hard to predict. If you love the novels of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Tana French, here’s your next obsession.”—Kelly Link, author of White Cat, Black Dog

“An evocative, bone-chilling read, exploring grief, storytelling, and the dark forces of obsession. Ward’s writing is complex, challenging, and beautiful in equal measure. A tale to savor.”—Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author of The Sanatorium

“I loved every word...an irresistible, beautifully written story powered by dread and fascination with the unknown.”—A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

Super weird...

I'm not sure what I just listened to... but I think I enjoyed it...? It's convoluted meta fiction, hard to follow at times, and I don't know if I even understood all of it, and yet I kinda liked it. This author's imagination always surprises me. None of her books ever surpass Last House on Needless Street for me, but they always leave me glad I read them. Had to speed up the narration a bit, other than that it was decent.

Go in blind

Before I read this book, I was told that the less you know, the better and it definitely ended up that way. I started off very into the story and as things progressed, it got weird and I could see why some wouldn't want to stick with it but I advise that you should. I'm also not saying the pay off is mind blowing but I was pleased when I finished it and you can't say that about every book.

meta fiction on steroids

“Looking Glass Sound” is a very ambitious meta-meta-meta-fiction. Author Catriona Ward has written a thriller that combines brutal murders, witchcraft, ghosts, and the immortality of novels.

For me, the story started slowly. I questioned whether I wanted to continue. Suddenly it went from a 2-star read to a 4+ star read. I was engaged and creeped out (we all have novel goals). The story which takes place on the Maine coast, with Wilder Harlow beginning his summer vacation with his parents. He meets Nat and Harper and the trio discover a disturbing secret. Now is when this becomes a scary story. I was reminded of my teenaged self, intentionally reading scary books and loving it!

Wilder decides to write about the tragic summer. But when he finds full chapters that he doesn’t remember writing, the meta fiction begins.

It’s difficult to describe the structure of the story without giving away the plot. It’s the structure that’s part of the plot. This is not for the average reader! The story lost me in many places, but I kept on, figuring that the pieces will eventually come together. They do. However, it’s a lot of work (to me) for minimal enjoyment. I don’t think meta-thriller-fiction is my genre.

I listened to the audio narrated by Christopher Ragland and Katherine Fenton. It was Ragland’s voice at the beginning that I wasn’t a fan of. However, after listening for an hour or more, I got used to him. He does have great narrating range. I got bored at the 2/3rds mark. Kept listening and then it all came together and made some sense.

This is an interesting novel in that while I was immersed, I was not that impressed. After listening to 13 hours, and thinking about it, I see what she was doing. It’s impressive. I like it more now that I’m done! Glean from that what you want…..

Intense!

Couldn’t stop listening! Can’t stop thinking about the ending. Wasn’t crazy about the narration in the beginning but grew to like it.

ready for it to end

honestly, the ending made it feel a little cheap. i wanted it to be more about the dagger man but it all ended up being very much about romance and relationships, which wasn’t what i was coming to this book for.

Perfect

Catriona Ward does it again! Every book is a thrilling adventure and I am always incapable of putting them down until I reveal the twist at the end!

Not my favorite Ward book.

Honestly disappointed. The best parts of the book were the first few chapters and the last 10 minutes of the book. I could have done without the rest. It dragged and felt complex in a very pretentious way. Meh.

A lot going on!

I loved the stories within stories. You get to know each character. It wasn’t a typical horror, but showed the fears and demons people experience. Great book!

Kinda tough to follow

Loved Last House on Needless Street and Little Eve. Catriona Ward is a master at complex dark fiction. I found this one confusing at times, with characters whose names change and a plot that jumps back and forward in time quite a bit. Poor Wilder just couldn’t catch a break :(
Richly developed and atmospheric. Interesting premise kept me hanging in there, and it does all come together in the end. The writing is excellent. So was the narration.

Very Disappointing

Esquire magazine had listed this novel as one of 2023's best in "scary" books. While I loved the very 1st part of the book concerning Wilder's friendship with Nate and Harper, it then took a very different direction when he goes to college. I continued hoping it would get better. Unfortunately it didn't until the last couple of hours, but by then I didn't care anymore. Wasted credit.