First Born by Will Dean

This book opens with a woman describing the bedroom, how her paranoia influences every aspect of her life. Fascinating introduction.

She is one of two superficially identical twins, one of whom is murdered in New York. Despite her fear of the risks involved in flying, she goes to be with her parents at this dreadful time. Throughout she explains how different she is from her twin, how her dead twin was more confident, calm and how she was the one who gained all of the best nutrients and so on, whist in the womb.

The first part of the plot shows how he deals with her loss and her attempts to find out who killed her sister. She finds out who her friends were and what kind of life she lived. At this point the book is a whodunnit featuring an amateur sleuth. Nothing original here.

However, the second part is more complex, with lots unexpected aspects to both the girls' lives coming to light. Often a little overly contrived and sometimes confusing, this is a fast-paced story written in short chapters in the first person. It is an intense book about identity, revenge and what it means to be a part of someone else. Recommended.

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Published by  on 14 April 2022.
​Advanced review copy supplied by the publisher.