I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Sundial by Catriona Ward Published by NIghtfire on March 1 2022
Genres: Adult, Horror, Psychological thriller
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Catriona Ward raises the bar on her latest psychological thriller, a dark and frenetic tale full of family secrets, blood and pain.
I feel her, the old Rob, when I come to Sundial, hiding in the dawn and at the edges of things; the ghost of who I once was. Could I find her again? Do I want to? It’s a terrifying feeling, to be caught between two selves.
I have no idea how to review this book, but I’m going to try. Folks, this is one fucked up story, and I mean that in the best way, because I really did enjoy Sundial for the most part. This is one of those times where I wish I didn’t give star ratings, because I’ve had a hard time settling on one, but I’ve finally decided to give it four stars, knocking off points for one element in particular that I despised—which I’ll get to later. I get the sense that Catriona Ward is trying to top herself, after The Last House on Needless Street, which I reviewed last year and loved, but topping yourself isn’t always a good thing. Sundial is full of despicable people who all seem to hate each other. I don’t think I’ve ever run across a book where I couldn’t find even one character to root for, and there are a few trigger warnings that need to be stated up front: cruelty to animals, physical and psychological spousal abuse, and child abuse are the big ones. Dog lovers take note: think twice before picking this up.
The story takes place in two timelines, past and present, and is told in alternating chapters by Rob, a woman in an abusive marriage who is trying to make sense of her life, and her eldest daughter Callie, a twelve-year old who is demonstrating disturbing behavior and seems to be a threat to the family. When Rob’s nine-year-old daughter Annie swallows a bottle of her father’s diabetes medication, and all signs point to Callie being responsible. Rob, who has been abused for years by her husband Irving, is determined to keep her family from unraveling, and so she announces that she’s taking Callie to Sundial, the remote desert ranch where Rob grew up. Rob is convinced that she can mend the rift between her and Callie and maybe even “fix” her, and she aims to do this by revealing the uncanny events that happened to Rob as a child. The story unfolds as Rob tells her story to Callie in chapters designated as “Rob: Then,” and alternates with chapters told in the present by both Rob and Callie during their trip to Sundial. Interspersed among all of this are short excerpts from a book Rob is writing called Arrowood.
Rob’s story begins when she and her twin sister Jack are seventeen and have lived at Sundial for the past twelve years. Run by a man named Falcon and his assistant Mia, the girls grew up thinking their real mother died years ago, and that Mia is their stepmother. All these years, the girls have been homeschooled and have never left Sundial. Living an almost idyllic life—playing in the desert, milking the cows, and occasionally assisting with Mia’s pack of dogs—it’s all the girls have ever known. But both Rob and Jack long to stretch their wings and go away to college, if only Falcon would allow it. Opportunities to leave arise for both girls, and they seize the moment, only to be thrust into events they have no control over.
Looming over the girls’ childhood are many mysteries. Mia has dozens of stray dogs in the pens surrounding the ranch, and she’s doing scientific research and performing experiments on them to make them behave. But how are the dogs connected to Rob and Jack? Why won’t Falcon let them leave? And where did they really come from?
After reading The Last House on Needless Street, I fully expected there to be an epic twist or two in Sundial, and I wasn’t disappointed. Things are not what they seem on the surface. Every character in this story is hiding the truth in one way or another, which makes it very hard to sympathize with anyone. Callie collects the bones of dead neighborhood animals and makes bizarre artwork with them, but does that mean she tried to poison her sister? Annie appears innocent, but what if she isn’t? Irving is an absolute shithole of a human being and does terrible things to Rob, but is Rob completely innocent herself? And what about Sundial? What really happened out there in the desert, and what is the big secret Rob finds buried in the backyard inside a Snoopy lunch box? There are layers upon layers of mysteries, and Ward keeps the momentum going by peeling back those layers little by little, stretching out the tension until the reader is ready to scream.
I also love Catriona Ward’s writing. It’s evocative and lush, and I absolutely love her imagery, especially the creepy parts of the story. She brings the eeriness and danger of the desert to life, although to be honest, it’s the humans you want to watch out for in this book. Let’s take Rob’s and Irving’s relationship, for example. From the first page, the reader wonders why they are together, as they seem to hate each other. This sets the tone for the rest of the book, which is full of fraught relationships that don’t make sense on the surface, but later take on a weird normalcy, for some reason.
I mentioned that I didn’t really like any of the characters, but I did have a soft spot for a “ghost” named Pale Callie. “Warm” Callie (Rob’s daughter) can see the spirits of the animals whose bones she’s collected, and she also has a “friend” named Callie as well, ghost or imaginary friend, I’ll let you decide. Callie calls all the spirits she sees “pales,” and when you learn who Pale Callie is at the end of the story, I’m betting your mind will be blown just like mine was! Whether or not the pales are real is just one more piece of the puzzle.
As for negatives, there is a whole lot going on in Sundial: infidelity, abuse, animal cruelty, pregnancies, a miscarriage, a case of the chickenpox, creepy children, even ghost dogs. At times the story felt over-crowded and chaotic, although I have to applaud Ward for following through on many of the little details she drops into the story, which feel insignificant at first, but later come together beautifully. And to be honest, I didn’t understand the significance of the Arrowood chapters, which have a fairy tale-like quality to them and seem to be Rob’s way of exorcizing her past demons. I’m not sure these chapters were really necessary, given everything else going on in the story.
And the element that almost pushed me over the edge was the way dogs were used and treated in this story. I won’t go into details, but trust me when I say these sections are extremely upsetting. There is a redemptive moment at the end, but for me it wasn’t enough to make up for the hurt and pain that came before it.
But negatives aside, I don’t regret reading Sundial at all. Catriona Ward knows how to take an unusual story idea and blow her readers’ minds. Once you read the first page, you won’t want to stop reading until the bloody, bitter end.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Clearly, this is not a book for delicate souls, but still it sounds like a worthy challenge – and the mystery you describe simply *begs* to be revealed 😉
I will have to add this one to my “wanted” list: thanks for sharing!
You’re right! Not for delicate souls at all. But tons of fun and it’s literally hard to look away:-)
I must admit, this book scares me as much as it intrigues me. Your review has a lot of good stufff, but the trigger warnings
Yep, lots of triggers in this one! It’s horror so you have to expect some triggers. But the dogs…:-(
This sounds like a lot but at the same time, the mystery and the twists and turns make me want to read it. And the cover is gorgeous, I love the color palette!
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It’s definitely one of my favorite covers of the year:-)
Great review, Tammy! You didn’t scare me off with the dogs and the despicable characters. Real life animal abuse makes me physically ill. Fictional abuse I can stand, especially if the dogs get to come back as ghosts. (I’m imagining their revenge as I type even though I haven’t read the story and don’t know what the ghosts actually do.) Interesting about the Arrowood chapters.
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…Can You Write a Successful Short Story Using a Formula?
I’ll be curious to hear what you think if you read this, Priscilla! Also, I’d love to hear what others think about the Arrowood chapters. I’m wondering if I missed something…
Fabulous review. I think this one is not for me — I like horror and good twists, but I know I didn’t enjoy Needless Street, and based on your review, it sounds like the people and things that happen are just too awful for me.
Yeah, if you didn’t like Needless Street, I doubt this will work for you.
Thanks for the dog warning. I have this slated to read next month. Now I’m questioning it. However, usually as long as I’m prepared, and not going through any big recent dog loss, I do okay. Still it’s nice to know. That cover sure is stunning though!
I agree, the cover is fantastic! I’ll be really curious to see what you think if you read it:-)
Wow, I’m not at all sure if I should try this book or not. It’s certainly not one I’d want to read right now, but when in the right mood perhaps it’d be worth trying. I appreciate your review. Sometimes it’s good to at least have an idea what you’re getting yourself into. 🙂
I think you have to be in the right frame of mind for sure:-)
I’ve read a few books where I hated all the protagonists; they’re either really good or really bad. So I’m a little surprised to see a four-star rating. I either would’ve expected 5 or, like, 2 lol. Still… I think I’ll skip this (for now, at least). It seems like… a lot
I think my rating works for me. I loved parts but didn’t love other parts:-)
That’s intense! Glad you enjoyed it
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It was very intense!
Hoping to read this soon. I don’t do really well with strange stories, but “fucked up in the good way” I can handle, and I’m definitely intrigued!
I’m so curious to see what you make of this one;-)
This is not the book for me, for so many reasons! But I am glad you enjoyed it so much! Even if it is not perfect (and when the authors try to best themselves usually we get a recipe for disaster, sadly) it really seems like you had a great time, and this in the end is the important part!
There was a lot I loved about it, despite the negatives.
Great review! I’m so excited to read this, but also definitely grateful for the heads up on the TWs, so thank you for emphasizing those! ♥ It’s always better to go into stuff like that knowing in advance, for me at least, so I can make sure I’m in a good headspace.
Thanks Destiny! It’s definitely a trigger heavy story, but I hope you enjoy it:-)
“I have no idea how to review this book, but I’m going to try.” That me every time I sit down to write a review LOL! I wanted to read this book but I don’t think I’m gonna pick it up after all with the warnings you gave for dog lovers. I’m a HUGE dog lovers so I just can’t deal with that. But thank you for the warnings. And amazing review!
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I am glad you enjoyed this one. I wasn’t a fan of Needless House book and since you said dog lovers beware I will just be staying away from this one. 🙂
I really liked this one – it’s vey unusual, I love her writing and she’s just a shock to read isn’t she.
Lynn 😀
While your review of the story makes it sound good, the negative about dogs means it is one I probably shouldn’t read. But I do want to read this author at some point! Great review!
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