Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman

 An intense, pulse-pounding suspense thriller that I found impossible to put down.

Go into this book without any preconceived notions and avoid reviews that might spoil this well crafted story. 

Nina Hepworth, a 34-year-old literary academic, is shocked to find that she has inherited a beachfront estate on Pond Bay, Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands. Her father recently died, and though he was financially secure and left her well off, she had no idea where and how he could have had this type of money, when he had gone to this house, and why he had built it. She does what anyone would do - she travels to the Caribbean to claim her new property. 

A young nanny arrives at her next assignment. Maria has been hired for 2 weeks to care for a couple of children while their regular caregiver takes some time off. The house is modern, massive, and extremely well appointed. As Maria settles in, she’s invited to enjoy all the amenities while she waits. And she does. But days pass and the client doesn’t arrive. She gets bored, reads all the instructions in the manual, has the run of the place. She is drawn, however, to the last directive telling her not to enter the locked room on the ground floor. She does what anyone would do - she gets herself into that room.

Without spoilers, let me tell you that I couldn’t even begin to guess what was going on for the longest time. It was so packed with information and action as the narrative flipped between Nina and Maria. I really l liked and became fully invested in both of the women and definitely second guessed every decision they made. No idea where this was headed as I tore through the pages trying to make sense of what was happening. I really enjoyed how everything played out because for awhile I was really afraid I was going to find it cheesy and disappointing. It was fast and fun and I recommend it.

I was lucky enough to be able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator was the author and she, being a well-known actress, did a marvelous job of voicing the characters and enhancing all the dramatic aspects of the book. It was quite well-done.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Tags - suspense, thriller, cannot say more due to spoilers