This is a deeply unsettling story and I have to say I loved it for that. The themes are dark, the people very much so too, and there are many unpleasant elements, but I was prepared for that and adjusted my reading expectations accordingly.
I'd previously read The Last House on Needless Street, so I wasn't expecting cosy crime, but Sundial hits hard. It's brutal but beautiful and the setting only ramps this up. The heat and dust, the open spaces and the fact that no one seems to care what happens out there plays into that.

It's a book that draws you in and keeps you gripped until the last pages where things are turned on their head yet again.

Twisty, gripping, brutal and sometimes beautiful.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Viper for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

This blistering literary thriller investigates the darkness that can lie behind family life, and the long ripples of destruction caused by toxic relationships.

Despite being known as The Child Whisperer at school, teacher Rob feels powerless in her roles as wife and mother. As events at home become increasingly disturbing, Rob realises that to save her family she has to put aside her ‘burning need to blend in’ by confronting her past. Fleeing suburban life, she takes her eldest daughter on a pilgrimage into the desert, to the abandoned Sundial, her childhood home.

This book caught me in its spell, especially as we learn more about the bizarre world of Sundial with its hot, dusty, wide open spaces that ‘begins to feel like a trap’. Sometimes spooky, sometimes horrifying, it is beautifully written and so imaginative. It’s a mash up of Family Gothic and Desert Gothic and it keeps you guessing with slow reveals and smart twists.

Recommended.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback. Many thanks to Serpent's Tail / Viper / Profile Books and to NetGalley.

This book made me feel uncomfortable from the start and continues on to take some sinister turns. It then progresses to deeply disturbing with some very scary moments. Great if you like horror but this was all just a bit too weird for my liking.

Sundial opens with a portrayal of family life for a fairly dysfunctional family: Rob, her husband Irving and their daughters, Annie and Callie. Irving in particular seems to be a person with no redeeming factors; he’s given to sudden acts of brutality towards Rob, has lots of affairs and creates a home environment of unpleasant tension. There are early hints that Rob has a problematic back story, and when elder daughter Callie starts to exhibit some seriously concerning behaviours, Rob takes Callie on a trip with her to Sundial, the now-abandoned desert home of Rob’s childhood.

As was the case with Catriona Ward’s last novel, The Last House on Needless Street, there isn’t a lot that can be said in a review of Sundial without giving away too much of the plot. We learn about Rob’s early life as she recounts events to Callie, all the while trying to figure out how to stop her daughter’s violent tendencies from escalating. Sundial could again be described as a gothic horror, and the events Rob revisits are as unpredictable as they are terrible.

I’m not a huge fan of content warnings, but I think it’s worth saying that there are themes of animal testing and cruelty throughout Sundial, in addition to excessive human cruelty. Catriona Ward’s horrors are so effective partly because they don’t over-rely on supernatural events or explanations; they are grounded in the kind of extreme events that humans can make happen. I find this type of horror to have far more of an emotional impact than the more magical variety, and because of this I would say that Sundial is hard-hitting and probably best enjoyed when you are feeling resilient enough for a challenging read.

I have to say, at the outset, that some readers will find the subject matter unpalatable but this is a horror story!

The plot centres on Rob, her two daughters, Callie and Annie, and Rob's thoroughly unpleasant husband, Irving. Sundial is Rob's late parents home in the Mojave desert. For reasons that soon become apparent, Rob takes Callie to Sundial, leaving Annie with her husband.

The storyline moves between the present day and Rob's childhood at Sundial. There are some deeply disturbing themes in this twisty novel. The characters are pretty toxic as are their interactions. If you are looking for a dark and creepy read which will mess with your head, this is for you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Viper Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rob and Irving do not have a happy marriage, this is clear from the beginning, and their Daughter Callie is presenting unusual behaviours that are making her Mother very concerned. Rob takes Callie to Sundial, her inherited family home in the Mojave desert to see if she can rid her of whatever is causing Callie to act so strangely. Rob is soon accosted by ugly repressed memories of her childhood and the unravelling of long buried secrets that come crashing down in the most worrying of ways.

After reading The Last House On Needless Street last year and loving it so much I didn't know if Sundial would reach the same heights for me, but I was wrong. This is a very different story but Catriona Ward has once again tapped into some deep seated issues in her characters and produced a spine tingling horror thrillfest. There was no softly, softly introduction. You're very quickly thrown into the story and the miasma of problems this family are covering up and hiding from. But the real action begins in the desert at Sundial when Rob begins to tell Callie about her past, and what a past it was. I loved the characters, especially Callie, she was so wonderfully written with so much depth to her. The desert setting was remarkable. The sense of isolation, the heat and the grating of the sand made me feel irritable and as the tension built in the story so did the pressure from their surroundings.

There is so much I wish I could say but if I did it would ruin the reading experience for you, just know things get wild and gross and sad and terrifying. I couldn't put it down, I haven't read a book this quickly in a long time, I was OBSESSED! My head was spinning all over the place by the time I finished, I couldn't predict where it was taking me but I was clinging on for dear life, what a ride it was!
Read it, read it, read it!!! Phenomonal horror thriller writing, totally top tier.

Just like what I did for The Last House on Needless Street, I went into this blind and I completely loved it. It started off like a ‘The Push’ (by Ashley Audrain) vibe but it grew into a teeth-bared beast. There were twists that were eerie and spine chilling, and the characters were so well developed that I felt the hatred and love they felt. Also, I couldn’t have asked for a better ending. Superb.

WOW! This book. Kinda freaked me out. Not having read Needless Street (something I will change as soon as I get my hands on a copy) I really didn't know what I was letting myself in for with this author. But I really wasn't disappointed. It was all the freaky and then a slice of bonkers (in a good way) with a healthy dose of horror. Be warned though, this book pulls no punches, especially with regard to animals.
So, we start with Rob who is married with two young girls. They live in a nice house, in a nice place. But, as with many families, not everything is as it should be behind closed doors. Long story short and Rob is so worried about her older daughter's behaviour, especially towards the younger one, that she decides that the only way round things is to whisk Callie off to Sundial, her family home, where she grew up, slap bang deep in the Mojave Desert.
And so begins a rather strange tale that both shocked and thrilled as it proceeded. Horrifying in places too. Especially when concerning Callie's behaviour.
Woven in around the present day road trip are blasts from the past. Of Rob's childhood. Her family, her upbringing, her sister. Is the past determined to interfere with the present, or will re-discovering it mean that certain ghosts could be laid to rest once and for all?
Please, this is another book that it is best to go in as blind as you can. There are so many delightful twists and turns, delivered in exactly the right moments for maximum impact that I fear prior-knowledge will ruin what is destined to be one heck of a ride.
Imagine the most dysfunctional family. Layer on some more dysfunction. Add a side of secrets and lies and, well, you have Rob and her crew. But nothing is always what it seems at face value as you will discover. This being a very character driven story. And being character driven it's also quite emotional. Often also quite dark in places, scary too, it's all I could do to take a break before I got too involved at times reading the action as it played out in my minds eye. Yes, it was also quite a visual book for me. Unusual that. It takes a good author to help me "see" what I am reading. Doesn't happen much.
Anyway, what I am trying to say is, well, stop reading reviews and just get the darned book. Unless you hate horror that is, you probably won't like it then...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Rob is the mother to two young girls and wife to a husband who likes nothing more than tormenting her. All are part of a very disturbed and dysfunctional family. Older daughter Callie starts showing an unhealthy interest in death and nearly causes a fatal incident involving the younger daughter. Rob feels compelled to take Callie back to her roots, to her past, back to the sundial in the desert. She must find a way to stop Callie from hurting anyone else.

This is my first time reading a Catriona Ward book and I have mixed feelings about it. Apart from the animal cruelty, overall I appreciated the different levels of plain weirdness and horror implemented throughout this book. I wasn't a fan of the constant jumping back and forth through time and the pace was quite slow. That said the book held my interest from beginning to end.

Sorry but I really didn’t enjoy this book. Absolutely hated the writing style with flowery language and it was a really slow burn. I haven’t read her last book yet which is raved about and would still like to give it a try to see if it’s just this book I didn’t like or just the overall writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loooved this book! Thrillers/mysteries are not always my favourite genre, but this book has the perfect mix of creepiness and questions that consumed my thoughts the entire time I was reading. I HAD to know what happened at the end and this book keeps you guessing until the very last page.

I loved every characters POV, I felt they all fitted so perfectly into the story telling and were written so beautifully (Although i felt physical hatred for Irving, but thats a sign of a good book if you get physical feelings about a character, even if they are feelings of hate).

I felt so invested in all the different stories that were told and each twist and turn had me craving more. I think this will be one of my favourite books of 2022. So amazingly written and such a great story.

Rounded up from 4.5 stars.

I’m not sure where in the dark depths of Ward’s psyche she creates these creepy, uneasy and downright brutal plots but I’m here for them (what that says about me…? Hhhmm)

Anyway, I will keep this vague so as not to give away any spoilers. For me, Sundial is a literary version of the song Dirge by Death in Vegas (if you don’t know this one - check it out…). It starts off subtly and eerily, the tension building just a little bit each time, a feeling of unease gradually creeping all around you. The serpentine plot winds around you in a trippy, psychedelic haze, and then pierces you with a raw and brutal finality.

This book is not an easy read, be warned. There is animal cruelty and domestic violence, and there’s some major Cujo vibes near the end. The content challenged me, and that’s why I enjoyed it. The characters are damaged, flawed, and some are just downright nasty pieces of work! Callie was by far my fave! The setting is incredibly atmospheric - the desert in particular which, for me, demonstrated a false freedom, a beautifully dangerous landscape, which is vast and lonely.

There is a strong nature nurture element running throughout this book. It’s compelling and menacing. For me, it isn’t horror in the conventional “hiding under the duvet” scary but it’s a raw and truthful horror - the everyday brutality in life that many can become accustomed and somewhat blind to. I know this book has divided opinions, but I enjoyed it in its own twisted, compelling and distinctive way.

I knew from the outset that I was going to like this book. Darkly mysterious and psychologically chilling, this book hooked me and kept me on the edge throughout. The lines between reality, lies and imagination/dreams are blurred and twisted to create a fascinating and gripping tale.

Callie and her sister Annie exist within their parents’ dysfunctional relationship. When Annie seems to be in danger, it’s time for mother Rob to take her to Sundial and for some truths to be revealed.

A great book. One of my favourites so far this year.

How weird is too weird?

I’m keeping this brief, and sans synopsis, because this author just wasn’t for me. I found Sundial fantastical, overly long and slow, with the last half descending into the equivalent of a drug induced haze. Once you stripped away the surrealism, the dreamlike prose, and the nonsensical metaphors I reckon there was only one good twist – the rest have been done before, including the ending. And, did every character have to be so strange and unhinged? I accept that they were all damaged souls, but still, come on, it just wasn’t realistic or relatable.

I’m not going to count the experiments on dogs (as horrible as they were), against the author, as I was warned via friend’s reviews yet I still chose to read this, so I have only myself to blame. And, if that had of been the only part I hated, I would’ve overlooked it as it was relevant to the plot, but sadly the dogs parts were just the tip of the iceberg of things I found wrong with this book.

Considering the high ratings this one’s receiving, there are plenty of readers who enjoyed this book, but I’m afraid I just can’t recommend this title.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, Viper, and Catriona Ward for the e-ARC.

If my review hasn’t put you off then Sundial’s release date is the 10th March, 2022.

My Rating: 4/5 stars

“Kids are mirrors, reflecting back everything that happens to them. You’ve got to make sure they’re surrounded by good things.”

Are you done picking up the pieces of your blown mind after reading The Last House on Needless Street last March? Prepare to have it blown all over again, and stumble around in the dark again by Catriona Ward’s newest release Sundial. An intense, gritty, unnerving psychological horror/mystery hybrid about nature vs nurture, dysfunctional family dynamics and escaping your past. Sundial sunk its teeth into me from the start, and didn’t let up until the final word.

Synopsis:
All Rob ever wanted was a normal life, and for a while there: it seems like that’s just what she got. A neat suburban home with white picket fence, a loving husband, two perfect daughters… But the illusion is shattered when a frightening accident reveals a disturbing secret in her oldest daughter’s bedroom. One that proves to Rob what she’s feared for years now: maybe, despite her best efforts, she can’t escape what’s in her blood…
In a frenzy, Rob takes her eldest daughter to her own childhood home Sundial, an remove ranch in the Mojave desert, to make sure the traumatic past she’s buried there will stay buried for good.

What I loved:
- the suspense and mystery
I’m not exaggerating when I say that this book kept me up at night because I just had to finish those final pages. I was deeply invested in the mystery, and second guessing every single character ánd myself right up until the final page. After so many predictable mysteries, it feels great to be thrown for a loop by one completely.

- The atmosphere
Perhaps even more so than the mystery itself, the suspense of this story is thanks to Ward’s talent for creating an insidious atmosphere through her writing. By just the right amount of slightly wrong-feeling descriptions, she creates an atmosphere of unease from page one, even before anything remotely scary has happened yet. It’s the literary equivalent of a dissonant soundtrack playing quietly in the background during an otherwise innocuous shot in a horror-movie: nothing scary is happening yet, but your subconscious mind is sensing that something is off.
Add to that a phenomenal sense of setting and you have a recipe for perfect horror-writing in my book. From that quiet unease of an almost too perfect suburban home where a little girl hides some sinister secrets, to the claustrophobia of the desolate ranch and dog farm: I was there alongside the characters.

- The characters
All the aforementioned praise can basically be applied directly to the characters as well. They’re all layered and complex, all of them will throw you for a loop or have you second guess them throughout the story, and you will often doubt your trust in every single one of them. Many mystery novels will have a forgettable secondary cast, just present to facilitate the story. Not Sundial: I was invested and intrigued by every single one of these characters, which is rarer than I’d like to admit.

What I didn’t love:
- turning the dial to 11
Throughout the novel, Ward often demonstrates her talent for subtle and subdued suspense. Then there are a few moments where she suddenly loses that composure and throws in an overly gory scene or description in, seemingly for the sake of shock-factor. It’s a personal pet-peeve of mine, and almost made me think the author (or editor) didn’t trust the reader to understand the subtler signs given.
Note: I’m not talking about the climax: it’s fine to turn the dial up to 11 for that part. I’m mostly bothered by “early hints”, that didn’t need to be this explicit.
- that final twist
I was completely along for the ride with this story and its twists. Right up until the final chapter, I actually thought it was going to stick the landing. Unfortunately, on the last page, the author adds one more twist that, in my opinion, was really unnecessary. It wasn’t quite a dealbreaker, but I wish the novel would’ve ended one chapter earlier.

Additionally, as with any horror-novel: this book contains disturbing passages and subjects, so I always recommend you look into potential trigger-warnings in case you need to. One that I feel is important to mention is violence against- and experimentation on animals, specifically dogs. It’s never gratuitous, but it’s always a tough one for me personally, hence I had to include it in this section.


Many thanks to the author and Viper for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the popular success that was The Last House On Needless Street I was looking forward to this novel with a sense of curious anticipation. I found the ending of the authors previous novel extremely predictable and I saw it coming throughout the book and I was worried about the possibility of this happening again.

While I can confirm that it did not, I didn't find this book any more of an enjoyable read. I felt extremely uncomfortable as the chapters progressed (and not in a good way) and the plot grew weirder and weirder) (also not in a good way) It was unnecessarily complex which detracted from the building sense of horror and often it was confusing and hard to follow. The constant descriptions of animal torture made me squirm uncomfortably in my seat and I admit I was forced to skip over those sections as they were so unpleasant I was beginning to experience nightmares of the most horrific kind.

As this is the second book I have read from this author, I am sorry to conclude that unfortunately this writer's work is not for me.

Catriona Ward is fast becoming the most exciting voice in horror. THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET was an atmospheric blood-boiler that curled toes and shattered nerves. It was SUCH a good book, and a real throwback to the mightier days of the horror genre. This one is similar. It's about a mother and child, each with a secret (or secrets). When Callie makes a move that shocks her mum Rob, she is taken to Sundial, Rob's old family home, for a break... or something else. While at Sundial, Rob and Callie find they're bonded in more ways than one... It's creepy, it's gorgeously written, the detail (again) is precise and freakish and just makes the skin crawl. Good, proper horror at its modern best, Thank you!

Rob suspects there is something wrong with her daughter Callie. She reminds her of events of her past that she would rather forget. Callie collects bones and talks to people who aren’t there. She can’t discuss it with her husband who only speaks to her to torment her. When her other daughter Annie becomes ill and it looks like Callie is the cause, Rob knows she needs to act. She takes Callie away to Sundial, the home she grew up in, in the middle of the dessert. The question is, who will survive the trip?

What a book! I can honestly say I have never read any other book like Sundial. From the start, it’s sinister and unnerving. I really enjoyed Ron’s narrative and the impossible situation she finds herself in.

After the initial third of the book, a timeline from the past was added in to the mix and I began to struggle with the book a bit. I found the episodes set in the past quite jarring and confusing at points. Then we’re easily the least favourite parts of the book. The pace slowed down and I just began to get frustrated by it all. However, things soon picked up in the last part of the book and I couldn’t read fast enough. The tension and the horror meant I felt like I was on the edge of my seat, holding my breath until the very last line. I did not see the end coming and I thought it was apt and clever.

I wouldn’t say it’s a read for the faint hearted. It’s not a thriller, it belongs slap bang in the middle of the horror genre but it will make you think and it will entertain you once you get through the middle to the killer finale.

Thanks to Catriona Ward, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

In this book, we follow the narrative of Rob, her husband and her two daughters, But not all is perfect for this family of four. There seems to be something amiss with one of Rob's daughters. However, there's a lot of Rob's past that we need to discover before the present problems can be solved.

Having read The Last House on Needless Street last year, I was expecting Catriona Ward’s second novel to be just as dark and twisty, and on that front I was not disappointed! It is definitely a page turner with lots of reveals that keep you reading. I read another review that described the prose as flowery, but I enjoyed the writing and some of the descriptions of the desert landscape were beautiful. I’m a sucker for pretty, figurative language though and will take all the metaphors!

The writing is the only thing pretty about this novel though, the story is so unbelievably dark and just when you think it can’t possibly get any worse you’re proved wrong on the next page. Most of the characters are awful human beings and there are no redeeming factors about any of them (though maybe one could have been redeemed at the end). It’s really difficult to review this book without giving away spoilers and I’m going to keep this as vague as possible, but I found the plot becomes more and more implausible as things are revealed and I just found myself questioning the ridiculous decisions people were making and shouting ‘but why?!’ as yet another past secret/questionable decision was uncovered.

Maybe I’m not the right audience for this though, as I was expecting a psychological thriller but think this leans more towards horror. Either that, or I am far too sensitive as I found the gore factor way too high and the amount of abuse perpetrated by all of the characters at some point or other seemed excessive. There should be trigger warnings for domestic abuse, child abuse, and animal abuse as there is an abundance of all three throughout. The ending was too abrupt for me too; I’m all for leaving things open to interpretation but think that the final reveal needed to be resolved.

I did enjoy the supernatural elements of the novel, with the otherworldly ghost-like figures that weaved in and out of the narrative and I loved the setting of Sundial and the descriptions of the house and the surrounding desert. I didn’t want to stop reading because of the issues I highlighted above, but I think that’s because I was waiting for some hope or a redeeming arc for at least one of the characters which didn’t happen because of the way it ended. I would recommend reading it as it does raise some interesting moral questions and if you like horror then you might enjoy the darker aspects more than I did!

Thank you to NetGalley and Viper for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.