Mad by Chloae J Esposito

Mad (Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know Trilogy, #1)

by Chloae J Esposito

In this compulsively readable debut, set between London and Sicily over one blood-drenched week in the dead of summer, an identical twin reveals the crazy lies and twists she'll go through to not only steal her sister's perfect life, but to keep on living it.

Alvie Knightly is a trainwreck: aimless, haphazard, and pretty much constantly drunk. Alvie's existence is made even more futile in contrast to that of her identical and perfect twin sister, Beth. Alvie lives on social media, eats kebabs for breakfast, and gets stopped at security when the sex toy in her carry-on starts buzzing. Beth is married to a hot, rich Italian, dotes on her beautiful baby boy, and has always been their mother's favorite. The twins' days of having anything in common besides their looks are long gone.

When Beth sends Alvie a first-class plane ticket to visit her in Italy, Alvie is reluctant to go. But when she gets fired from the job she hates and her flatmates kick her out on the streets, a luxury villa in glitzy Taormina suddenly sounds more appealing. Beth asks Alvie to swap places with her for just a few hours so she can go out unnoticed by her husband. Alvie jumps at the chance to take over her sister's life--if only temporarily. But when the night ends with Beth dead at the bottom of the pool, Alvie realizes that this is her chance to change her life. 

Alvie quickly discovers that living Beth's life is harder than she thought. What was her sister hiding from her husband? And why did Beth invite her to Italy at all? As Alvie digs deeper, she uncovers Mafia connections, secret lovers, attractive hitmen, and one extremely corrupt priest, all of whom are starting to catch on to her charade. Now Alvie has to rely on all the skills that made her unemployable--a turned-to-11 sex drive, a love of guns, lying to her mother--if she wants to keep her million-dollar prize. She is uncensored, unhinged, and unforgettable.

Reviewed by Leah on

3 of 5 stars

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Ever since I heard of Chloe Esposito’s Mad, Bad and Dangerous To Know trilogy, I was excited. Authors who previously wrote bonkbuster type thrillers have all gone in different directions (much to my sadness) – Tasmina Perry is writing historical fiction (yawn), Victoria Fox has gone glamorous/historical (not too badly), Louise Mensch is nowhere to be seen (which is a great shame) and Tilly Bagshawe has turned to cosy crime. To be honest, it’s Tasmina Perry I miss the most – her thrillers, especially her later ones, were so compelling, so outstanding. So to see Chloe Esposito bring the genre back with the unforgettable Alvina Knightly is a massive, massive cheer for me.

Alvina Knightly is not someone you necessarily want to be, the way you sometimes read a character and you think, “Oh, I’d love their life.” You don’t want Alvina’s life. She’s living in a grotty flat, with the slobs; she’s just been fired from her job and she is very much the neglected, unloved twin, compared to her sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the shining star, with a husband and a kid and tons of money, and she’s so desperate for Alvina to visit, she’s willing to pay her air fares (score!). But once Alvina gets there she knows something’s up – and when Elizabeth ends up dead, Alvina sees no other option but to slip into her sister’s perfect life, and have everything she feels like she was ought to have had herself…

Mad is completely bonkers. It’s high-octane, fast-paced, filled with unforgettable characters, lead by Alvina who loves Taylor Swift (good enough for me!) and wants to marry Channing Tatum. She’s got a filthy mouth, a filthy mind and that’s not even the half of it. Even I was surprised by everything that went on in this book, it is literally an action-movie-that’s-actually-a-book. Who doesn’t dream of being somebody else? I would love to be Taylor Swift. Or anyone, really, who’s rich and skinny and famous. Even just rich and skinny would do. So when Elizabeth dies, why wouldn’t Alvina jump into her life? Why wouldn’t she try to steal back everything she think Elizabeth stole in the first place? Mind you, she has no idea what she’s getting herself into, jumping into Elizabeth’s shoes. Even I was surprised, it’s so completely unrealistic, but so completely compulsive and readable and epic.

I cannot wait for Bad and Dangerous To Know. I can’t wait for more madcap adventures with Alvina, with a side of murder for good measure. This is exactly what women’s fiction needs to give it a breath of fresh air after years of same old, same old. This is breaking the mould, and Alvina is so refreshingly honest, the kind of honest I miss from Gemma Burgess (who has disappeared into the ether *weeps forever*). I love authors who step out of the boundaries, who write something completely different to what you expect and do it well. Esposito has knocked it out of the park. The plot, the characters, the Sicilian setting (which, despite everything that happens, makes me wish I could go live in Elizabeth’s villa… Priorities, right?), it all added up to a fabulous, unputdownable book. This is an amazing start to what will likely become one of my favourite book trilogies. You NEED this book in your life, stat.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 18 June, 2017: Finished reading
  • 18 June, 2017: Reviewed