SUNDIAL.....FAMILY HORRORS, PRESENT AND PAST.....

Sundial by Catriona Ward (2022) 

My reaction to "Sundial" mirrors the reaction I had to this author's previous excursion in thrills and horror.

             Wow.  Simply wow. Once again, blown away by Catriona Ward's ability to take you on the darkest journeys imaginable. Like "The Last House On Needless Street", the author excels at practically world-building her own horrific universe from which there's no escape.  The feeling of dread here becomes so palpable, you can sense early on that few of these characters are going to get out of this alive.

              Housewife Rob seemingly leads a typical suburban family life with her professor husband Irving and her two young daughters, 12 year old Callie and 9 year old Annie. But the marriage is toxic to its very core. Irving's given to physically abusing Rob when the moment strikes him.  Callie's succumbing to dark thoughts and impulses, which may have led her to an attempt on Annie's life.

             While Annie's recovering from Chicken Pox, Rob impulsively decides on a rescue mission to restore her daughter's sanity as well as her own. To Irving's  ominous displeasure, she takes Callie away to visit Sundial, the sprawling, now abandoned Mojave Desert ranch where Rob grew up with her twin sister, Jack.

               And here at Sundial a place, haunted with terrible secrets and memories, is where the novel plunges deeply into unheard of realms of human cruelty and family dysfunction. As Rob struggles with her tortured past and Callie falls further into her dark, imaginary world, Sundial's many secrets, twists and disgusting horrors are revealed, one by one.......which I wouldn't dream of discussing in detail since that would spoil the demented funhouse ride this book takes you on. 

               Reading Catriona Ward's first book gave me the same kind of Wow Factor thrill I had when I picked up Stephen King's "Carrie' many years ago. I became a King fan for life and the exact same thing has happened again......which means I'll be first in line for every Ward book from now on.  Without a doubt a 5 star stunner. (*****)