Sundial

"DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK. Authentically terrifying." --Stephen King

WINNER of Best Hardcover Novel at the ITW Thriller Awards - Finalist for the Bram Stoker and Locus Awards - Shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award for Best Horror Novel - LibraryReads Top 10 Pick - A GoodReads Choice Award Finalist for Best Horror!

Sharp as a snakebite, Sundial is a gripping novel about the secrets we bury from the ones we love most, from Catriona Ward, the author of The Last House on Needless Street.

Rob has spent her life running from Sundial, the family's ranch deep in the Mojave Desert, and her childhood memories.

But she's worried about her daughter, Callie, who collects animal bones and whispers to imaginary friends. It reminds her of a darkness that runs in her family, and Rob knows it's time to return.

Callie is terrified of her mother. Rob digs holes in the backyard late at night, and tells disturbing stories about growing up on the ranch. Soon Callie begins to fear that only one of them will leave Sundial alive...

"This book will haunt you."--Alex Michaelides, New York Times bestselling author

"An unthinkable feat." --The New York Times Book 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 King " Sundial is a heart-in-the-throat smash." --Joe Hill, New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman "Ward 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 author "Masterful...[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 Eyes " Sundial 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." -- ShelfAwareness "No 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 Ariadne "As 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 Ararat "Holy 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 Ghosts "This 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 Echo "There 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 Fervor "Catriona 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 Lamplighters "It''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 Party "A 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 Women "Absolutely, stunningly, heartbreakingly wonderful. A wild beast of a book." --Virginia Feito, author of Mrs. March Praise for The Last House on Needless Street An Indie Next Pick! A LibraryReads Top 10 Pick! A Library Journal Editors'' Pick! STARRED reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly ! "[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." -- NPR "This masterful horror novel packs an emotional wallop that lingers." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review "A 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 review "Full of twists and turns, this high-concept gothic horror is going to be huge." -- Guardian "The 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 King "Sensational....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 Window "A 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 Fireman "A 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 Ghosts "A 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 Man "Absolutely brilliant. This is extraordinary, high-wire-act horror, audacious as hell." --Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Red Hands "Dark 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 Hellboy "Brilliant. Breathtaking. Terrifying. A masterpiece to read at your own peril." --Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger "A 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 Places "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 "What 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 Gone "THIS 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 Street "Books 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 Loki "The new face of literary dark fiction." --Sarah Pinborough, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes "You 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 Specter "Incredible. 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 Explorer "Incredible. Just incredible. Throughout, I didn''t know where to put my heart. A breathtaking, fiercely beautiful novel." --Rio Youers, author of Lola on Fire "Breathtakingly brilliant. Dark and relentlessly twisty, the best thing I''ve read this year." --Lisa Hall, author of The Party "Not 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 Ancient "It''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 World "This 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 Reporter”

"DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK. Authentically terrifying."
--Stephen King

"Absolutely, stunningly, heartbreakingly wonderful. A wild beast of a book."
--Virginia Feito, author of Victorian Psycho

"Sundial is a heart-in-the-throat smash."
--Joe Hill, New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman

"Ward's sun-soaked Sundial is Southwestern Gothic at its finest."
--M.L. Rio, The New York Times

"Ward is surely one of the most talented writers working in the thriller genre today. 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

"Masterful...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 Eyes

"Sundial 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 Just Like Home

"Ward coaxes Rob's gruesome past open like a toxic flower. ...And yet at its core, Sundial is about resilience. ...And that, in itself, is an unthinkable feat."
--Danielle Trussoni, The New York Times

"Sundial serves up a deeply, deliciously disturbing family mystery."
--ShelfAwareness

"As 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

"Holy 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 A Head Full of Ghosts

"This 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 Echo

"There 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. Ward knows horror."
--Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor

"This is every bit as creepy, individual and gripping as The Last House on Needless Street. Bravo."
--Ian Rankin, bestselling author of the Rebus thrillers

"No 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 Ariadne

"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 Lamplighters

"A 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 Women

CATRIONA WARD was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in the United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco. She studied English at the University of Oxford, and later, completed a Creative Writing Masters at the University of East Anglia. Ward won the August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel for her debut, The Girl from Rawblood, and again for Little Eve, making her the first woman to win the prize twice. Little Eve also won the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel. Ward is the internationally bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street.

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