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Tuesday, 27 April 2021

#BlogTour Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Mirrorland by  Carole Johnstone.

About the Author

Carole Johnstone’s award-winning short fiction has been reprinted in many annual ‘Best of’ anthologies in the UK and US. She lives in Argyll & Bute, Scotland, with her husband. Mirrorland is her debut novel. 

Follow @C_L_Johnstone on Twitter, Visit carolejohnstone.com

About the book

No. 36 Westeryk Road, an imposing flat-stone house on the outskirts of Edinburgh. A house of curving shadows and crumbling grandeur. But it’s what lies under the house that is extraordinary – Mirrorland. A vivid make-believe world that twin sisters Cat and El created as children. A place of escape, but from what?

Now in her thirties, Cat receives the shocking news that her sister has disappeared. Forced to return to Edinburgh, Cat finds herself irresistibly drawn back into Mirrorland. Because El has a plan. She’s left behind a treasure hunt that will unearth  long-buried secrets…

Review

Cat and El were as close as siblings can be, until they weren't of course. They are the mirror images of each other and are used to surviving and living under extreme threat and stress - real or imagined that is the question. They created their own world to live in until a betrayal rips them apart.

Now El is missing presumed dead, but Cat is convinced her sister is alive and well somewhere. Not only that she is convinced El is playing one of her silly games, but also that she would know without a doubt if El were dead. Of course nobody believes her, they think it is just wishful thinking.

It's a dark domestic thriller mired in magical realism. A twisted tale of fantasy, deception and an element of something inexplicable. A world of pure imagination built to keep El and Cat safe.

What I absolutely loved about this read was the realistic aspect of the imaginary world. Johnstone describes each place with such vivid enthusiasm that the imagined becomes the lived and the real. The scene in Mirrorland (the place not the book) was so well written I could feel the threat and see the world they inhabited.

It was fascinating how the author wove in and out of multiple genres and look forward to more, especially if we get more magical realism.

Buy Mirrorland at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: The Borough Press pub date 1st April 2021 | Hardback | Ebook | Audio | £12.99. Buy at Amazon com.

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