Book Review | Sundial

All Rob wanted was to escape her past and live an ordinary life in the suburbs. However, when her oldest daughter, Callie, begins collecting animal bones and whispering to imaginary friends, she recognizes that there is the same darkness inside Callie that resides within herself.

To protect the rest of her family, she decides to take Callie to revisit her childhood home of Sundial and confront the dark secrets that lie buried there.

Sundial by Catriona Ward is a twisty-turvy and unnerving domestic thriller that’ll leave you squirming in your seat.

I was first drawn in by the gorgeous cover and wanted to love this one so badly. However, the book ended up as a bit of a mixed bag for me.

What I loved about it? There’s something raw and visceral about the prose, and Ward does an excellent job of placing us inside of the characters’ heads. The beginning of the book starts off so strong. It felt like a contained, intimate portrait of motherhood, and that’s the aspect of the story that gripped me the most.

However, as the story progresses, the plot derailed and became more and more farfetched to me. It felt almost like the inverse of The Last House on Needless Street where the seemingly bizarre at first pieces gradually clicked neatly into place.

Overall, Sundial is one dark and disturbing psychological ride, but ultimately, it’s not as well-crafted as its predecessor.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Nightfire, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details:

Publication Date : March 1, 2022

Publisher : Tor Nightfire

ISBN : 1250812682

Pages : 304

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