Mirrorland

Title: Mirrorland

Author: Carole Johnstone

Genre: thriller

I started reading this on my Kindle and about 20% through, I gave up. I wasn’t into the book, and it kept flipping between past and present with no warning, and I was so confused. However, I kept thinking about it, so I tried a different format. I got the physical book from the library, which was perfect. I ended up reading the book in two days. And wow. It was worth it.

From Goodreads: Cat lives in Los Angeles, far away from 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing gothic house in Edinburgh where she and her estranged twin sister, El, 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 36 Westeryk Road, which has scarcely 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 in almost every room: a treasure hunt that leads right back to Mirrorland, where she knows the truth lies crouched and waiting…

A twisty, dark, and brilliantly crafted thriller about love and betrayal, redemption and revenge, Mirrorland is a propulsive, page-turning debut about the power of imagination and the price of freedom.

The aforementioned shift between past and present is confusing at first, but once you get used to it, you see how critical that viewpoint is. Cat is an unreliable narrator, and her memories clearly illustrate that. The twists and turns of this book are clever, and Cat’s revelations about both the past and present are well-crafted. I’m so glad I gave this book another chance. It was definitely worth the read.