Mirrorland

By: Carole Johnstone

Narrated by: Katie Leung

Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

“Unnerving.” —People

“Unsettling...unlocks its mysteries slowly.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A dark, twisty, and richly atmospheric exploration of the power of imagination” —Ruth Ware, author of The Woman in Cabin 10 

“Beautifully written and told with a watchmaker’s precision” (Stephen King), Mirrorland is a thrilling psychological suspense novel about twin sisters, the man they both love, the house that has always haunted them, and the childhood stories they can’t leave behind.

Cat lives in Los Angeles, far from 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing gothic house in Edinburgh where she and her estranged twin sister, El, grew up. As kids, they invented Mirrorland, a dark, imaginary place under the pantry stairs, full of pirates, witches, and clowns. These days, Cat rarely thinks about their childhood home, or the fact that El now lives there with her husband, Ross.

But when El mysteriously disappears after going out on her sailboat, Cat is forced to return to 36 Westeryk Road, which hasn’t changed in twenty years. The grand old house is still full of shadowy corners, and at every turn Cat finds herself stumbling on long-held secrets and terrifying ghosts from the past. Because someone—El?—has left Cat clues: a treasure hunt that leads them back to Mirrorland, where the truth lies waiting... 

A brilliantly crafted story that “feels like the love child of Gillian Flynn and Stephen King” (Greer Hendricks, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Mirrorland is a propulsive, gripping debut about love, betrayal, revenge—and the price of freedom.

©2021 Carole Johnstone. All rights reserved. (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Great story but so long

NO SPOILERS
I am torn between this book....
It is a beautifully written, and intriguing story, but it was just SO LONG. I thought it was never going to end. I feel like it would’ve been more enjoyable if about 5-6 hours didn’t exist.
The story and writing deserve more stars, but I just can’t get passed how dragged out it was.
I was hoping that the ending would have made the length worth it but I just couldn’t get on board. I wasn’t disappointed with the ending...I just wanted it to end.

Mirrorland Is Like No Other

I really enjoyed the rollercoaster ride into & through the storyline & characters!!

I stared the book and couldn't stop listening!

A story of so much, from love, abuse, childhood abuse & how effectived their lives as adults. The family relationship between sisters, friends & a puzzle that needs put back together in the hardest way possible....by remembering a past one sister chose to bury & forget.
The way for her remember though is to go back through to Mirrorland & why the sisters created it.

5 stars all the way & worth the credit 100%.

The narrator was good as well, but she had something missing & I couldn't put my finger on it.

Definition of psychological

Okay here’s the deal. This is not the most perfectly plotted mystery novel of all time. If that’s what you are after, you may find some enjoyment here, but that’s not where the magic lies with this novel. This is an exploration of childhood, of trauma, of the creative ways the brain conjures to categorize, make sense of, and protect itself from what it cannot accept or needs to hide from itself for the sake of self preservation. I found this book utterly enthralling. It is long. It is slow paced. None of that matters if you find yourself in for the ride, and I was in for the ride. The mystery here is what lies hidden in our main character’s mind, far more than what comprises the facts of current events in her life. The novel has total gothic vibes, the descriptions of the old house are effectively atmospheric and foreboding. There is a lot of really brilliant layering and foreshadowing that goes into this. It truly is a treasure hunt. And so sad, at the end of it all. An actually really tragic story. Anyway! 5 stars. I’ve not listened obsessively to an audiobook the way I did with this one in quite some time. Worth the listen, tho it does take some commitment to get into. Writing is good, never annoying, often admirable.

Many jaw dropping moments - a great one!

This is an absolutely fantastic, twisting story. I don’t remember having so many literal jaw dropping moments in any other story. Ms Johnstone’s style is immensely enjoyable and interesting. She has a way of hitting certain moments and emotions, then recalling them later in the same way. It’s powerful. It’s a truly can’t miss audiobook!

That having been said, I simply cannot imagine this book having a different voice than Katie Leung. She’s Scottish and has a lovely voice. I’m American English speaking, so it took a moment (and some good ear pods) to really hear and understand her clearly. But, man…her cadence and tone are amazing, but the intimacy she can achieve is truly moving. I’m definitely a fan and will now try books just because she’s narrating.

Convoluted

I love twists and turns. This story was so convoluted that by the time the big reveals came, I didn’t care. The “Francophone” and “Eastern European” accents sounded like someone who has ill-fitting dentures. Not saying I could do better, but i found it distracting.

Absolutely phenomenal! I highly recommend it!

I got this novel on sale a few weeks ago, and it’s the best money I’ve spent in a VERY long time!

Listening to Mirrorland was such an immersive experience for me. Some reviews said it was slow, but I was hooked from the start! Carole Johnstowne’s narrative voice is unique, darkly poetic, and many-layered. The mysteries of Mirrorland are slowly unraveled by an unreliable, flawed, and deeply traumatized narrator— and it’s accomplished so masterfully that it felt like temporarily living in somebody else’s head.

It’s everything a psychological thriller should be! It’s the kind of book that will creep under your skin and stay in your thoughts long after you’ve finished it!

Looking back, I really enjoyed the slow-drip of information relevant to solving the mysteries of Mirrorland. There’s a lot to take in at first, but every anecdote and seemingly-frivolous aside added to the story in a meaningful way. The build-up to the finale was nothing short of magical! If you pay very close attention, you can put it all together before the end— but, in my case, that didn’t take away from the experience at all. Watching all the pieces fall into place is so immensely SATISFYING!

I loved the way Katie Leung narrated this novel. She is absolutely AMAZING, and did a wonderful job— but sometimes her accent is bit hard to interpret (especially if you’re American.) That said, I didn’t mind rewinding it to catch it again. (In fact, some of the quotes in this book are so powerful that I backed it up to re-listen to certain parts!)

I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a book like this since Where The Crawdads Sing (not that these two marvelous novels can in any way be compared.) If you enjoy interpersonal, psychologically complex dramas— like Gone Girl, The Stillhouse Lake series by Rachel Caine, or All The Ugly And Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood, you’ll want to get this one!

Loved it.

At times in the beginning I found it a bit confusing, but once I untangled it, it was very enjoyable. Very imaginative and different.

A Sister Story

I am going to give Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone 4.25 stars as a psychological suspense. You can read the synopsis on the book jacket, but it is basically the story of twin sisters, El and Cat, who have survived childhood trauma then become estranged and then one twin goes missing and is presumed dead. While the atmosphere and setting of the story gets high marks and you feel completely transported into this "Mirrorland" that the girls created as children to escape the abuse of their mother and grandfather, I think the book could have used a good editor to comb it out just a bit. The fantasy world the girls create is richly drawn and I have to give this author credit because it couldn't have been easy. But there are so many make believe characters (scary clowns, witches, pirates, Boom Town, the Indians, The Saloon) it is a bit confusing in the beginning. It also takes quite a while to really get interesting- or, at least, to get compulsively readable. I think it was about chapter 10 when I got hooked. But once the mystery of what happened to El starts to unravel - you really want to know. The author also gets high praise for setting. The gothic house in Scotland where the girls grew up with the make-believe world of Mirrorland under the pantry is beyond dark and cold. You will absolutely be transported. In the end, though, this book is about the power of the sisterhood. Even estranged sisters who haven't spoken in a decade are bound to each other with a bond stronger than iron and you will totally root for Cat to find out what happened to El until the last page. Highly recommend.

Where are the mirrors?

They never mentioned a mirror once and I'm upset. They should have called it Pirateland.

Great story but hard to keep up

It's a really good story but you need to pay attention. A lot of bouncing back and forth. Still worth my credit.