Mirrorland: #bookreview

Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone is set in Scotland, in a fairly recent time but still prior to COVID and quarantine. Cat had just returned to Scotland after 12 years. Her identical twin sister, El, has been reported missing so it was time to come home.

El and her husband, Ross, bought the childhood home of Cat and El. They had run away from this home when they were about twelve years old. No one could figure out who they belonged to because they were kept hidden in the house. There were no records of any kind for them.

I imagine the part of the house that they called Mirrorland to look like a combination of a circus and a pirate ship. It might look like the caverns and ship in “The Goonies.” Some of this is because it is how Cat imagines Mirrorland. She cannot remember how everything really happened in the past.

When Cat arrives at her childhood home, she begins to receive odd notes and emails. She believes that her sister is alive somewhere and is sending her on a scavenger hunt in order to remember the past.

Their other childhood friend, Mouse, is a mystery. Is she really trying to help Cat? Does she know where El is or if she’s alive? Is she a friend or a cousin? No one really knows what Mouse wants. I don’t even think they know her real name.

All sorts of people are telling Cat to get away from Ross. They say he’s abusive and will probably kill her. Cat doesn’t know who to believe. She thinks El is lying about everything. Cat and El did not part on good terms. They haven’t spoken or written to each other in the whole 12 years that Cat has been gone.

Recommendation

There are quite a few references to “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” by Stephen King. If you like the opposite of what Stephen King likes, then this book might not be the one for you right now.

If you like mysterious Gothic fiction with numerous twists and turns, then you will probably enjoy Mirrorland. Personally, I love a good mystery, and the more twists and turns the better. So I enjoyed the book, just like Stephen King.

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• I received the ebook and an actual book from NetGalley and The Write Reads as part of The Write Reads Book Tour. All opinions are mine. Obviously.
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