Through the Shattered Looking Glass

by M.L. Crane

CONTAINS GRAPHIC ADULT CONTENT, EXTREME GORE, VIOLENCE, ABUSE, AND DARK SUBJECT MATTER.

Alice Dodgson was happier than she had ever been in her life. She and her girlfriend Rose had just moved into a little beach house by the ocean, and she had just started an internship at the Lutwidge Mental Health Institute. She was finally putting her past behind her and looking forward to her future. That is until the nightmares began.
Working alongside Dr. Lewis C. Pelletier, a cigar-loving Psychiatrist, Alice discovered that there was more to him, and the Institute, than she realized. There were secrets around every corner, unusual patients with a strange connection to her past, and a shadowy figure calling out her name.
Will Alice learn the truth before she's too late?
A chilling re-telling of the children's classic, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. A modern-day adult horror filled with twists and turns, and psychological thrills.

Genres: Horror, Retellings, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, LGBT

248 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 24, 2017

About the author

M. L. Crane was born in 1980. When she is not reading or writing, you can find her binge watching Doctor Who or any version of Alice in Wonderland that she can get her hands on. She lives in Maine with her husband and their daughter.

Reviews

[Melissa Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was sent to me by the author for an honest review. Thank you M.L. Crane! I throughly enjoyed it.

Whoa what a re-telling. I have read a good chunk of Alice in Wonderland re-tellings and this is by far the most ADULT and the most twisted. 4 stars for going there. This book doesn't tip toe around the brutality that Alice had to deal with growing up and for that I applaud M.L. Crane. What sucks is people in real life have to face this kind of evil. Monsters may not be real, but people are and they can be the worst "monsters" of all.

In this re-telling our Alice has had a pretty crappy childhood. Both her parents were awful. She had to deal with the hard times as best as she could. When we meet Alice she is hanging out at the beach with her girlfriend Rose. Now, although I like that our main character has a girlfriend. I found it out of place. My first reaction at the beach was a little cringy. It just seemed so forced. The relationship is touched on a few more times through out the book and becomes more genuine, but that first chapter was off.

Alice works at a Mental Hospital that is run by a psychiatrist by the name of Lewis C. Pelletier. The hospital is found on Carroll Drive. There Alice is an intern and has four patients that she must see. Whitney Roberts, Maddock Hatcher, Chelsea Catlin and Marsha Harris. We as the readers, get to follow Alice as she questions each patient and learns there story.

I found this debut novel to be extremely entertaining and also very disturbing. There is one scene where I just kept saying "Ew! EW! EWWW!" This book is not for the faint of heart. If you do not like blood this might not be the book for you. Also trigger warning for rape. I am so happy I was able to read this book and can not wait for its sequel. I must know more about our shadowy figure!

[Kassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

*i received this book in exchange for an honest review*

This was a 3.5 star read for me!

There are INTENSE trigger warnings for:
Child abuse
Sexual abuse
Rape
Animal abuse
Suicidal tendencies
Detailed torture/murder scenes
Mental health/ institutionalizations

I enjoyed all the amazing Alice in wonderland themes and the retelling aspect of this book a lot!

The things I've listed as trigger warnings were intense and while some were foreshadowed others were shocking - which I wasn't a huge fan of.

This story did some great things for thrilling/mystery but at the same time I found the story predictable at times.


There will be a full spoiler free review on my channel as soon as possible!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot was super compelling and interesting, but the writing could use some more editing. The language was a bit repetitive. It was fun to see all of the Alice in Wonderland characters incorporated in the story. I look forward to reading the sequel when it comes out.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those that are fans of Alice In Wonderland or of the horror genre, you'd love this. This is a page turner. While I feel the writing needs some work, the story itself has potential and I look forward to the next book.

[✨Skye✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Serious trigger warnings for pretty much everything! Particularly sexual abuse, animal abuse and physical abuse.

This was such an amazing surprise. This was everything I wanted Christina Henry's Alice to be that I found to be lacking. It follows Alice, who lives with her girlfriend Rose and has just started an internship at a mental institute. We follow her as she meets some of the patients, who mirror Alice in Wonderland characters.
First off, this book is not at all what I expected it to be. Throw away all of your expectations, because you don't know how this book will end, or how any of the questions will be answered. This was twisted and disturbing and had some very explicit content about the horrors Alice has been through in her lifetime. It made me feel physically sick, which isn't easy as I think we're all so desensitized to messed up things nowadays. I love how morally ambiguous the characters are. Is Alice a villain? Is Doctor Pelletier a villain, or was he just misguided? Nothing is straight forward in this. There was some good LGBT representation in Alice and her girlfriend Rose, which I especially liked because it was casual representation. While books purely focussing on LGBT characters are SO important, I also think books like this where a gay relationship is just entirely normalised are also really helping. I can't comment too much on the mental health representation as I am by no means an expert, but I thought it was good, and while the actions of the character weren't the usual, the circumstances by which the character acquired their disorder were relative to real life. I finished this book wanting to know so much more, and wanting to know about how Alice will resolve her situation, especially considering a certain super spoilery revelation right at the very end that could turn everything on it's head!

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, trigger warnings for basically everything! Sexual assault, physical assault, gore, blood, you name it, it has it.
I knew this was going to be a dark read, but I was in for a surprise. You can tell pretty early on that something strange is going on, and you aren't sure whether you can trust the narrator or not. These are my favorite!
I thought the play on Alice in Wonderland characters names in this was really clever and the different personalities they were used for. It was definitely a unique twist to the story.
I will say that I wasn't prepared for some of the more brutal scenes. There is one that I had to stop reading from. It was some "Spit on Your Grave" gore and I think I was caught a little off guard on that.
I also had a hard time really accepting the "reality" of some of the things. From working in a hospital, I kept finding things to discredit. This was eventually cleared up, but noticing them until that point really hindered my reading.
I'm not sure if this is good representation for the mental illnesses mentioned, as I have never suffered from some of them. I did really like the main character and I thought she was compelling enough. As for the things she does, not sure if that would upset anyone. I was rooting for her, honestly.
This was a fast read and for the most part I really flew through it and wanted to know how it ended.
The writing did seem a little repetitive at times, but it honestly didn't bother me. This book isn't for everyone, but I did enjoy it and I have been thinking about it a good bit since I finished it.
Eager to see where this story line goes from here.

* I did receive a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is almost the horror equivalent of a very trashy romance novel. The omniscient narration and blocky writing kept me from feeling connected to the characters, which 100% kept me from caring about all the abuse. The gore actually made me laugh, though not in a bad way. Those scenes and the ones in the meeting room were my favorites. But I honestly can’t even tell if the head-hopping was done on purpose or not, and I’m still torn between hating it and not caring. On one hand, it kept this from being suspenseful for me. I was never emotionally invested, and I was not on the edge of my seat a single time. But on the other hand, I did find it interesting and got through it pretty quickly. It reminded me of one of those really bad 90’s horror movies, where the acting is sooo awful and melodramatic, but you end up liking the movie anyway because at least it was entertaining. Like I can’t tell if this was supposed to be serious or not. But I don’t want my time or money back, so there’s that. The story did a good job of spiraling from normal-ish to full blown crazy, but I wouldn’t read this again.

[Melissa Jacobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating 4.75

HOLY WHAT? This was a lot to process and a mildly traumatic experience for me and I loved every word of it. First off I want to make you guys aware that this book has trigger warnings for the following: Child abuse, Sexual abuse, Rape, Animal abuse, Suicidal tendencies, Detailed torture/murder scenes, Mental health/ institutionalization.

This book was insanely intense and captivating and, while I consider myself to have a relatively high threshold for intense content, it made me uncomfortable at times. This book wasn't perfect but it was entirely engrossing and it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I couldn't put it down and when I did I kept thinking about it and I cannot wait for book two. This s absolutely a new favorite Alice in Wonderland retelling and I recommend it if you are severely brave and if you have a super high threshold for the content mentioned previously.

[Matthew Stefan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have some mixed feelings about this one. I really did enjoy this book, as I am a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland retellings, the darker the better. The plot was intriguing, and the imagery was vivid and captivating. The characters felt very lifelike, and the blood and gore was enough to make ME cringe, which isn't all that common. My only fault I can give this book is in the writing itself. Whether the fault was with unwieldy conversations that felt forced between characters, the odd misspelling of a word, the obsessive CAPITALIZING OF ALL THE LETTERS IN A SENTENCE WHEN ALICE GOT MAD, or just unusual punctuation choice (like adding an exclamation mark to the end of a question), it just withdrew me from the story a bit too much for me to rate this any higher than 3 stars. That being said, I find myself really looking forward to the sequal, as the story was genuinely captivating. Would I recommend this book to a friend? Most definitely.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I just physically binge read a book in 4 hours? Yes, I did. It's been such a long time since I've done so.

For the obvious: There are mega-trigger warnings for child abuse (physical and sexual), child neglect, rape, animal abuse/murder, suicidal thoughts, gruesome murder/torture, and problematic inpatient mental health treatment of a patient.

This book is not for the faint of heart. You have been warned.

This adult psychological horror retells Alice's Adventures in Wonderland where Alice has just started an internship with Psychiatrist Dr. Lewis C. Pelletier. She's now been invited to talk to some of the patients in the ward and finds that what they reveal to her are strangely things from her past. Things they shouldn't know. The patients have Alice out of sorts and nightly nightmares are not making things bearable for her new position. Will Alice discover the truth behind her nightmares and the patients' stories before it's too late?

As I've stated, this book kept me reading page after frightening page. I needed to read it to its conclusion and I enjoyed the journey.

However, this book was not without flaws. The writing was a bit repetitive, which got on my nerves a couple of times. I also have to mention that Alice has a really creepy attachment to Dr. Pelletier.

Also, I'm really tired of the "mental illness makes me a murderer" trope. Those with mental illness are not dangerous in most cases (about 9/10 or higher), and when they are dangerous they is usually a danger to themselves, NOT others. Those with mental illness are much more likely to be hurt by others, so let's stop perpetuating this trope, please.

Lastly, in reposnse to treating mental health issues: IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY!

OK. Now with that being said, I still enjoyed this book and I hope the sequel will graces us soon.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I fell in love with the characters and the end left me wanting more.

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice has nightmares of fires, strange people and other things. She becomes an intern at the Lutwidge Mental Health Institute. The doctor she's working under has her talk to certain specific individuals. There are also flashbacks to when she was younger and we learn she had an absolutely terrible mother and an even worse father. A woman named Rose is Alice's lover in the present.

Then things begin to talk extremely dark and violent turns. The people the doctor has her talk to warns Alice that 'she' is coming and they are terribly afraid. The ones she has been talking to seem to be captured by some kind of dark shadow. It also seems that Alice has murdered perhaps more than one person.

Then 'she' arrives and it seems that all hell with break lose in this first part of at least a two-novel series.

This is probably darkest Alice in Wonderland-related novel that I have yet read.It's very good but still some of the things that happen are upsetting to say the least.

[Strega · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lewis Carroll's "we're all mad here" was apropos of this warped tale based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This is book one of a trilogy by a new author, and I'm very much looking forward to books two and three.

Plus side - really good story. I found that I cared about the characters and wanted to know what happens next. Fair warning, some extremely nasty situations are covered (murder, abuse, rape) so if you're sensitive better be forewarned. Also, the story resolved itself very nicely, if not as I'd hoped, without ending on a cliffhanger.

On the negative side - the book REALLY needed a last run-through by a good editor. There were quite a few words that were just wrong, and several clunky sentences. Those tended to pull me out of the story.

[Jaleesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book needed more editing but overall it was insane. It was much darker than I was expecting but I still had fun with it. There is abuse and rape in this book so it definitely isn't for everyone.

[GreenEyedPrincess86 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

When I started reading this, I'll admit, it took a bit for me to get into it. But, once I did, I was whisked away into a marvelously twisted version of one of my favorite stories, Alice in Wonderland. If you loved the original story, you'll definitely enjoy this dark tale of Alice and her work at a mental health institute! Really looking forward to book 2!!

[Marshall Clowers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different look at an old tale

I think of this as Alice's adventures on Shutter Island. Definitely not a book to read to your kid, there's some disturbing imagery. I'd fate of PG-13 maybe.

I'd give it three and a half stars. It's a pretty good story but some chapters seemed a bit rushed.

[Emmaline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alot of people are bashing this book, but you know what. Dont like the abuse, dont read it. Plain and simple.

Anyways, I loved how detailed everything was. I felt like I was watching a movie. I loved the detail, the back story, everything. I connected with Alice and made me want to hug her. The mind is a truly wonderful thing. And I cannot wait for book two!

[A. Sunder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been on a major Alice in Wonderland kick lately but I was surprised when I came across this book. Most people choose to tackle the wonder of Wonderland rather than the madness and this book not only took on the topic of the madness that lurks in Alice in Wonderlands' shadow but it mastered it.

Truly, I want to know more and hope that there is a second book. I most definitely recommend this book to those wanting to take a trip down the rabbit hole.

[Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 out of 5 stars

[Amy Skaggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read

I loved this strange retelling of Alice in Wonderland. I couldn't put this book down and read it all in one sitting.

[Nems · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only thing I can say is that this book is so messed up and I’m totally here for it 🌹