“DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK. Authentically terrifying.” —Stephen King A LibraryReads Top 10 Pick! STARRED review from Publishers Weekly! Anticipated and Recommended by Bustle, USA Today, CNN, i09, The Nerd Daily, LitReactor, GoodReads, LitHub, and more! Sundial is a new, twisty psychological horror novel from Catriona Ward, internationally bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street. You can't escape what's in your blood... All Rob wanted was a normal life. She almost got it, too: a husband, two kids, a nice house in the suburbs. But Rob fears for her oldest daughter, Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her too much of the family she left behind. She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice. Callie is worried about her mother. Rob has begun to look at her strangely, and speaks of past secrets. And Callie fears that only one of them will leave Sundial alive… The mother and daughter embark on a dark, desert journey to the past in the hopes of redeeming their future. "A story where nothing is what it seems—a thrilling hall of mirrors full of deeply disturbing twists. This book will haunt you." —Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Nightfire
Download and start listening now!
"Ward ably handles the series of nested revelations of the truth about the house's inhabitants and how they connect to Ted's own childhood, all the while maintaining a propulsive, suspenseful tone. Recommended for anyone interested in horror with well-realized characters and a claustrophobic, intense setting."
— Booklist
“Authentically terrifying.”
— Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling authorA wild beast of a book.”
— Virginia Feito, author of Mrs. March“A must-read for fans of gothic literature and taut psychological thrillers.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)A LibraryReads Top 10 Pick!STARRED review from Publishers Weekly!Anticipated and Recommended by Bustle, USA Today, CNN, i09, The Nerd Daily, LitReactor, GoodReads, LitHub, and more!
DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK. Authentically terrifying.
— Stephen KingSundial is a heart-in-the-throat smash.
— Joe Hill, New York Times bestselling author of The FiremanWard is surely one of the most talented writers working in the thriller genre today. This book will haunt you.
— Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling authorMasterful...[A] must-read for fans of gothic literature and taut psychological thrillers.
— Publishers Weekly, starred review“Sundial is as brilliant and moving as you would expect from a Catriona Ward book.
— Sarah Pinborough, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Her EyesSundial is yet another example of Ward’s ability to create a profoundly unsettling scenario and drive it to a point of explosive terror. Dizzying, intimate, haunting.
— Sarah Gailey, author of The Echo Wife“Sundial serves up a deeply, deliciously disturbing family mystery.
— ShelfAwarenessNo one is as expert as Catriona at pulling the rug out from under the reader's feet. It's eerily beautiful, haunting, wild, grotesque and darkly dazzling.
— Jennifer Saint, author of AriadneAs if we needed further evidence, Sundial confirms Catriona Ward as one of the brightest stars in horror fiction. As compelling and unique a voice for the 21st century as Shirley Jackson was for the 20th. She’s brilliant.
— Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones and AraratHoly moly, Sundial plumbs the psychological depths and traps of toxic relationships, expertly mixing suspense, shocks, and menace. It's a wild, twisted family gothic unlike any you've read before, and one you won't soon forget.
— Paul Tremblay, author of Survivor Song and A Head Full of GhostsThis novel is reminiscent of the best of Shirley Jackson and Joyce Carol Oates, and I cannot think of higher praise.
— Thomas Olde Heuvelt, author of Hex and EchoThere are two things you must know about Sundial. First, it's a great read, a genius piece of storytelling. But second, this is true horror, the horror of everyday life that we make ourselves blind to, horror that is brutal, truthful, terrifying. Catriona Ward knows horror.
— Alma Katsu, author of The FervorCatriona Ward has done it again with Sundial. Elegantly horrifying, this tale of a family's darker-than-dark past drives the knife in deep and isn't afraid to twist. It's a desert-dust nightmare with a scorpion's sting, and I LOVED it.
— Emma Stonex, author of The LamplightersIt's a cracker, even better than The Last House on Needless Street. It was dark, and unsettling, and creepy and enthralling.
— Lisa Hall, bestselling author of The PartyA deeply dark and unexpected tale about families, love, hate, the long shadow of the past, and the redemptive power of storytelling. Clever, poetic and immersive.
— Araminta Hall, author of Imperfect WomenAbsolutely, stunningly, heartbreakingly wonderful. A wild beast of a book.
— Virginia Feito, author of Mrs. March[A] terrifying exploration of human consciousness that excavates character like an ice pick chipping through an ancient glacier: The deeper one goes, the chillier it gets.
— The New York Times[T]he most powerful narratives in the genre manage to create an unshakable sense of unease, and that's exactly what this novel does ... a must-read for those who like the kind of labyrinthine narratives that pull the rug out from under you, sending you tumbling into a dark, dark room.
— NPRThis masterful horror novel packs an emotional wallop that lingers.
— Publishers Weekly, starred reviewA stunning and immersive tale of psychological horror. It’s terrifyingly real and physically upsetting, yet, like the best of the genre, it leaves space for hope to ultimately shine through.
— Library Journal, starred reviewFull of twists and turns, this high-concept gothic horror is going to be huge.
— GuardianThe buzz building around Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street is real. I've read it and was blown away. It's a true nerve-shredder that keeps its mind-blowing secrets to the very end. Haven't read anything this exciting since Gone Girl.
— Stephen KingSensational….I can’t recall another novel in recent years that dares so much and succeeds so wildly.
— A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the WindowA chilling and beautiful masterpiece of suspense, cunningly plotted and written with the elegant imagination of a Shirley Jackson or a Sarah Waters. I was completely enthralled.
— Joe Hill, New York Times bestselling author of The FiremanA breathtakingly ambitious book, gorgeously written, and never once shies away from showing you its fangs and its beautiful blood-filled heart. Stop reading this blurb already and open the damn book.
— Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of GhostsA masterpiece. Beautiful, heartbreaking and quietly uplifting. One of the most powerful and well-executed novels I've read in years.
— Alex North, author of The Whisper ManAbsolutely brilliant. This is extraordinary, high-wire-act horror, audacious as hell.
— Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Red HandsDark and creepy, sad and wonderfully strange. It kept me glued and guessing right up to the end—I loved every inch of it.
— Mike Mignola, creator of HellboyBrilliant. Breathtaking. Terrifying. A masterpiece to read at your own peril.
— Alma Katsu, author of The HungerA risky, gleeful descent into a house without windows or doors. It's a must-read for horror fans.
— Sarah Langan, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Good Neighbors“This book was like an onion. Layer after layer after layer and then you're crying and somebody's got a knife. A brutal, twisty, puzzle box of a book. I stayed up way past my bedtime.
— T. Kingfisher, author of The Hollow PlacesWhat did I just read?! One perfect sentence after the other ... this is a story I wish I knew how to write—and I'm thrilled that Ward pulled off this trick of a book.
— Rachel Howzell Hall, author of And Now She's GoneTHIS IS THE BEST HORROR NOVEL I HAVE EVER READ. Even Shirley Jackson, her Majesty, would have to concede to this one.
— Natasha Pulley, author of The Watchmaker of Filigree StreetBooks like this don't come around too often... I would say I inhaled this in one, but I think I was too busy holding my breath throughout. Bravo.
— Joanne Harris, New York Times bestselling author of The Gospel of LokiThe new face of literary dark fiction.
— Sarah Pinborough, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Her EyesYou don’t read The Last House on Needless Street—you survive it. This isn’t just a thriller; it’s a sleek, diabolical, stress-inducing machine.
— Jonathan Janz, author of The Siren and the SpecterIncredible. Absolutely creep-inducing, skin-crawling, even agonising; and also so beautiful, both in writing and heart. One of my favourite things in ages.
— James Smythe, author of The ExplorerIncredible. Just incredible. Throughout, I didn't know where to put my heart. A breathtaking, fiercely beautiful novel.
— Rio Youers, author of Lola on FireBreathtakingly brilliant. Dark and relentlessly twisty, the best thing I've read this year.
— Lisa Hall, author of The PartyNot only edge of the seat, terrifying suspenseful horror, but it also broke my heart into tiny pieces. Such exquisite writing.
— Muriel Gray, author of The AncientIt’s one eerie mind-bender of a novel in the best way.
— Bloody Disgusting[A]n immersive, head-shaking, game of a novel that speaks to the horrors of a person’s past and how a horrific event can leave people unchanged for the worse.
— SFF WorldThis is a true page-turner. Just when you think you’ve figured out what is really going on, you’ll probably realize you were wrong.
— Book ReporterBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Katherine Fenton’s theater credits include Twelfth Night and Much Ado about Nothing, while her television credits include appearances on Casualty and Servants. She has also provided voices for radio, animated cartoon series, and computer software CDs.