The Sisters

by Claire Douglas

I’ve been stuck in my usual genre for a while now, so decided to try something different and this book was one of my telephone box library finds! I was attracted by the cover picture of two pairs of shoes – a smart heeled pair and a scruffier flat pair. This reminded me of my sister and I - we are very different in dress, mannerisms and lifestyles. I was also intrigued by the tag line ‘One lied. One died,' and the fact that it is a book about twins. As I have twins of my own, I am drawn to storylines that include twins and the deep connections between them.

Abi is haunted by her twin sister’s death. A tragic car accident involving Abi, her twin sister Lucy and two male friends resulted in Lucy dying and Abi suffering from survivor’s guilt. She is lost.  She 'sees' her sister everywhere she goes but is constantly hit by the realisation that she will never truly see her sister again. After a breakdown, Abi moves to Bath to be closer to her parents but is determined to prove to her family and friends, that she is able to move on in life and cope with being on her own.

On one particularly wet night, Abi sees someone that reminds her of her lost sister. Bea is bright, beautiful and bubbly.  She invites Abi round to her house and they get on brilliantly, so much so that Bea invites Abi to move in, rent free, to the beautiful house she lives in, alongside other arty type people and her twin brother Ben. For a while, everything seems to be working out perfectly. The twins, Bea and Ben, are happy for Abi to be a part of their world and Abi is more than happy to join them. Bea appears to be everything that Abi wants to be and their friendship becomes very close very quickly, until … Ben and Abi are drawn to each other and become closer. They are undeniably attracted to each other and although Bea has a rule about relationships that can or cannot take place in the house, Ben and Abi seem unable to keep to it.

As Ben and Abi become a couple, strange things begin to happen. Precious letters from Lucy disappear, mysterious threats are pushed under Abi's door and a piece of jewellery belonging to Bea is apparently stolen.  But who is behind these actions?  Is Bea trying to break up the relationship between her friend and her twin? Is Abi still suffering from her breakdown and desperately seeking attention?   The reader is left guessing until the very end of the book with one unnatural coincidence after another taking place.

In my mind I was constantly switching between the two – it had to be Bea acting through jealousy – then Abi having another breakdown and losing touch with reality.  I honestly didn’t guess what was really happening until a huge reveal at the end which had me on the edge of my seat and staying up late to complete the book as I didn’t want to stop reading.  It is a twisted story with twisted characters – beautiful, privileged people with no real understanding of everyday reality. Free spirited Bea and her rather mysterious brother are hiding secrets, but what are they?

The story jumps between the main characters and the tension builds as the intrigue deepens and the lies continue. Is it possible to determine who is telling the truth? Is it possible to guess what will happen at the end?  Perhaps, but I didn’t! I was shocked when the revelation occurred and the explanation was given and even more so by the final twist in the tale – but no spoilers.  Suffice to say that it was the kind of book that although it tied up some loose ends, I was still left asking questions, the main one being  what would happen next?

Described as a gripping psychological suspense thriller and for fans of ‘The Girl on the Train,’ if you are a fan of thrillers that keep you guessing and has continuous twists and turns and unexplained co incidences in the plot,  then this might just be for you.