I started reading Mirrorland without really knowing what it was about, and for the first 100 pages, to be honest I felt basically none the wiser! In fact, I very very nearly abandoned it and moved on, but ploughed on a bit further because I’d seen some rave reviews from bloggers with whom I tend to share similar opinions. And at just under halfway through, it completely grabbed me.

This is such a unique and complex book. While I didn’t really “get” a lot of the first half, I’m glad I continued with it as it all eventually began to make sense. The pay-off was worth the initial bewilderment. It’s quite dark and creepy, covering some potentially triggering topics (message me for trigger warnings), and I found the relationship between the sisters to be fascinating and well thought out. It won’t be for everyone but I would recommend to anyone who doesn’t mind a slow-burn, dark mystery with a hint of fantasy.

Mirrorland is a promising debut and I look forward to reading whatever Carole Johnstone writes next. With thanks for gifting me a digital copy to review.

I understand this was a debut novel by Carole Johnstone, but I understand she has previously written several short stories in the horror/fantasy genre. I am glad she prepared herself for this debut novel which was absolutely brilliant. Mirror Land is the story of two twin girls, Ellice (El) and Catriona (Cat) Morgan, bought up in Scotland. We first meet them down by the docks, in their home town of Leith, when they are age 11 and appear to be playing a make believe, running away from home, game. Make believe is a big part of their early years and between them they create their own “Narnia” at home (via a secret door in the pantry) which they call “Mirror Land” and which they fill with various characters and a pirate ship called “Satisfaction”. Although the twins are the central characters, parts are also given to Ross, the boy next door; a cousin Iona (Mouse) and various adults including Grandad (Bluebeard) and Mum (Tooth Fairy). The girls were both great friends with Ross, but later, when they are older, Cat starts seeing Ross without El knowing. When she catches them together there is a big falling out and shortly after El decides it would be best if she were to leave Leith and she soon relocates to Los Angeles. Next, we move forward 12 years and we learn that Cat & Ross have married, but Cat and her yacht have mysteriously disappeared in the Firth of Forth. Ross contacts El who returns from Los Angeles convinced that Cat is still alive (twins know these things). From here the book flips backwards and forwards between the present time and the time of “Mirror Land” and we gradually learn (with the reappearance of Mouse) about all the disturbing things that went on back in the day and which heavily influenced the future. The story line is complex and has many twists and turns; just when I thought I had it all worked out, the story would take a sharp turn down a new passage; this happened several times and I challenge any reader to predict what had happened to Cat, before the final startling revelations. If you want a book that you really cannot put down, then this is it. Without doubt this is the best book I have read for a very long while. Many thanks go to Net Galley for providing me a copy of it for review. I cannot wait for the next offering from this author.

This book had lots of twists and turns. A complex read with a great story line and well written characters. Thoroughly enjoyed this book and I will certainly be looking out for more by this author.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the oppurtunity to read this ARC

Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone has Cat travelling back to Scotland from her life in L.A. after her twin sister, El disappears on her boat.  

Cat doesn't think El has died, she's positive she's still alive, but to find her she has to confront the past, at their old house, where they had Mirrorland, a place of makebelieve.

This is a thriller, where things Cat remembers from the past isn't always what happened, which means you don't always know if what you're reading is true.  I enjoyed the story, and the surprises.

 Mirrorland  was published on 1st April 2021, and is available from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and  Bookshop.org .

You can follow Carole Johnstone on  Twitter ,  Facebook  and her  website .

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  HarperCollins .

This is a compelling, emotional and poignant mix of fantasy, family drama and psychological suspense. This story fuses past and present as Cat returns to Mirrorland, a childhood fantasy world, to discover the fate of her twin sister El who is missing presumed dead.

This story set in Edinburgh and Mirrorland has gothic undertones and echoes of abuse and betrayal. The story is couched in childish terms a treasure hunt to find El. The reality is much darker and reveals horrific and uncomfortable realities for Cat and El.

The complex plot is full of surprises. Every character, event and experience in Mirrorland is relevant to the twin's current situation. The imagery used by the young girls to contain and understand their childhood experiences is often horrific and vivid.

The story is suspenseful and keeps the reader guessing.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I am ambivalent about this book. It was confusing initially with the flash back to Mirrorland within the current storyline but it does all come together. Twins , Cat and El have been through a tortuous time as children but ended up going their separate ways to protect each other. Cat returns to their Edinburgh home when El is missing presumed dead. The twist and turns commence. Is she really dead?

I did find the split in the story difficult to cope with until the relevance dawned . It is a dark tale .

Mirrorland is a story about twin sisters – identical mirror twins – who have a dark, damaged childhood, re-started their lives aged 12 and are in love with the same man.

If that isn’t enough to hook you in, it’s all set to a deliciously Gothic backdrop of 36 Westeryk Road in Scotland – a huge house with an imaginatively creative secret – Mirrorland. SURELY that is enough to make you add this book to your TBR list immediately?

Let me entice you even more… Ellice Macauley (married to Ross Macauley) and her twin Catriona Morgan grew up in Scotland. Raised by their mother and grandfather, they created a fantastical imaginary world in the many rooms of their house and named it Mirrorland, both a classic childhood invention and a device to escape the reality of their real life. Reading the flashback chapters about the girl’s imaginary world were a wonderful contrast to the current situation. That being that Ellice (known as El) is missing – her boat has disappeared and as bad weather and time ticks on, her survival looks less likely.

Catriona now lives in America, she left home 12 years prior and hasn’t spoken to her twin since. She returns back to her childhood home when her sister goes missing to help the police try and find her. This means she spends a lot of time with El’s seemingly heartbroken husband, Ross. Who Cat happens to also have feelings for.

When she returns to Scotland, Cat starts to receive mysterious emails. Emails sending her on a treasure hunt to all her old haunts in Mirrorland. Emails she is convinced are from the missing, presumed dead, El. She thinks El has a grudge she is determined to see through…

The writing style also made this a delight to read – every so often the tone took a dry, sarcastic turn, which I very much enjoyed. Plus, the descriptions of Mirrorland were really wonderful.

Who to believe? What are the real reasons Cat moved to America and didn’t see her twin for 12 years? These are the questions that establish themselves early in the story and you are obsessed with turning the pages until you have the answers for them.

Even better, there are several characters who you just can’t trust. The plotting, the precision, the final gasp-out-loud plot reveal all come together to make this a fantastic read.

Brilliant! So many twists and turns, and I didn't see any of them coming. Definitely recommend, throughly enjoyable.

What an interesting and complex read. This not an easy page-turner but it’s well worth the effort. The author has created two worlds - one of adult twins, one of whom is missing and a second imaginary world from their childhoods. Weaving between the now world, where one twin tries to understand why her twin has gone missing and the childhood world, hugely rich in imagined detail is done really skilfully. I ended reading late into the night to finish this.

This was too much fantasy which is a genre I never would choose but it’s described as a thriller. I try and make a point of avoiding g books about twins too and after reading this I’m not changing my mind.

I started reading this book and felt at first i didnt know what was going on, not sure if i ws going to keep up or get to grips with the plot, lots of jumping around, setting the scene, but wow when it settled and i got what was going on it was brilliant, loved the twists, loved the story, felt i needed to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next and how it was going to end for the sisters. Loved it

This was a very dark, fantasy thriller. At first I wasn't quite sure I could connect with it as the fantasy side to it was so far from reality but somehow interwoven. As the book went on I was glad I stuck with it. Its definitely a different kind of thriller but well recommended. It definitely deserves the 5 stars for originality.

Thank you Harper Collins and Netgalley.

Finally, Sophie read Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone, a dark and twisted thriller set in modern-day Edinburgh. Trigger warnings apply for suicide and multiple forms of abuse.

When she hears that her twin sister El has gone missing, Cat returns to her childhood home after 12 years living abroad. The home has barely changed and Cat is instantly transported back to the elaborate make-believe world she and El created as youngsters. Bedrooms became a Princess Tower or a Clown Cafe, and the hidden world of Mirrorland waited through a concealed door in the kitchen. In Mirrorland, the girls went on daring adventures aboard their pirate ship with their neighbor Ross (now El’s husband) and a collection of imaginary friends. Mirrorland was their place of safety, because upstairs in the house they shared with their mother and grandpa lurked monsters such as The Witch, The Tooth Fairy, and Bluebeard the pirate.

As more details are revealed about El’s disappearance, Cat begins to find herself doubting everything. The old house feels as if it is closing in on her, she begins to receive mysterious emails supposedly from El, and anonymous cards arrive warning Cat to beware of Ross. She also begins to doubt her memories of Mirrorland. How much was childish make-believe, how much was real, and how much is simply her own mind repressing the terrible truth?

This was a gripping story that kept Sophie up late into the night to finish it. The boundaries between truth and fiction are kept blurred right until the end and it was deliberately hard to define just how many of the events that took place in Mirrorland during Cat’s youth really happened. It’s obvious from the very beginning that Cat is repressing much of her childhood, but the way these truths are gradually revealed had Sophie on edge right through the second half of the book and doubting every detail.

It’s hard to compare this one to others without giving away spoilers but fans of Room, Gone Girl, and Girl A will no doubt enjoy Mirrorland.

Wow! This novel took me on so many twists and turns. It was so well written and plotted. I found the first third a bit difficult to get into with so much of the fantasy life of the girls but I’m incredibly glad that I persevered and soon saw why it was all needed. I ended up listening to the last half of the novel as an audiobook. It was brilliantly read and added further to the mystery and suspense. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. It was utterly brilliant and I feel completely rung out now I’ve finished it.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, and the author Carole Johnstone.
This was a very creepy and gripping book! Lots of unexpected twists and turns which was enjoyable. The first half was a little slow but the action came thick and fast in the second.
Very dark and unsettling but an undeniably good thriller. 3.5 stars.

‘Mirrorland’ is a tale of a childhood viewed through carnival glass, the distortions and reflections of which remain very much open to interpretation. Twins Ellice and Catriona are raised in a Scottish, gothic house by their mother and grandfather, with rooms that have names (such as ‘The Clown Cafe’)fairy tales and myths woven into their memories like lettering through rock.

As a result, the memories that Cat has are distorted and warped, but as she is the reader’s eyes into the mystery of her missing twin, we have to take her narrative with a healthy dose of suspicion. Her return from L.A following El’s disappearance is tinged with sadness and regret, but at no point does she appear to think her sister has done anything other than have a massive pout and go off for a bit. She has, apparently, done this before. But this raises suspicion with the detectives investigating El, her lack of emotion and concern for her strong swimmer and sailor sister, last seen setting sail in her boat , rings all kinds of bells.

The memories which Cat explores as she re-visits the mausoleum of her childhood reveals a time of constant fear, being run through drill after drill by her mother, everyone having emergency get away bags kept under their beds for any eventuality. What, or who they are prepped to run away from is not obviously clear, but there is absolutely a secret behind the unnamed Bedroom 3, the one room where their mother puts the fear of God into them and stops them from entering.

From the tales on which the girls imaginations are fed, to the bizarre surroundings of their home, it is difficult to tell what is real or imagined through the kaleidoscope of Cat’s memories, but with writing this good, you stop interrogating every detail and go along for the ride. It’s so beautifully rendered, and has so many layers and nuances to it that the missing El is just one of many threads making up a beautiful tapestry of the mirror twins lives.

It is so hard to believe that this is a debut novel, it is assured, confident and immensely well plotted, the gothic nature of the story is a reinvention of the horror trope of a haunted house, 32 Westeryk Road is a canvas on which the lives of the residents have painted their lives.

Where has El gone to and why?

What was the reason that Cat fled to America and cut all contact with home for 12 years?

Who has been sending El sympathy cards and why?

Why did El buy the house they grew up in when it appears they have spent so much time trying to get away from it?

Sooooo many questions! And in El’s absence we only have other people’s stories to construct a portrait of her, and the distorted reflections of memory can lead the reader down some dark and vastly overgrown paths. It’s a brilliant book and I think it deserves so much love when it comes out into the world, I have pre-ordered my copy of the hardback, I think you really need to if you enjoy dark, twisting narratives with unforgettable characters.

This book had me in two minds, at times I was gripped and then when the fantasy side came into to it I lost the excitement of reading it. I kept at it wish I’m glad I did as all became clear in the end. I didn’t really warm to any of the characters but found the plot very unique.

Easier to cover a dirt and dark and dread with gold and twinkling, glittering lights, the smell of burning wood and winter forest, the feel of his hands on me, all the same as it ever was.

“Mirrorland” by Carole Johnstone is a dark and twisty thriller. Cat lives in Los Angeles since she left her twin sister El over a decade ago, not making any attempts to contact her only family or mend the broken relationship. But when El disappears on her sailboat one day, Cat is forced to go back to Edinburgh and finally face her past.
When I first started reading “Mirrorland”, I didn’t think I would like it. For one-third of the book, not much is happening. The author beautifully describes the haunting house where Cat spent her childhood. The building is full of hidden secrets and overflowing with memories, making Cat reminiscence about her childhood every few pages. The whole idea of Mirrorland is excellent, a safe place full of pirates, clowns, and wild west sceneries. It sounds like this amazing place, where all kids could spend hours playing. But still, not much happening plot-wise.
But after that, once the book is starting to pick up the pace, it becomes gripping. With every chapter, more secrets are coming out, and Cat is more and more confused, as she can’t distinguish between her real memories and the lies, she forced herself to believe.
The story revolves around a complex relationship between twin sisters that started to get complicated once they fell in love with the same person. Cat is constantly struggling with her own feelings; not sure if she despises her sister or still loves her. Firstly, she is adamant in her statement that El simply can’t be dead, and the whole disappearing thing is some elaborate plot. But when more and more convincing evidence are popping up, her conviction is starting to waver, and she is not sure of anything anymore.
“Mirrorland” is an absorbing mystery thriller with several twist and turns. I didn’t love the ending, but the author explained and justified every little detail of the elaborated plot, so I can’t complain about that. It’s definitely a book worth reading and a great debut novel.

As soon as I read the description for this, I had to read it! Eerie, mysterious, slightly fantastical, what more could a reader want!?
Mirrorland is the tense and eerie telling of a nightmarish childhood that manifested itself into a world of fantasy; filled with pirates, adventure and more. El and Cat are identical twins that jointly create this world of adventure and fantasy and I have to say, at times it was so convincing I found it hard to tell what was reality and what was imagination.
I found the writing a little all over the place for the first 50 pages but then really started to get into it and I found the narrative improved immensely as well. You become completely immersed in this dark and sinister world of Cat and El's and you are determined to uncover the mystery behind El's disappearance but also that house. Each corner and room seem covered in shadow and secret and as Cat begins to uncover and remember the many things that happened during her time in that house, you start to slowly piece together the true horror and tragedy that happened within those walls.
I loved the theme around pirates, villains, heroes and adventure. It made you remember those simple times as a child when you only needed your imagination to escape into a world with endless possibilities and where there were no limits. I won't lie, I would have loved to have had an imagination as strong as Cat and El's but who knows, maybe that's a twin thing! But then there is a sad side to this where you slowly discover why they created such a fantastical world; it wasn't for fun, it was for escape from the real life villains and bad guys.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down and was pleasantly surprised at the many twists and turns that I didn't see coming. It's a credit to Johnstone that the reader becomes as immerses into the world as Cat and it soon becomes difficult to separate what is real and what isn't throughout the book.
If you're into dark and sinister stories, then I would definitely give this a read. A big thank you to Net Galley for letting me read it pre publication.

Thank you to @netgalley and @harpercollins for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say I was excited to read this one but I do like to read reviews on Goodreads before I request a book from NetGalley. I understand why some people really loved this one and then some didn’t. I had a hard time deciding on how to write a review for this book.

So this book is about twin girls, El and Cat. In their childhood years they lived in a fantasy world called Mirrorland. They have a great time there but as the years go on something terrible happens. The opening chapters were great and really get you into the book. It goes back and forth between childhood and present time.

In present time, Cat is living in America; she has moved from Scotland where they lived in their childhood. El and Cat have become distant from each other but after El mysteriously disappears Cat is forced to go back to her childhood home after twenty years.

We come to find out what happened in Mirrorland, why El and Cat became distant and what led to El disappearing.

This was a great thriller and although I liked the world of Mirrorland I didn’t like fantasy and thriller mixed. I felt this book was two different books.

Star Rating: 🌟🌟🌟
Publication date: 15 April