Thank you Brilliance Audio for the ALC and Lavender Public Relations, #partner, for the advanced copy of In a Dark Mirror in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer / Brilliance Audio
Published: June 1, 2024
Summary:
A decade-old crime unites its devoted fans in a haunting novel about delusions in the dark and the dangerous games children play.
Twelve-year-old Maddie Thompson and her friend Lana share a love of horror stories and wild imaginings. But Lana insists they are too old for pretending. It’s time for a different game: serving Him, a figure she sees lurking in the dark, mysterious and demanding. According to Lana, she and Maddie must obey Him or else suffer the consequences. Maddie doesn’t want to lose her most important friendship, even if it means luring an innocent girl into the woods—as a sacrifice for Him.
Ten years later, Maddie is released from an institution and must reintegrate into society for the first time as an adult. While finding her first job and forming new friendships, Maddie struggles to determine what it means to forgive—or to trust—herself. Particularly when she discovers an online community that is not only eerily obsessed with her but committed to the cult of Him.
This is Maddie’s chance at absolution—to convince them not to follow in her violent footsteps. But the loyal devotees have a pull. And Maddie knows that these games often have deadly consequences.
My thoughts:
This story is inspired by the 2014 Slender Man Case, a case I happen to be slightly obsessed with, so of course I had to read this…and I absolutely loved it!!! Give me a good thriller/true crime story any day and I’m one happy girl!
This is a dark, twisted psychological thriller that had me on edge the entire way through. Even though I knew the gist of the story that it was based on, there are plenty of original touches to make it still feel like a fresh new story. I found myself completely invested in this story and on edge, and what’s more, I kept thinking how could something like this have really happened? But it did and that makes it so good, but also so scary!
I loved the way the author set this one up. She was able to really get into the mindset of the young girls, to the point that it was unsettling. We see how Maddie and Lana, both a little jealous of their friend, make the decisions that they do, and why Sage ultimately becomes their target. Having the story move back and forth in time from before the incident gives the story that perfect sense of unease as well as helps to build suspense.
As you can see…I cannot get enough of this case. It was just as riveting as I hoped it would be, with just enough twists to keep you guessing even if you are familiar with the case and I could not have loved it more.
Audio thoughts:
This book translated really well onto audio and I loved the way Jess Nahikian narrated it. She really did a fantastic job bringing the story to life.
Purchasing from the link below supports independent bookstores and my blog!
