I found this book really hard to get in to, at least 50% through. I key going and now I’m glad I did. The ending was good, at first I thought I knew how it would end. But there was a few twist and turns on the way,
Overall I did enjoy it, thanks to them ending but, it is a slow starter.

This is a clever, dark psychological thriller about twins and trauma, secrets and lies, manipulation and imagination.

Split between the ‘now’ of Cat searching her childhood home for clues to her twin sister El’s disappearance, and the memories of that childhood, with hours spent playing in Mirrorland with the witches, clowns, pirates and fairies, and the boy next door, Ross, it becomes clear very early on that Cat is an unreliable narrator. Stories weave through the memories and the treasure hunt Cat is desperately trying to decode clues to, and the reader is drawn into the confusion about where imagination ends and reality begins.

I was reminded of tales like Rebecca or The Shawshank Redememption in places, but this book has far more twists and turns, until Cat and the reader are united in not knowing who or what to trust.

With plenty of action, suspense and mystery to go along with the psychological mind-games, this is an edge-of-your-seat read, with more faces than a funhouse hall of mirrors, that will keep you guessing right up to the final page.


Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

Dysfunctional just begins to describe this family. A few times it was hard to follow the fairy tale characters into the real life and the twist in the end was a little far fetched for me.

This sounded interesting and different. But it didn't work for me.
I had trouble following the story. Especially the Mirrorland fantasy parts. I just got lost and confused. But I also couldn't pull myself back from the confusion.
Having the fantasy parts were unique and did intrigue me but it took me out of the mystery too much and I struggled to care in the end.
I didn't think the reveal could explain everything in a way I wouldn't still be confused.
I struggled to want to finish it. I think I would have quit if it wasn't for the audiobook.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but unfortunately I didn’t manage to finish it. I liked the idea but couldn’t get on board with the fantasy element and the story just didn’t grip me.

What an amazing, enchanting, horrifying book. The book deals with big, modern themes in way that you don't know they're coming until bam they hit you between the eyes. Specifying the themes would be too much of a spoiler.
This book is very well written, with a great feel for the language of Edinburgh, both today, and the previous generation. The characters present and past are excellently drawn and wholly believable. The reveals are gradual and so well structured that what starts off as a missing person mystery takes sudden and stunning, disturbing twists. Totally absorbing!

This was an interesting read about twins who were mirror images of themselves, and their unusual and disturbing upbringing. Throughout the story many secrets came to light making for some interesting curveballs.

Although it was sometimes hard knowing when was ‘now’ and when was ‘back then’ it is a story worth reading, or even listening to as an audio book. .

Stephen King recommends this so no wonder it’s a really, good exciting read. Twins who have fallen out but we’re close as children. It’s creepy and atmospheric and a strong 4/5.

This has such a slow start that I almost gave up, which is almost unheard of! I am glad that I stuck with it though and it turned into a great read.

Cat and El are identical twins, who are able to sense even the slightest pain in one another. Throughout their childhood, they spent their lives inside a fantasy world Mirrorland - a world populated by pirates, outlaws, clowns, and prisoners. One fateful day, something happens and they had to leave behind Mirrorland forever. After being estranged for twelve years, however, El has disappeared and Cat finds herself returning to Mirrorland where El returned with her husband Ross (a mutual friend Cat knows all too well). While El is presumed dead, Cat is suddenly thrown into Mirrorland once again for a treasure hunt bearing the prize of her sister's fate.

Once I got into the book, the pace picked up considerably and the plot was very strong. The characters were well developed and had great depth.

It's very cleverly written; it feels a bit muddled at times and some things which seem completely unrelated come together in the end so it all makes perfect sense.

Cat comes back from America after hearing the news that her mirror twin sister has gone missing out on her boat.
She feels that her sister El is still alive and when the emails start to arrive she believes more that that is that is case.
The story moves from the present to the past and only becomes clear as you move through the book.
The story is quite confusing and you really need to be paying close attention.
I'm still not sure if I enjoyed it.

This sounded very up my street. A missing sister, a dark history that needs to be revisited, a narrator who might be unreliable, the promise of twists....and this book has all that. But it was also painfully predictable. I'd worked so much out by around a third of the way through I was almost tempted to skip to the end. I didn't and am glad in someways. What I did like was the writing, how the author evoked that feeling of desire for a first love. I'd recommend this book to anyone that doesn't read a lot of thrillers of this type. I suspect I've read so many of these I see through the plots too quickly these days.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but I am very glad I decided to read it. The narrative is very atmospheric, and the characters are very well written. Recommended! Thank you for my ARC.

This didn't work for me at all.

Initially I got to around 30% and put it aside because I just could not get a grip of what was going on. Then I read a few reviews where the reviewer had a similar experience to me but pushed on and ended up really enjoying it so I picked it back up again and I read to almost 50% but honestly, I didn't like and wasn't engaged with any of the characters and I had spent so long being confused that I just didn't care about getting to the bottom of the mystery.

For me the first 25% didn't have enough in it to engage me in the story and if I'm not engaged by that point I'm unlikely to become engaged further on.

I'm really happy I've discovered this author. It was great writing, interesting plot, thrilling pace.
Characters were well written in-depth as well. Definitely recommended.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

I knew going in that I would probably like this book because the synopsis immediately captured my interest but Mirrorland really managed to surpass my expectations and is definitely one of the best thrillers I’ve read recently. Mirrorland is dark, fantastical and disturbing in equal measures, but it all works so well together to form a compelling and unique thriller.

Carole Johnstone makes use of some classic thriller tropes but spins them and makes them her own. If you’re into reading thrillers, you’ll notice that ‘the missing person’ trope is used all the time and it can become kind of predictable and follows a certain formula. In Mirrorland however, this trope of sorts is used to a really interesting effect and I loved all the twists and turns the case took. You’re left questioning whether El is really missing, who is responsible and of course the big question: what happened in the sisters childhood with Mirrorland and why they’ve been estranged for the last twelve years. Given the fact that Cat is an extremely unreliable narrator, the suspense and confusion of the story is even more heightened.

I really liked all the fantastical elements and the flashbacks to Cat and El’s childhood as they grow up in the imposing gothic house where their mother reads them stories and their imagination runs rampant. I thought these were some of the strongest parts of the novel and builds up this whimsical atmosphere with a sinister edge hiding underneath even the most pleasant moments. At times it can be hard to keep up with all the different rooms, worlds and characters that the girls have created but you get used to the fast paced flow eventually and it adds a whole different layer to the story.

The novel weaves in between the twins childhood jaunts to Mirrorland and to the present day where Cat is back in the house and starts receiving strange hints and clues, containing information which only El could have known. I really liked how the story plays out and how by the end all the loose ends get tied up, I like when stories have this well contained nature and Johnstone fulfils this to a T.

Johnstone explores many different themes and covers a lot of important issues in the novel such as domestic abuse, childhood trauma and coping mechanisms, which I think is so important. Some of the content could be triggering so I’ll include a full list of trigger warnings here: childhood abuse, sexual assault / abuse, domestic abuse, gas lighting, alcoholism, drugging, infidelity.

If you’re looking for unique thriller which will be sure to stick with you and provides mind bending twists and turns then definitely pick up Mirrorland.

I really liked Cat and El as characters and I desperately wanted Cat to be okay and to succeed. I loved the spooky, scary house and everything it kept throwing up even though Cat is a grown woman. Really happy to have been part of the tour!

A suspenseful psychological thriller with dark fantastical elements

When her estranged twin sister El goes missing after venturing out on her sailboat, Cat returns from the life she has built-in LA to their childhood home in Edinburgh, where El now lives with her husband Ross. Whilst the police hunt for her sister, Cat is forced to confront the memories that being back in her home for the first time in years drags to the surface - including memories of the imaginary Mirrorland, a fantastical world of pirates and magic that the girls created to escape from the dark reality of their real life. When Cat starts finding strange clues scattered around the house, she begins to wonder how well she can trust her memory of her childhood and starts to realise that not all the ghosts from her past were imaginary.

This was an atmospheric gothic story with an underlying feeling of suspense and tension running through a plot packed with genuinely surprising twists. The storyline switches between the present day and flashbacks to Cat and El as children, slowly building up a sinister picture of what went on in their youth as Cat remembers it whilst exploring her old home. The bond between the twins is strong but complex, and the author does an excellent job of highlighting the depth and layers of their relationship, including the complicated connection they both have with Ross, their childhood friend and El’s future husband. I thought the contrast between the innocent fantasies of Mirrorland and the dark reality of the girls’ real childhood was excellent and added to the suspenseful feel of the book – you know something genuinely terrible is going on but aren’t quite sure what exactly it is until the end. This is appropriately mirrored in the present-day sections, with an anxious Cat unsure who she can trust, and the tension expertly builds up to a shocking but satisfying ending.

My main issue with this story would be that the fantastical elements were occasionally a bit difficult to distinguish from real life, and this combined with an unreliable narrator meant that I found myself struggling to figure out exactly what was going on at times. I also thought that the first part of the book took a little while to get going, and for the first few chapters, I found it hard to engage with the fantasy. Unfortunately, without the necessary background, Mirrorland doesn’t seem as interesting or important as it turns out to be, and I remember thinking that it didn’t seem particularly unusual for a pair of siblings to be playing make-believe and not being sure why the story needed so much detailed information about it or why Cat was remembering it in such a disturbed disjointed way. However, after a while, all of it falls together and the rest of the book is excellent.

In conclusion, this was a unique and enjoyable story that packed some unexpected twists into its complicated plot. I would be interested in reading more from this author.

Daenerys

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of this book to review.

When I first read the synopsis I was excited to read the book. It sounded like the perfect thriller with magical realism entangled in the story. It sounds great, isn’t it? Indeed, the book is great although it has its flaws.

The story starts a bit strange. I was taken aback and I needed 3 or 4 days to pass the 20% milestone. But oh, gosh! I am so glad I didn’t give up on it. If you are reading this review because you are in the same situation I was and you are trying to make up your mind whether or not to DNF it – keep reading. I was on the edge to DNF it, and I’m so glad that I find it hard to DNF a book and kept reading instead.

Cat and El are mirror twins, exact copies of themselves. When little they created an imaginary world called Mirrorland. Its only purpose is to hide them from their abusive granddad. In the Clown Café, Boomtown, The Satisfaction and the rest of the Mirrorland imaginary places, they felt safe, untouchable. But when Mirrorland started to fail them and it wasn’t their safe heaven anymore, they caught the last ship and sailed to their freedom and their second life.

In their first life, they were inseparable, during their second life they grew apart which lead to Cat leaving and starting a new life in America. Now, 12 years later, she has to go back to her childhood house in Edinburgh because her sister went missing. And there is Ross, of course, their only childhood friend, Cat’s only love, and El’s husband.

With a throwback to their childhood, the author tells a dark tale of abuse and domestic violence. Things that most likely transferred to the grown-up El’s life and probably El couldn’t make it out alive this time.


Here we have Cat as our narrator and I loved that. The unreliable narrators are my favourite ones. I didn’t believe her till the very end. There is something in her that makes you want to push her aside and ask someone else what the hell is going on. It is a twisted and dark story. It makes you doubt yourself and your senses. I lost an idea of what is real and what is not. The author did a great job of planting the seed of doubt and I questioned everything Cat does. I felt that something is off and I just couldn’t put all the pieces together. She is so sure that El is lying and she is alive and playing her games. But when a body is found, she takes the path down memory lane, trying to remember things she wanted to forget. All of this to help her finding sister’s murderer. The El’s disappearance reminds me a bit of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, and I am from the minority of people who don’t like the book. But there may be a reason for El disappearance. Shortly after Cat arrives in Edinburgh, she starts to receive emails leading to clues hidden all around the Mirrorland. These clues are part of El’s diary and their only purpose is to make Cat remember. Receiving all these things she is more than sure that her sister is not dead. But why does she want Cat back in Edinburgh? Back to their old house? Back to the life, she ran away from 12 years ago?

I have to admit that I find the writing style hard to follow. The switch between past and present definitely needs more polishing and it is a bit confusing at times, especially if you listen to the audiobook. But once you get used to the style it becomes easier, but still a bit tough. With this in mind, you have to be careful, paying attention and invest yourself in the book. Why? Because if you distract yourself for a second you may miss something.

I kind of know how the book will end, I felt it in my guts. But the ending, similar to the beginning, isn’t great. It put me off. They catch El’s killer, but the story goes on. Honestly, I lost interest and the last 15% of the book was as tough as the first 20%. But I did enjoy it. It has its slow moments and its rollercoaster ones. It has a complex plot full of twist and unexpected turns every mystery and thriller lover will devour in no time!

Not sure how, but I’ve overlooked feedback on this book which I read a while ago. It’s unusual in that for a while, I was unsure what was going on. The story wasn’t exactly confusing, but it was difficult to understand whether it was truth, fantasy, make believe and how it was all going to start panning out. But then it suddenly started to gel and the relationship between past and present and the lives of the twins began to fall into place. It’s a very clever story that starts to mess with your head because it’s so different.

I liked the main characters and there’s skill in the way events unfold leading to a conclusion I didn’t expect. Carole Johnstone is an author I haven’t come across before, but I’ll happily look for more from her.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

Catriona (Cat) & Elice (El)were identical twins. Years before there was a falling out & Cat went to America but now she is back in Edinburgh. El has disappeared in her sailing boat & is presumed dead- but Cat would know if she wasn't alive wouldn't she? Coming back to the house where they grew up & where El lived with her husband Ross- someone close to both of them. Ross also is convinced El is alive but can they convince the police. But then Cat starts getting strange cards & emails- this plus going back to a house of memories where the twins lived a strange fantasy life with their neurotic mother & dour granddad soon has Cat questioning many things.

This is an often confusing story & I often struggled to work out what was real & what was fantasy. The writing is wonderfully atmospheric & draws you in almost without realising it-before I knew it I was totally hooked. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book- it will be a while before I forget it!