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A review by christajls
The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne
3.0
This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic
Angus and Sarah have two stunningly beautiful girls – Lydia and Kristie. They’re identical twins, from their pale blonde hair, to their crystal blue eyes. Sometimes even their own parents can’t tell them apart. But their seemingly ideal family is shattered to pieces one day when Lydia falls from a balcony and dies. Sarah is distraught and guilt ridden, Angus starts drinking too much and Kristie…well let’s just say Kristie hasn’t been quite the same since.
So when Angus loses his job, both parents decide the best thing would be a change of scenery. To get away from the city, and the memories, and move to the small Scottish island Angus’s grandmother had left him in her will. As an extra bonus the house on the island needs a lot of work, so they’ll have a project to lose themselves in while they try to learn to live with their grief.
A wrench is thrown into their plans however, when not long before they move Kristie makes a startling confession to Sarah – she’s actually Lydia and it was Kristie who had died that day. Sarah doesn’t know what to think. Is her daughter confused? Driven mad by grief? Or have they made a horrible mistake? This confession is only the first of many twists in the novel, each one making you question who is telling the truth and the overall sanity of the parties involved.
I won’t go too much into the plot of The Ice Twins because I don’t want to risk giving anything away. I will say however, that Sarah and Angus are difficult people to love. They’re frustrating, and moody, and their motivations were not always sound. In fact, I raised an eyebrow more than once at their decisions and the reasons they had for making them. Sarah in particular was frustrating because she read like almost every other female character I have ever come across in the thriller genre – she was needy, hysterical, unhinged…but at the same time sexual and dangerous. An idea of a woman whose only purpose is to ruin the life of the man stupid enough to fall in love with her. (Not that Angus is any better.)
This novel is really more about the twists than the characters and as a result, at a certain point, they stop feeling like real people. If you’re able to suspend your disbelief that people would ever act like this, you’ll probably find it a more enjoyable read.
One thing I really enjoyed about The Ice Twins was the setting. A damp, windy, island off the coast of Scotland, where storms could last for days, people were isolated and Celtic mythology ran deep through the local culture? What better place is there to set a thriller? It’s the kind of setting that helps blur the line between what is actually happening and what isn’t. The kind of place that makes you wonder if ghosts are real or if your mind is just playing tricks on you. It lent a very spooky atmosphere to the book and made and otherwise generic thriller more enticing.
If you read a lot of thrillers you’re probably not going to find anything groundbreaking in The Ice Twins. But it is a page turner. It keep you on your toes are you try to untangle all of the lies and deception and find out just what happened that day and which twin it really is sleeping in the other room.
Angus and Sarah have two stunningly beautiful girls – Lydia and Kristie. They’re identical twins, from their pale blonde hair, to their crystal blue eyes. Sometimes even their own parents can’t tell them apart. But their seemingly ideal family is shattered to pieces one day when Lydia falls from a balcony and dies. Sarah is distraught and guilt ridden, Angus starts drinking too much and Kristie…well let’s just say Kristie hasn’t been quite the same since.
So when Angus loses his job, both parents decide the best thing would be a change of scenery. To get away from the city, and the memories, and move to the small Scottish island Angus’s grandmother had left him in her will. As an extra bonus the house on the island needs a lot of work, so they’ll have a project to lose themselves in while they try to learn to live with their grief.
A wrench is thrown into their plans however, when not long before they move Kristie makes a startling confession to Sarah – she’s actually Lydia and it was Kristie who had died that day. Sarah doesn’t know what to think. Is her daughter confused? Driven mad by grief? Or have they made a horrible mistake? This confession is only the first of many twists in the novel, each one making you question who is telling the truth and the overall sanity of the parties involved.
I won’t go too much into the plot of The Ice Twins because I don’t want to risk giving anything away. I will say however, that Sarah and Angus are difficult people to love. They’re frustrating, and moody, and their motivations were not always sound. In fact, I raised an eyebrow more than once at their decisions and the reasons they had for making them. Sarah in particular was frustrating because she read like almost every other female character I have ever come across in the thriller genre – she was needy, hysterical, unhinged…but at the same time sexual and dangerous. An idea of a woman whose only purpose is to ruin the life of the man stupid enough to fall in love with her. (Not that Angus is any better.)
This novel is really more about the twists than the characters and as a result, at a certain point, they stop feeling like real people. If you’re able to suspend your disbelief that people would ever act like this, you’ll probably find it a more enjoyable read.
One thing I really enjoyed about The Ice Twins was the setting. A damp, windy, island off the coast of Scotland, where storms could last for days, people were isolated and Celtic mythology ran deep through the local culture? What better place is there to set a thriller? It’s the kind of setting that helps blur the line between what is actually happening and what isn’t. The kind of place that makes you wonder if ghosts are real or if your mind is just playing tricks on you. It lent a very spooky atmosphere to the book and made and otherwise generic thriller more enticing.
If you read a lot of thrillers you’re probably not going to find anything groundbreaking in The Ice Twins. But it is a page turner. It keep you on your toes are you try to untangle all of the lies and deception and find out just what happened that day and which twin it really is sleeping in the other room.