The Good Twin

by Marti Green

[Quirky Cat]

3 1/2 Stars

I received a copy of The Good Twin in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Good Twin is a thriller novel that takes a twist on the typical ‘twins separated at birth’ trope. It’s intriguing and will keep you on your toes as you read. Mallory and Charly couldn’t have come from more different lives if they tried, there are really only two things they have in common; their looks and their love of art. They didn’t know about each other for most of their lives, and the way they end up finding out is quite unique, even among the twin tales we’ve been told.



The Good Twin is a fun and fast paced thriller. You could easily finish it in a day or two, as it tells its story and doesn’t drag on any. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the novels focusing on the twins separate at birth thing, but this one actually ended up being pretty different from the rest, which I actually feel like is really saying something.
Mallory grew up with her mother (biological, for those that are curious). She never had much, and even now she’s waiting tables to pay her way through art school. She doesn’t have much of a family, as she never knew her father (or his side of the family at all), and her mother died just a few years ago (leaving her with no extended family on that side either). In short, she’s never had any money, and doesn’t have any family now.
Charly grew up with two wonderful and rich parents. She never found herself wanting, and on the whole was pretty okay with the fact that she was adopted. She’d never even felt compelled to look up her birth parents. Unfortunately things have been harder on her as of late; she’s running a new gallery, which takes quite a bit of work, and it’s starting to take a toll on her marriage.
Both of their lives change when Mallory hears about the woman that looks just like her. From there things spiral quickly out of control, with characters running through their lives manipulating their interactions and perspectives of each other. It isn’t exactly easy to form a relationship with your long lost sister when everyone and their mother is trying to prevent it (okay, slight exaggeration there).
This novel consistently flip flips back and forth, leaving you wondering which one is the ‘good twin’ mentioned in the cover, and which one is the implied ‘bad twin.’ Your perspectives, ideas, and assumptions will all be challenged during the course of this novel, and you’ll likely be very surprised by the ending.
I did feel that there were a few points that broke the immersion of this otherwise enjoyable read. One of the characters (I won’t say who, other than that they’re the antagonist) didn’t feel fully fleshed out, despite how much focus was given to them for the course of the novel. Other than having money as a motive they just felt too traditionally ‘villainous’ to fit into the real world.
I love reading a mystery or thriller and not being able to guess the ending; likewise though I want to be able to look back through the novel and see all the points leading up to the big reveal. While I didn’t guess the ending to the novel here (bonus points for that) I wasn’t able to see some of the points leading up to it, even though there should have been one or two fairly big points and indications (especially considering the perspective the story was being told from).


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks