Rob just wants a normal life. It was almost hers for the taking: husband, two kids, that house in the suburbs. Now Rob is worried about Callie, her oldest daughter. Rob sees much darkness in Callie, with her collection of tiny bones, always whispering to friends no one else can see. This darkness reminds Rob of her own family she left behind so long ago.
Rob takes Callie to a place deep in the Mojave Desert, her childhood home: Sundial. Once there, she must make a terrible decision.
Callie is also worried. She’s worried about her mother, how strangely she looks at her, always talking about things from her past.
Callie is scared that she might not make it out of Sundial alive.
Why we’re excited by this book:
After taking the horror fiction world by storm with her previous novel, Catriona Ward is ready to rock the foundation again. Ward is the author of The Girl from Rawblood, Little Eve, and The Last House on Needless Street, and her short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and publications. With her latest, Ward sets her sights on the desert with the story of a mother and daughter confronting the past, and each other, with deadly consequences. Christopher Golden (Ararat, Road of Bones) says: “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.”, and Alma Katsu (The Hunger, The Fervor) says: “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.” Paul Tremblay (Survivor Song, A Head Full of Ghosts) adds: “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.”
Releasing 1 March 2022 from Tor Nightfire, Sundial by Catriona Ward is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA