The basic premise of this novel is that three teenagers - Wilder, Nat and Harper - meet at a seaside cottage destination during summer break and start a tense, awkward friendship. While beautiful on the surface, Whistler Bay has a sinister history of women going missing, often for some plausible cause such as swimming in the ocean. Moreover there is a rumour of a "dagger man" who creeps into the bedrooms of young children and takes photos of them sleeping, while holding a knife close to them. The novel follows the teens' relationships with each other and exposes the various ways they use and betray each other. As the novel progresses, Wilder becomes increasingly unhinged, while reality and fantasy blend together.

This was a strange and opaque book which was a struggle for me to finish. In a way, it is a book about writing a book - a novel embedded within a novel within a novel. I felt I was following reasonably well until the midway point in the book. After this I could no longer discern what was hallucination, dreams or actually happening. Neither could I be sure which characters really existed, with the jumping around in perspective from Nat/Sky/Skye/Pearl to Harper to Wilder/Wiley. I enjoy a good plot twist, but this was too much for me, with one reveal after another that had me going in circles. By the end I will admit to feeling quite exasperated. I know that there are many Catriona Ward die-hard fans who loved it, but this was definitely not for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the copy to read.