Title: FIRST BORN
Author: Will Dean
Publisher: Atria / Emily Bestler Books
Read: February 2022
Expected publication: 5 July 2022
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!
Book Description:
Sisters. Soulmates. Strangers.
Molly Raven lives a quiet, structured life in London, finding comfort in
security and routine. Her identical twin Katie, living in New York, is the
exact opposite: outgoing, spontaneous, and adventurous.
But when Molly hears that Katie has died, possibly murdered, she is thrown into
unfamiliar territory. As terrifying as it is, she knows she must travel across
the ocean and find out what happened. But as she tracks her twin’s final
movements, cracks begin to emerge, and she slowly realizes her sister was not
who she thought she was and there’s a dangerous web of deceit surrounding the
two of them.
My musings:
Have you become jaded with predictable thrillers?
Do you feel like you can spot a plot twist almost from page one? Does it seem
ages since a thriller managed to blindside you?
If you answered yes to any of these
questions, then I have good news for you. Put your hands together for
*drumroll* - Will Dean! *raucous applause and foot stomping from the audience*
I admit that I have been in a bit of
a thriller reading slump lately and even though Will Dean has become one of my
favourite authors, I initially had my doubts as to whether this book could rekindle
my passion for the genre. I even thought at one point - (you are allowed to
throw rotten tomatoes at me at this point) – that Dean had succumbed to the
recent (tiresome) trend of starring a quirky, neurodiverse character in his
latest book. *Booooo! From the sidelines* To be fair, once you start reading
FIRSTBORN, you will agree that Molly Raven has a few serious neuroses and weird
quirks. However, yes, I agree that I should have had more faith in Dean to pull
this one off.
I’m not sure at which point in the book I realised that I had been completely blindsided, but it gets even better than this, because this wasn’t the only time the story gobsmacked me. If I had been reading outside, I would surely have swallowed a few flies as I was standing in open-mouthed surprise at the turn this story had taken. And you know that giving any spoilers for a book like this is an almost punishable-by-death offence, so I am not going to say any more. Read the synopsis if you must, but otherwise just go in blindly and trust this talented author to show you the way into crazyland.
Summary:
To cut a long review short, I think FIRSTBORN is
the cleverest, craziest, twistiest and most twisted identical twin mystery I
have ever read. If you find the beginning a bit slow and almost humdrum, please
do NOT be fooled! Just settle into the wonderfully atmospheric New York setting
and let Molly take you on a journey. Extra points for Molly’s weird and
wonderful facts about NYC, like the water tanks on the city’s rooftops – I had
no idea, but feel like I’ve learned a few things. And like Molly burning the
midnight oil with her research into her twin’s death, I spent a sleepless night
reading to find out all the answers. Was it worth it? It definitely was. So if
you are looking for a thriller that actually thrills and leaves you scrambling
to collect all your brain cells off the floor as the final reveal smacks you in
the face, then look no further. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Thank
you to Atria / Emily Bestler Books for the free electronic copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
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