Sundial by Catriona Ward

 

 

Reviewed by Christy

            Rob, a mother and a wife living in the suburbs, will do anything to protect the normal life she has created for herself. She had an unusual upbringing with a dark beginning, and Rob fears some of that darkness is starting to show in her twelve-year-old daughter Callie. Rob takes Callie back home to Sundial in the Mojave Desert. If she can't save Callie, maybe she can at least save the rest of her family.

            Ward's previous work The Last House on Needless Street was so weird and interesting that I was definitely interested in her new novel Sundial. (The beautiful cover didn't hurt either.) In my experience with just the two books I've read, Ward is really good at making a reader feel off-kilter. You know something is wrong but you don’t know what. Then slowly, almost casually, she will drop a reveal that makes everything make (some) sense. And then another reveal. And another. She's usually really good at this tactic which makes for a fun reading experience. The reveals don't always work in Sundial, and that's fine. They don’t all have to. Ward's writing is engaging enough to keep me reading.

            I did like this novel but overall not as much as The Last House on Needless Street. I finished it feeling underwhelmed without being able to pinpoint why. Maybe the open ending? Maybe the relentlessly dark subject matter? Needless Street was dark too just not in the same way. I found myself feeling grumpy after a reading session with Sundial but still wanting to read it. I guess it's not a terrible thing for a book to be so immersive that it affects the reader's mood but there was a lot going on plot-wise, and it was a lot to digest. (Speaking of which, content warning for domestic abuse, child abuse, and animal abuse.)

            It's hard to know who to recommend Ward to because I think she can be a polarizing author. If you're a horror or dark fiction fan and want to try something new, she might be worth checking out. Personally, I will probably read her next book as well as some more horror set in the desert!