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The Good Twin by Marti Green

Okay, so I thought this was suppose to be a thriller?! 😔

The first half starts out well enough (albeit a far less interesting ripoff of The Man in the Iron Mask). Twin girls are separated at birth, one, Charly, lives a life of luxury, the other, Mallory, does her best just to get by. Now adults, Mallory discovers she has a twin sister. Obsessed with meeting her, Mallory instead ends up meeting Charly's husband, Ben. Ben, unhappy with his marriage and motivated by money, talks Mallory into a plan to kill Charly and have Mallory take her place.

Tangent:
Foreshadowing isn't just a fine craft of subtle storytelling. It also provides continuity so that when things happen, they aren't just coming out of nowhere.

Other than just not being suspenseful, continuity is this books biggest problem. About halfway through you switch perspectives from Mallory to Charly, but on top of that it also rewinds back to the beginning, and you learn that the two parts are happening concurrently (cool concept, I like it 👍). But then things start happening, things involving Mallory, things that were never mentioned or alluded to in Mallory's segment. Things like Mallory and Charly meeting each other and spending time together. Huh? When the hell did this happen? Where the hell is this coming from? 🤔🤷‍♂️

The most (and probably only) suspenseful part of the book came towards the end after the climactic confrontation, when Mallory chose to assume Charly's identity 🤯. It was a true 180, especially after them teaming up and working together. It's the best thing that could've happened at that moment, and it's what the book needed in order to make things interesting (and to be that thriller that it’s claiming to be). It's the only part of the story that actually had me on edge, and I was genuinely wondering what was going to happen next. But that didn't last very long, because in the closing chapters the characters (and the author) pulled yet another 180, choosing to undo it's only truly compelling moment 🤬, and keep right on the straight and narrow to close on a happy ending.

Oh what could've been.🥺