Author: Alex Day- Published: August 2017 by Killer Reads
- Category: Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Books, Book Review, Reading.
Edie and her identical twin Laura have always been best friends. So when Laura surprises Edie at the Mediterranean holiday resort where she’s working, Edie can’t wait for the partying to start! But then, Laura vanishes without a trace…
At the same time, in a country on the other side of the sea, Fatima and her twin daughters set out on a harrowing journey that only the strongest – and luckiest – survive.
Edie Marsh has a job at a small Mediterranean holiday resort on the shores of the Adriatic sea, cleaning the cabanas and working the bar. Her identical twin, Laura, visits unexpectedly and the two girls have a heavy night on the town. The following morning Edie has the hangover from hell and there’s no sign of Laura. She’s vanished without a trace. Edie searches desperately for her twin, putting up posters, going to the police but all to no avail. The police aren’t interested because Laura is an adult and Edie’s sometime lover just tries to placate her.
They’d gone out on the town that evening, for sure. But right at this moment, Edie couldn’t remember how or when they’d got home or anything much of what had gone on at all, during their night out or afterwards.
Fatima’s situation was worlds away. One of the countless victims of war, left widowed and homeless, she and her young twin girls left their flattened home, the devastated town and ran. They found temporary refuge with relatives in a nearby town that had so far escaped the bombing. Then a further blow as Fatima discovered her husband had left them penniless and she was reduced to selling her jewellery. Their only hope was to flee to the border with rest of the refugees and wait to be smuggled across. After several unsuccessful attempts Fatima’s realised her last resort was her brother, Ali. But she had to find him first.
Some structures were still standing, upright but crooked teeth that only served to emphasise the gaps on either side. But most were wrecked and half collapsed. The contents of shops and houses were strewn across the road; broken toys, smashed plates, ruined furniture.
The story follows the fates of the two completely different women from wildly contrasting walks of life. Chapters alternate between Edie and Fatima and it was impossible to see how their lives could be connected.
Fatima’s story is compelling and horrifying in equal measure, bringing home the terrible toll of war on the innocent. We experience it through Fatima’s thoughts and actions, the fear and dread, the horrors, the alternating feelings of hope and hopelessness. I really felt for her and was more drawn to this part of the story.
In contrast, I didn’t particularly like Edie to begin with. She seemed quite immature and self centred, allowing herself to be treated in an unacceptable way by someone who obviously doesn’t care about her, and keeps going back for more. She’s devastated at her sister’s disappearance and as her story progresses, and especially because of the completely unexpected and clever twist, I sympathised much more. Edie is quite a fragile and unpredictable character, calling into question her reliability. The Missing Twin was a very enjoyable read and the suspense built well towards the excellent finish.
I chose to read and review The Missing Twin based on a copy of the book supplied by the author/publisher and NetGalley.
Book links ~ Amazon UK | Amazon US
