I’d like to thank Harpercollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Mirrorland’ by Carole Johnstone in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Twin sisters El and Cat create their own make-believe world called Mirrorland in the basement of their childhood home at 36 Westeryk Road. The sisters have now been apart for twelve years but when El’s husband Ross contacts Cat to say that she’s missing Cat flies back to Edinburgh despite having no desire to return as she’s convinced that she’d know if she her twin sister had died.

I enjoy reading stories based in Edinburgh with a bit of spookiness and mystery and the description of ‘Mirrorland’ sounded interesting, but I found it confusing and a difficult book to read and couldn’t get immersed in the plot as I normally would. From reading the reviews of other readers it looks to be well-liked, and it’s clearly a well-written debut novel, but I didn’t like the characters and by the time I was halfway throughI'd lost interest and didn’t care enough to know how it ended. I apologise that this book just wasn’t for me.

This is a bit of a slow burner, but keep with it. The switching between past and present and children's imagination and reality is a bit confusing but it becomes apparent that it's really important to the story.
If you keep with it, you'll be gripped. A really good thriller.

I am sorry but I could not get into this! I read until 50% but I just kept losing interest. I think it's because the main character came off as unlikable? I am not sure but I could not engage with this even after trying time and time again. It's a shame because it sounded great and totally down my alley! Alas...

I was given a copy of mirrorland by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. The book is about twins, when Cat's sister El disappears Cat must return to their family home. She must face what happened when they were children. A good plot with twists along the way.

I found this really hard to get into at first but am glad that I persevered as it turned into a really great read. The book touches on a lot of different topics; families, sibling rivalry through to abuse and dealing with death. This story is full of twists and turns but brilliantly executed!

The story opens with two young girls seemingly on the run wearing a blood soaked jumper,

While there are some good elements to the story, it was often a difficult read. I think it would have read more smoothly had the "mirrorland" episodes not been so entwined into the current time text. I was never able to be completely immersed in either world.

The actual story and the reveal about what mirrorland is and the twists of the story are well-conceived and were enough to ensure I wanted to finish the book.

Identical twins' connection to one another has always been a fascinating concept widely explored in literature, and Johnstone's approach is creative, riveting, and beautifully written. I knew nothing heading into this book except that it's some kind of a thriller, and was pleasantly surprised by all the elements of magical realism. The use of unreliable narration also worked great for this story, and the most interesting part for me was definitely the fantasy realm the twins conjured up together for escape from the real world.

I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this book as, although I like fantasy books, and crime/thrillers, this combined both. It took a while for me to get into, and sadly the fantasy side and flashbacks confused me and I just couldn't finish reading it. I haven't given up - just not the right time for me.

A deeply dark and disturbing psychological thriller, which was unputdownable.
The characters were unexpected and intriguing, as were their varying roles within the storyline. A well crafted novel that was imaginative enough to feel at times like a fantasy, though holding to it's theme.
An ending you would never expect, along with shocking revelations.
Absolutely fantastic, well worth reading

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title.

If you like lots of rich, descriptive, atmospheric detail with your thrillers, then you are going to love this story. For me, it was too heavy for a story that was otherwise exciting and unpredictable. It felt like two stories in one -- one narrative of a deeply dysfunctional childhood, one present-day thriller -- and I found myself skimming through most of the backstory. Carole Johnstone is clearly a very talented writer, but I did not find myself connecting to/caring about the characters much at all. Unfortunately not for me.

A sad story of twins, shocking abuse & murder a fantasy land created by the girls, helped them in their “first” life.

Their “second” life El is missing presumed dead, yet Cat is certain she is alive. A treasure hunt, to unlock the clues and secrets from both the present & the past.

This book stayed in my thoughts for days, i really enjoyed the fantasy side of the story, it was well written & the descriptions were sublime.

If you want a thriller that is a little different, give this a go.

A dark and intriguing tale full of surprises and brilliant imagination! This book had me entranced from start to finish with an outcome that I did not detect!! A solid read for 2021!

I was so very intrigued by the synopsis of Mirrorland that I just had to read it. What wonderful ingredients Carole Johnstone has chosen: twin girls, a creepy house in Edinburgh, a fantasy land hidden under the house and now a missing twin. Buckle yourself in for the rollercoaster ride that is Mirrorland.

It's impossible to work out what is real and what is fantasy in Mirrorland, so you just have to go with the flow. El and Cat are rare mirror twins who live with their mother and grandfather in a grand old house in Edinburgh. Almost like going through the wardrobe to Narnia, they have a fantasy world beneath their house where they can sail the high seas or spend time in the wild west. It sounds like great fun but El and Cat are so firmly ensconced in Mirrorland that even many years later, they no longer know what or who is real.

Cat and El have been estranged for many years (and the story behind this is brilliant) but Cat returns to the creepy old house when El disappears. The police and El's husband are convinced that she is dead but Cat firmly believes that El is alive and sending her messages. Messages that force Cat to confront the dark and dirty truth about Mirrorland and the secrets that have been buried deep inside her.

Mirrorland is a highly imaginative, twisty debut from Carole Johnstone. It takes so many unexpected twists and turns that you really don't know what direction it is heading in. Even if you work some of it out, there is so much going on that it's impossible to guess every single little thing. It's a lot darker than I imagined it would be but it's a very compelling read so once it draws you in, it's impossible to put down.

Creepy, dark and disturbing; Mirrorland is a most unusual and highly inventive debut.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Not really for me sorry-not quite what I was expecting! A little too much on the mystical side even though it was beautifully written.

Haunting, nightmarish and thrilling - this book would not let me go! A bit Diane Setterfield meets Stephen King - very classy, brilliantly plotted and full of twists. I had a suspicion about the sisters which turned out to be correct but loved seeing how it all unfolded. An exceptional debut - I'll certainly be looking out for more by this author

I totally enjoyed this book, the creative make believe world of Mirrorland with its many themed rooms and characters that I felt immersed in while reading.

Equally scary and fascinating how the story unraveled with a mix of fantasy and murder. I will be reading more by this author.

I picked this book initially because it was based in Edinburgh - a city I know really well. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this thriller as it’s not my usual genre. I was pulled in straight away and kept engrossed by the twists and turns as Cat investigates the disappearance of her twin sister, El. You will. be hooked right up to the last page!

Anyone who reads this should know it's heavily laced with magical realism. I do enjoy a little magical realism, it was to the extent that I really struggled with the first 50% of the storyline. It did pick up and I'm glad I finished, as I really enjoyed the ending. While it was too fantastical for me, those that enjoy this type of book will find a story imbued with a large dose of atmosphere, fairy tales, and family drama.

At the root of the story is a woman returning home when her sister goes missing. While there, she begins to realize that her sister's husband, a man she had a relationship with when she was younger, is perhaps not the man she thought he was. She soon begins to question everything as the past and present converge and real life and fantasy become more confusing, and long-suppressed memories from the fantastical Mirrorland begin to emerge.

Wow!

From the start this book reeled me in! The prologue was eerie and quickly gripped my attention, I needed to know who these girls were and why they were out alone!

The story was fast paced, with suspense throughout, it held my attention. So much so I finished the book in a couple of sittings! A fabulous storyline, cleverly written and the characters were described well enough that you felt like you knew them.

The ending was amazing! I didn’t predict it at all although parts of it you could see coming as it was dramatically built up, despite cat’s denial!

Really enjoyable read! Thank you for the opportunity to read it :)

Utterly bewitching, this is a book that cast a spell on me and held me captive until the last page was turned.

Told from the point of view of Cat, who has returned from California to the house where she and her sister, El, grew up in, on hearing that her sister is missing. She is convinced that her sister is alive, particularly when she starts to find a series of clues hidden around the house. The clues provoke memories from the past, the time she spent in the dark faerie tale Mirrorland. This creates a wonderful atmosphere; are Cat's memories the result of an imagination fractured by guilt and grief, or did things happen the way she remembers them, the pirate characters and wicked villains conjured as the only way for her childhood psyche to make sense of the chaos and dysfunction in her life?

As the police continue their investigation and Cat follows the treasure hunt to its conclusion, it is clear that she is in very real danger. The slippery, uneasy feeling of the novel really ratchets up a notch and the tension became almost too much to bear.

The finale of the novel is amazing, the twist is both shocking and heartbreaking. This is a book that will stay in my mind for quite some time and I am looking forward to seeing what the author writes next.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.