The Other Twin by L V Hay ~ Book Review ~ Debut crime novel ~ #OrendaBooks

TITLE - The Other Twin 

AUTHOR - Lucy V Hay

PUBLISHER - Orenda Books

ISBN: 978-1-910633-78-6

EISBN: 978-1-910633-79-3
SYNOPSIS

When India falls to her death from a bridge over a railway, her sister Poppy returns home to Brighton for the first time in years. Unconvinced by official explanations, Poppy begins her own investigation into India’s death. But the deeper she digs, the closer she comes to uncovering deeply buried secrets. Could Matthew Temple, the boyfriend she abandoned, be involved? And what of his powerful and wealthy parents, and his twin sister, Ana?

Enter the mysterious and ethereal Jenny: the girl Poppy discovers after hacking into India’s laptop. What exactly is she hiding, and what did India find out about her?

Taking the reader on a breathless ride through the winding lanes of Brighton, into its vibrant party scene and inside the homes of its well-heeled families, The Other Twin is a startling and up-to-the-minute thriller about the social-media world, where resentments and accusations are played out online, where identities are made and remade, and where there is no such thing as the truth…

'Superb, up-to-the-minute thriller and an amazing crime debut. Prepare to be seriously disturbed'
Paul Finch

MY REVIEW 

Sisters India and Poppy are not close anymore, but when Poppy hears that her Sister has committed suicide, she doesn't quite believe it, so heads home to Brighton to find out for herself what has gone on. She meets up again with her Ex- Boyfriend Matthew and his Sister Ana. What are they hiding? There are many people who seem to have secrets.

I didn't really warm to Poppy much and I think this is why I found the story slow. I didn't feel she had much depth to her and wanted her to have a bit more of a personality. I would have liked to have learnt a bit more about India and her life, but instead felt it centred more around Poppy and her relationship with Matthew, that is until the last part of the book.

I did enjoy the way the Author brought the use of Social Media into the story and also how she delicately handled the theme of LGBT and bullying. I found that part hard but gripping to read. 

The book picked up for me about 2/3rds of the way through, when Poppy started piecing things together and then the story held my interest. It was intriguing to see how it was splitting both Poppy and India's family and Matthew's family apart. Secrets destroying so many relationships. 

I am still confused though as to what actually happened to India, as it seems so many other readers "got it", but it didn't sink in with me. 

Brighton was a great setting for the theme of the book, and having never been there and only seen pictures of it, the Author managed to bring the town alive for me.

Not my favourite book of the year but I certainly wouldn't discount it from your list of books to read. 

Thank you to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for allowing me to read the book in exchange for my honest opinion.   

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lucy V. Hay is a novelist, script editor and blogger who helps writers via her

Bang2write consultancy. 

She is the associate producer of Brit Thrillers Deviation (2012) and Assassin (2015), both starring Danny Dyer. Lucy is also head reader for the London Screenwriters’ Festival and has written two non-fiction books, Writing & Selling Thriller Screenplays, plus its follow-up Drama Screenplays. 

She lives in Devon with her husband, three children, six cats and five African Land Snails.

Praise for The Other Twin

‘If your sister died under suspicious circumstances, how far would you go to uncover the
truth? The Other Twin crackles with tension as Poppy's search for answers leads only to
more questions, her grief palpable and real as she learns her sister India's deepest
secrets. Hays' impressive debut is a complex, twisty, disorienting tale that truly keeps
readers guessing until the very end’
Karen Dionne

‘A cracker of a debut! I couldn’t put it down’
Paula Daly

‘The writing shines from every page of this twisted tale … debuts don’t come sharper
than this’ Ruth Dugdall

‘This chilling claustrophobic tale set in Brighton introduces an original, fresh new voice in
crime fiction’ Cal Moriarty

‘Wonderfully layered and gripping, I had to take breaks just to catch my breath’
Jendella Benson

"A fresh and raw thrill-ride through Brighton´s underbelly. What an enjoyable read!"
Lilja Sigurðardóttir

Slick and compulsive’ Random Things through My Letterbox

‘A propulsive, inventive and purely addictive psychological thriller for the social media
age’ Crime by the Book

‘Delightfully disorientating’ Chapter in My Life

‘This will stay with me forever’ Emma the Little Bookworm

‘A whirlwind of secrets and emotional turmoil’ Cheryl M-M

‘Rolls along at a heart-pounding pace!’ Ronnie Turner

‘A contemporary thriller with a heart of darkness … terrific’ Live & Deadly

‘Blinding, surprising and simply magnificent’ Chocolate ‘n’ Waffles

Block 46 by @JohanaGustawsson - French Noir Thriller - @OrendaBooks #Block46

I am pleased to be able to be a part of this blog tour for the amazing book Block 46 by Johana Gustawsson. 

TITLE - Block 46


AUTHOR - Johana Gustawsson

TRANSLATOR - Maxim Jakubowski

PUBLISHER - Orenda Books

PUBLICATION DATE - 15th May 2017

SYNOPSIS

Evil Remembers
Falkenberg, Sweden. The mutilated body of talented young jewellery designer, Linnea Blix, is found in a snow-swept marina. Hampstead Heath, London. The body of a young boy is discovered with similar wounds to Linnea's. Buchenwald Concentration Camp, 1944. In the midst of the hell of the Holocaust, Erich Hebner will do anything to see himself as a human again. Are the two murders the work of a serial killer, and how are they connected to shocking events at Buchenwald?

Emily Roy, a profiler on loan to Scotland Yard from the Canadian Royal Mounted Police, joins up with Linnea's friend, French true-crime writer Alexis Castells, to investigate the puzzling case. They travel between Sweden and London, and then deep into the past, as a startling and terrifying connection comes to light.

Plumbing the darkness and the horrific evidence of the nature of evil, Block 46 is a multi-layered, sweeping and evocative thriller that heralds a stunning new voice in French Noir. 

WINNER: Nouvelle Plume D’Argent 2016
For fans of The Missing, Dominique Manotti, Camilla Lackberg, Stieg Larsson

Award winning debut French Noir Thriller, first in the Roy & Castells series. A true-crime writer and a profiler join forces in the hunt for a serial Killer.

** Warning. this novel contains some graphic scenes & descriptions **

Wow! Talk about a book with a hard hitting Impact.! This book is a time slip crime novel. Set in two time periods; three countries including one concentration camp. One time period was set in WWII in Buchenwald Concentration camp in Germany in 1944, and one set in London and Sweden in 2013/2014. 

It starts in 2013, with someone buried in a hole. Is it an adult? Is it a child? Are they even dead? You can't initially tell.
I like the strong female characters in this book. There's Alexis a 30 something true crime author; Emily a profiler for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Linnea, a Jewellery designer for Cartier and Alba who is also involved with Cartier.

There was nothing in this book that was "lost in translation". The Swedish Police Procedures and criminal terms were very easy to understand. The Characters of the Swedish Police were very well constructed. One of them Kristian Olofsson, came across as very patronising. He didn't seem to like Women much, and to me was quite a vile character; a male chauvinist.

The Chapters set in Buchenwald Concentration camp were well written and quite graphic. They were obviously superbly researched. I actually find events relating to these internment camps upsetting so some parts were hard for me to read. It is extremely hard to comprehend that one man can commit such atrocities against another fellow man. Yes the book is very graphic and violent in places, but this was not needless and absolutely vital to the story. Obviously the Buchenwald scenes were indicative of what actually happened. 

The story centres around Erich Ebner, a 20 something German Political Prisoner, who'd initially been put to work in the "ovens"........... Back in the 21st century there are some children going missing. Again some scenes are graphic however it does lend itself to the story-line. 

Initially it's hard to see how murders in modern day London & Sweden, could possibly link back to a German Concentration Camp, after all the main protagonist would be too old & past it surely to be involved in murders in 2013 wouldn't they? The links are done seamlessly due to how well the book is written.

Watch out for the big twist! Although I initially found this book a bit slow in parts whilst the plot "bedded in",  it was a very good read and I really enjoyed it. The time slips linked in really well and there are some great characters in this book. I look forward to reading more in the Roy & Castells series. This is one of my favourite reads of the year so far. 

Thank you to Anne Cater at "Random Things through my letterbox" and Orenda Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in 1978 in Marseille and with a degree in political science, Johana Gustawwson has worked as a journalist for the French press and television. She married a Swede and now lives in London. She was the co-author of a bestseller, On Se Retrouvera, published by Fayard Noir in France, whose television adaptation drew over 7 million viewers in June 2015. She is working on the next book in the Roy & Castells series.