Item: First Born
Rating: 3.00
Author: quirkycat

by Will Dean

ONE TWIN LIED. ONE TWIN DIED.

'Dean handles his plot with skill ... Molly is an intriguing protagonist and Dean has plenty of surprises for the unwary reader' OBSERVER
'The talented Mr Ripley would have enjoyed every moment of its tortuous plot. There is no higher praise' DAILY MAIL

Molly lives a quiet, contained life in London. Naturally risk averse, she gains comfort from security and structure. Every day the same.

Her identical twin Katie is her exact opposite: gregarious and spontaneous. They used to be inseparable, until Katie moved to New York a year ago. Molly still speaks to her daily without fail.

But when Molly learns that Katie has died suddenly in New York, she is thrown into unfamiliar territory. Katie is part of her DNA. As terrifying as it is, she must go there and find out what happened. As she tracks her twin's last movements, cracks begin to emerge. Nothing is what it seems. And a web of deceit is closing around her.

Delivering the same intensity of pace and storytelling that made THE LAST THING TO BURN a word-of-mouth sensation, FIRST BORN will surprise, shock and enthral.

'Highly accomplished, dark and dazzling. First Born twists and deceives, and cements Will Dean's status as a truly rare talent. Pure brilliance' CHRIS WHITAKER
'Powerful ... Dean takes on issues of personal identity and familial responsibility' FINANCIAL TIMES
'Tiptoes into Highsmith territory here. Pacy, exhilarating and jaw-dropping, it's a meditation on identity and loneliness as well as a bloody good page-turner. New York buffets the characters about its ruthless streets, just as the reader is propelled from one twist to the next' ERIN KELLY
'A superb page-turner' STEVE CAVANAGH
'Will Dean writes a mean thriller, with a keen ear for what scares us. The streets of New York shine off the page, and the action rarely lets up. Highly recommended' SARAH HILARY
'Will Dean manages to accomplish the rare blend of excellent writing and intriguing, ingenious plotting' LIZ NUGENT
'Taut, suspenseful, chilling and surprising' GILLY MACMILLAN
'Equal parts murder mystery and psychological thriller, Will Dean dazzles with FIRST BORN. A tense, taut plot that blows through unexpected twists and turns, you won't be able to look away until the final, shattering page' JULIE CLARK
'Great pace, great twists, a perfect psychological thriller' B.A. PARIS
'A clever and sophisticated construction...A jolly good read' SHOTS
'Rather special' Sunday Times Crime Club *Star pick*
'The storyline is truly original, with one of those brilliant endings only a great thriller writer can dream up' The Press Association
'Spine-chilling' Irish Independent
'This psychological thriller is a masterpiece' Crime Review

First Born, ironically enough, is the first novel I've read by Will Dean. So I didn't know what to expect going into this read. Though naturally, I hoped for a thrilling tale that left me spooked. Isn't that what everyone hopes for when diving into a new thriller?

Molly and Katie are twins, but they couldn't be more different. One is outgoing, free-spirited, and adventurous. The other is terrified of the world, hesitant to try new things, and unwilling to let go of what she loves.

It's a recipe for disaster, as one twin leaves to explore the world. Molly should have been jealous of Katie leaving – yet the news of her twin's death seemed to reinforce all the fears Molly has struggled with her whole life.

“I am half a person. The darkest half.”

Huh. I've read a lot of thrillers over the years (and I do mean a lot!), but I don't think I've ever read anything quite like First Born. If I'm being honest, I can't quite decide how I feel about that.

On the one hand, that final twist at the end was a doozy! On the other hand, the only way for that twist to be perfectly obfuscated was for the narrator to lie to us. I don't appreciate being outright lied to, only to imply that it's just a creative spin on what happened.

If we overlook that bit, First Born is a captivating read. It had me on the edge of my seat, forcing me to try and figure out what happened to the twin – and why. There were so many questions that needed to be answered!

Ultimately, I would have to say that this is one of those thrillers that falls under the "great premise, subpar ending" category for me. Maybe I'm just getting too fussy?

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First Born

by Will Dean

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on Sep 30, 2022

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