Book Review: Mirrorland

Let me premise this book review by saying this: major Brothers Grimm fairytale vibes! Carole Johnstone did a phenomenal job of combining childhood fantasies with adult horrors in her new novel Mirrorland, that was released two weeks ago. With witches, pirates, clowns, and princesses, this story pays tribute to the wild imaginations of children. However, for our protagonist Cat, there are real life repercussions.

Twenty years ago, Cat and her mirror twin El, fled from their gothic childhood home and started new lives. In the dead of night, they left the house, their family, and Mirrorland, their imaginary land in the pantry beneath the stairs, behind. Since then, Cat has moved to Los Angeles, become estranged from her sister, and hasn’t given the horrors in that house a second thought.

That is, until El mysteriously vanishes while out sailing.

Despite her desperation to leave her past behind-and put as much distance between herself and that house at 36 Westeryk Road-Cat must return to help her brother-in-law, Ross, bring El back home. However, Cat has no clue what horrors are waiting for her in the dark shadows of her childhood home, and what ghosts are coming back to haunt her. No matter how much she resists, Cat must face Mirrorland once more.

If you are a fan of Riley Sager’s Home Before Dark, this novel will be right up your alley. The two stories are relatively similar, but both have their own twists on haunted houses and repressed childhood memories (I’ll touch on this in a minute).

I loved how atmospheric and creative this story was for the reader. There was also a dark cloud of impending doom that hung over me for the entirety of the book, only to come crashing down in the final chapters. The imaginary childhood elements were wonderful and relatable, having created imaginary worlds and scenarios myself when I was a child.

This story goes to show how the bonds of sisterhood can withstand the test of time. Though life gets difficult and conflicts may arise, the loyalty between sisters is unmatchable.

Now, I may be the only one who feels this way, so correct me if I am wrong, but I do get frustrated with the “repressed childhood memories” trope in thriller fiction. In no way am I discrediting or disrespecting the scientific, psychological, and factual proof behind childhood memory repression. I want to make that very clear!

However, for the purposes of fiction writing, this trope can grow frustrating for me as a reader. Though it is common in stories nowadays, especially with our unreliable narrators, it can be done in frustrating ways. For example, if I’m not proved with enough clues or flashbacks to guess what happened, and the reader springs it on me at the end, I feel cheated (similar to the, “It was all a dream,” trope).

Johnstone provided a few subtle clues here and there that indicated something bad had happened. Yet, I never felt Cat’s sense of urgency to get out of that house. Spoiler alert: while her sister was missing, Cat sensed El was actually alive and continued to resent her, and then proceeded to carry on an affair with Ross. Though the house was creepy and unsettling, it didn’t seem that Cat was desparate to leave after she returned.

This is all personal preference, though! Overall, I thought the book was very well done and Johnstone’s cleverness was wonderful.

If you’ve read this book, plan to, or have thoughts on thriller tropes, I would love to discuss with you!