The Ice Twins

by S. K. Tremayne

One of Sarah’s daughters died. But can she be sure which one? *THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING NOVEL*

A terrifying psychological thriller perfect for fans of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN.

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?

• ISBN10: 0007563035
• ISBN13: 9780007563036
• Publish Date: 29 January 2015
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 September 2015
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[brokentune]

I made it to page 64 and I had issues:

1. Chick-lit style of writing from the mother's point of view. (I don't like her.)
2. The voice of the child is creepy. Not because it is scaring me, but because it is precocious and makes me cringe a lot.
3. Does this couple who have lost a child ever actually talk to each other?

Anyway by page 64, I was bored with the writing and skipped to the end of the book, which confirmed my decision to DNF this, or rather skip most of the book.

Tropey thrillers bore me to tears, and I'm just not having that this year.

[ibeforem]

Honestly, I didn’t finish this book. It rides the line between psychological thriller and ghost story, but even that and the “creepy little kid” trope weren’t enough to keep me going.

I just couldn’t relate to or understand ANYTHING the mother did. Or most of what the father did. Starting with moving their family to a house they haven’t even set eyes on (her) or set eyes on in a couple of decades (him). A house that is barely holding itself together. A house with a phone line you can’t hear, no cell service, and questionable electrical service. I guess it had working plumbing? Oh, and it’s on a desolate island you can only access via boat or mudflats that are maaaaaaaybe passable by foot at low tide (if you move fast enough). AND THEY DON’T OWN A BOAT.

I get the whole thing about the creepy location adding to the creepy story, but the rest of the story just doesn’t hold together to me. There are some things you can excuse under the guise of “grief may make one act unreasonably”, but as a whole it all added up to one big nope. In fact, the first big “twist” was the point where I put the book down and didn’t pick it back up again.

This was a book club read so I was able to find out what the resolution to the story was, but once I did, I didn’t feel like I had missed anything.

[Amber]

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.

[Leah]

I was so excited to read this, and the premise sounded so intriguing but it was actually really confusing. Which twin actually died? I literally have no idea. The plot was never quite clear on that answer, even by the very end of the novel.

It started well, but then it turned into something that I can't even articulate. It just didn't work for me and the only reason I kept reading was because I was curious exactly what happened the night Lydia died and which twin had actually died.

Confusing and disappointing.