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sam_rm94's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bookishghoul_96's review against another edition
2.0
I made a mistake in getting this as an audio. This book would be enjoyed better paperback. The introduction had me thinking FC had a multiple personality, but kept listening because it gives off echoes tv series vibes. Sounded like psychological thriller and you bet my Harry Potter selection I stopped what I was doing to rewind the audio. This is Adult lying games and Ringer all in one.
jmusk's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
nicovreeland's review against another edition
2.0
This book starts like so many domestic suspense novels: with a harried female MC who doesn’t trust her own perception of the world and is constantly bullied by the people closest to her. In this case, those people are her twin sister and her husband, who’ve been having an affair and mocking her behind her back.
This book takes a nice turn there, as the MC, instead of kowtowing to her dominant twin, kills her and steals her identity and her money.
It’s pretty entertaining up until the midpoint when it falls apart completely.
SPOILERS
.
.
.
SPOILERS
The halfway twist is that the MC’s husband, who’s already quite a monster, is revealed to be a sociopathic con man who never loved the MC and has been plotting to steal her money for their entire relationship.
This immediately downgrades this book from a fresh domestic suspense to a bad Gone Girl clone. Then, as the husband does more and more horrific things to the MC, it basically become abuse porn.
The reason that domestic suspense novels work, in my opinion, is that the characters are relatable because their bad actions are the product of a soured love. All the way back to the granddaddy of domestic suspense, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the characters start as lovers who hurt each other more and more deeply in a vicious cycle, until they’re ripping each others’ guts out.
If we don’t start with that love, then a whole host of believability issues crop up. Why did the MC marry the husband in the first place? He never displays a shred of even humanity, let alone charm, and she never feels less than loathing for him.
Why does he hate her so much if he never loved her? If the answer is mental illness, I’m just much less interested than if it’s an emotion, like jealousy.
This setup also brings an array of plot holes. If the husband’s only motivation is money, why is he not content with his lucrative job successfully picking stock market trends? One of the details of the husband’s job is that his company was aware of the COVID pandemic in December of 2019 and was making stock moves—all winners—by January 2020.
Imo, It doesn’t pass muster for him to completely dedicate his life to conning the MC when he probably would make the same money or better just working at his job.
The third act is one of the weirdest turns I’ve ever read. Not in a good way, in a confusing way. And the ending is so rushed, it feels tacked on.
This book takes a nice turn there, as the MC, instead of kowtowing to her dominant twin, kills her and steals her identity and her money.
It’s pretty entertaining up until the midpoint when it falls apart completely.
SPOILERS
.
.
.
SPOILERS
The halfway twist is that the MC’s husband, who’s already quite a monster, is revealed to be a sociopathic con man who never loved the MC and has been plotting to steal her money for their entire relationship.
This immediately downgrades this book from a fresh domestic suspense to a bad Gone Girl clone. Then, as the husband does more and more horrific things to the MC, it basically become abuse porn.
The reason that domestic suspense novels work, in my opinion, is that the characters are relatable because their bad actions are the product of a soured love. All the way back to the granddaddy of domestic suspense, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the characters start as lovers who hurt each other more and more deeply in a vicious cycle, until they’re ripping each others’ guts out.
If we don’t start with that love, then a whole host of believability issues crop up. Why did the MC marry the husband in the first place? He never displays a shred of even humanity, let alone charm, and she never feels less than loathing for him.
Why does he hate her so much if he never loved her? If the answer is mental illness, I’m just much less interested than if it’s an emotion, like jealousy.
This setup also brings an array of plot holes. If the husband’s only motivation is money, why is he not content with his lucrative job successfully picking stock market trends? One of the details of the husband’s job is that his company was aware of the COVID pandemic in December of 2019 and was making stock moves—all winners—by January 2020.
Imo, It doesn’t pass muster for him to completely dedicate his life to conning the MC when he probably would make the same money or better just working at his job.
The third act is one of the weirdest turns I’ve ever read. Not in a good way, in a confusing way. And the ending is so rushed, it feels tacked on.
elissas_reads's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Fast paced thriller that was a good slump buster. Probably won’t stick with me long term.
deblyn's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you NetGalley and Hatchet publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Well, the twin trope has been done, but the twists and turns in this, wow. You think you know what’s happening, BAM! Then you think, ahhh, I see….BAM! I couldn’t get enough! All the characters are narcissistic, lying, gas lighting, awful people, but that’s ok because the story is so good! Some things were a bit far fetched, but it was such a fun ride, I didn’t care! I look forward to more from this author!
Well, the twin trope has been done, but the twists and turns in this, wow. You think you know what’s happening, BAM! Then you think, ahhh, I see….BAM! I couldn’t get enough! All the characters are narcissistic, lying, gas lighting, awful people, but that’s ok because the story is so good! Some things were a bit far fetched, but it was such a fun ride, I didn’t care! I look forward to more from this author!
awfulex's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
a lot of unnecessary rambling, I had to power through just for the ending to be anti-climactic
it's like the author had a word count to hit so she was talking about random things
it had potential in the first part but after that it's just not fun to read
it's like the author had a word count to hit so she was talking about random things
it had potential in the first part but after that it's just not fun to read
vbanfo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bookishblondegirl's review against another edition
4.5
Books like these keep my love of the twin trope alive
lolalu's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25