Mirrorland

Written by Carole Johnstone

Narrated by Katie Leung

“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, page-turning debut about love, betrayal, revenge—and the price of freedom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Apr 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781797116785

Carole Johnstone

Carole Johnstone grew up in Lanarkshire, Scotland, and in her twenties relocated to Essex to work as a radiographer. She has been writing as long as she can remember and is an award-winning short story writer. She now writes full-time and lives with her husband in an old farmhouse outside Glasgow, though her heart belongs to the sea and the wild islands of the Outer Hebrides.

Reviews for Mirrorland

[Agnese Sturme · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book is completely sick. Well written and suspenseful after a slow start, but the story is incredibly sick and twisted…

[Melissa Rose Gloekler · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Need to re-read this book to piece together the full mystery!

[muzmuz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I Have started this book by listening to the audiobook on scribd but ended up switching to the Ebook halfway through cause the Scottish accent was too much for my ears ^^'
But never the less the book was gripping and haunting, at every turn of a chapter something new pops out, the events kept me guessing all the way to the end, which was VERY SATISFYING if i may say.
Some events were predictable and some were " YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME"
Highly recommend to anyone who loves a good thriller with many twists and where good wins at the end.

[Rlynoyb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If a book were a rollercoaster ride this would be it! It will be difficult to do a review without revealing too much. There were a lot of references to characters from the Brother Grim (and I don’t mean the Disney crap stories). There is a Grimm story called "Allerleirauh" (English: "All-Kinds-of-Fur", I grew up reading the story as Cat-skin. The part about the girl's mother reminded me of that particular fairy tale and I think this is the only "clue" about this book I will give in my review. Overall I enjoyed never really knowing where the story was going. Every time I thought I had something figured out I was wrong, except for the reference to cat-skin. I figured out this particular part of the story very quickly into the book. There are plenty of other twists and turns to hold your interest. The narrator was lovely and her brogue was so delightful. This was a great start to my reading/listening for 2023.

[Olivia White · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wish more thrillers were this interesting. Very well done and kept me in suspense

[Erin Lewicki · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

⚠️trigger warning: talk of abuse, incest, murder, and suicide⚠️
Catriona "Cat" has just been notified that her identical twin sister has gone missing. She had gone out on her boat and never came back. Cat now has to return to her past. A past so dark and horrible that she went as far as moving to another country just to escape it. Cat makes the voyage from California to Scotland, back to the home she grew up in; the home that her sister Ellice "El" shared with her husband Ross, a friend since childhood to the sisters. Upon her return, Cat realizes that it looks very much the same as the day she and her sister escaped. Even Mirrorland. When they were kids, they invented a place under the pantry stairs called Mirrorland to go and escape when things got bad. A place they could go to feel safe. Cat doesn't believe for a second that her sister is dead. In fact, she's convinced this is just a ploy for her to get attention. Not long after she returns to 36 Westeryk Road, she not only starts receiving threatening cards, but also emails that include clues that lead to passages in Els old diary. Who is sending the emails and the cards? Something isn't adding up right. Is El really behind this whole thing? Could their past be coming back to haunt her?
Thank you to Netgalley, Carole Johnston, and Scribner for the opportunity to read and review this book.  I have mixed feelings about this one. It alternates between the past and present, which is fairly common for books, but it got confusing at times. It finally started making sense and clicking about ¾ through the book. It's a very dark and twisted psychological thriller. As I said, some of it was a little confusing to follow and it seemed a bit drawn out. There was a few times towards the end of the book when I was finishing the chapter that I actually thought that it was the end only to find there was still more to go. Overall, the plot as a whole is a good one and I did enjoy it for the most part. I am rating this ⭐⭐⭐?

[Nicole Smith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I almost didn’t finish this one because I thought the beginning was confusing and somewhat boring. But I’m really glad I kept going. Great suspense, great ending.

[Danielle Avila · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing book. Very creative, like nothing I’ve read. I could not guessed the end or any part of the story. I was captured, the whole read through.

[DALLY KOKOLIS · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dark and hauntingly beautiful. The story touched me deeply and stayed with me long after I finished it. I loved every word.