The Ice Twins by S. K. TremayneGenre: Thriller
Release Date: January 29, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Publisher
Add it: Goodreads
Rating:
A year after one of their identical twin daughters, Lydia, dies in an accident, Angus and Sarah Moorcraft move to the tiny Scottish island Angus inherited from his grandmother, hoping to put together the pieces of their shattered lives.
But when their surviving daughter, Kirstie, claims they have mistaken her identity—that she, in fact, is Lydia—their world comes crashing down once again.
As winter encroaches, Angus is forced to travel away from the island for work, Sarah is feeling isolated, and Kirstie (or is it Lydia?) is growing more disturbed. When a violent storm leaves Sarah and her daughter stranded, Sarah finds herself tortured by the past—what really happened on that fateful day one of her daughters died?
I read The Ice Twins during October while I was on a great Halloween reads binge, and let me tell you, it was PERFECT for what I wanted. If you’re looking for a creepy read that will have you covering up the mirrors at night, then The Ice Twins is the one for you.
So I find children in movies and shows to be creepy in general, but the twins in this book are SO BAD. SOOOOO BAD. Think The Shining bad. One twin, Lydia, died before the book began, and then Kirstie starts claiming to be Lydia and it’s all very WAIT ARE THERE TWO OF THEM?!
The creepy factor is amped up several notches when the family moves to a remote island just off the coast of Scotland. The Scottish countryside is creepy anyway, but add twins and death and broken houses into that and you have a recipe for a perfect Halloween read.
I had a couple of theories throughout the book, but I have to say that the twist was totally cliché. That’s the only slightly disappointing thing about this book. Because that kind of twist happens a lot, which meant I had figured out where the story was going early on. That didn’t detract from how bloody creepy I found this book though. My bed lies parallel to a mirror, and after I finished reading I had to turn my back to it because it was creeping me out and I was convinced a blonde little girl was going to come out and ask me to play with her. NOPE.
Overall, The Ice Twins is perfect for you if you want a chilling book that will keep you up at night. There’s some serious scare factor in there, and Tremayne pulls that aspect off flawlessly. It’s a shame the twist was so obvious, or I would have rated this book a little higher.
It really sucks that the twist was a cliche, but damn, I’m really fascinated by the whole ‘one twin pretends to be the other’ thing. Sounds incredibly creepy, but I’m glad you enjoyed it!