Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone [The WriteReads Blog Tour]

Synopsis:

Twelve years ago my life began again.

But it was a lie.

With the startling twists of Gone Girl and the haunting emotional power of Room, Mirrorland is the story of twin sisters, the man they both love, and the dark childhood they can’t leave behind.

Cat lives in Los Angeles, about as far away as she can get from her estranged twin sister El and No. 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing gothic house in Edinburgh where they grew up. As girls, 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 the grand old house, which has scarcely changed in twenty years. No. 36 Westeryk Road is still full of shadowy, hidden 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 all over the house: a treasure hunt that leads right back to Mirrorland, where she knows the truth lies crouched and waiting…

A sharply crafted mystery about love and betrayal, redemption and revenge, Mirrorland is a propulsive, page-turning debut about the power of imagination and the price of freedom. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Ruth Ware, and Daphne du Maurier.

Edition:

Hardcover

Disclaimer:

I received a complimentary copy of Mirrorland from the publisher as part of this blog tour. This is super great, and I’m very appreciative. It also has absolutely no bearing on my thoughts on the book (I was actually just wrapping up my Net Galley copy when the hardcover arrived).

Triggers:

Hover over “Possible Spoilers” at your own risk. This story does have some potentially triggering, yet integral to the story plot points. If you want something gentler, try “Slightly Vaguer Possible Spoilers.”

I’m doing my best here.

Awards/Nominations:

• May 2021 Indie Next Pick
• One of BuzzFeed’s most anticipated thrillers of 2021
• Stephen King thinks it’s, “Beautifully written and plotted with a watchmaker’s precision.” (I know his opinion is very valuable to some people)

My Thoughts:

This book is DARK. It’s intense. It’s kind of magical. Brooding. Haunting. Troubling. It is difficult to put down, although at times I felt like throwing it across the room.

What hungry ghosts haunt the halls of Mirror House? And what the hell possessed El to ever go back there, let alone live there? Everything and everyone in this story shares one common thread: they all seem to have an undercurrent of darkness. What seems whimsical and magical on its face also feels like it might be moments away from tearing you to shreds. Even the 36 Westeryk Road itself has an air of malice about it.

“I can hear the grandfather clock tick, tick, ticking in the shadow of the hallway. And all around us the house groans and breathes and laughs.”

Being a twin seems like it would be very complicated. Especially being a “mirror twin” like El and Cat are. I have to imagine that a scenario which would already be inherently fraught with complex identity issues (I imagine, but then I’m not a twin of any sort), becomes even more complicated when your twin is a mirror image rather than a carbon copy. But, again, this is just me speculating on some shit I really know nothing about.

The one thing I can say for absolute certain though is this: Mirrorland is going to make you feel some things. It is a fraught, tightly written, incredibly spooky heartbreaking story neatly tucked inside a mysterious and seemingly whimsical package.

Johnstone has weaved a tangled web of a story that sucks you in, batters you to within an inch of your life, and spits out a version of you who no longer fully understands what reality even is. Is anything what you thought it was? How much can you really rely on what you know? What you remember? Mirrorland deals with some incredibly heavy and troubling topics in a way that is both beautiful and highly affecting.

About the Author:

Carole Johnstone is an award-winning writer from Scotland, whose short stories have been published all over the world. Mirrorland, a psychological suspense with a gothic twist, is her debut novel.

Having grown up in Lanarkshire, she now lives in the beautiful Argyll & Bute, and is currently working on her second novel: a very unusual murder-mystery, set in the equally beautiful Outer Hebrides.

Rating:

I really, really loved this book. This is definitely one of those ones that I’m going to probably find myself beating people over the head with (metaphorically speaking, of course) in an effort to try to convince them to read it. There is just so much here – not just the mystery of El’s disappearance, but the many mysteries of Mirrorland, of the bonds of sisterhood, and even of the human psyche. I feel like I could write for days about all the bits of this book that I loved.

Mirrorland
By Carole Johnstone
Scribner
Published: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 9781982136352
Format: Hardcover, E-book, Audio
320 Pages
Author's Website