Cover Image: The Missing Twin

The Missing Twin

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Member Reviews

Thank You to Helen Boyce and the author Alex Day on TBC Reviewer Request Group on Facebook for giving me a copy of "The Missing Twin", in exchange for a fair and honest review. This is a gripping debut psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the last page.

“A MISSING GIRL…A SECRET TO BE UNCOVERED.”

Edie and Laura were identical twins. Laura expectantly arrived at the holiday resort on the shores of the Adriatic Sea where Edie worked, for a surprise visit. They both hit the town that night to celebrate, and the next morning Edie finds that Laura is missing! She must find her sister.

“At the same time, in a country on the other side of the sea, Fatima and her twin daughters set out on a harrowing journey that only the strongest – and luckiest – survive.”

After the death of her husband, Fatima and her two twin children are fleeing their war-torn country as refugees to Europe to find safety, and a better life.

“Edie and Fatima’s lives are worlds apart, but now, their paths are set to collide, with devastating consequences. When Fatima hovers on the brink of survival, Edie must risk her own life to save her, and finally discover the truth about her missing sister”.

Fatima’s story was heart-breaking, and made me appreciate my good life and take a closer look at the refugee crisis in the world today. Meanwhile, I was following the clues of Laura’s disappearance, trying to see where these two stories could merge. I was completely amazed by the ending… which really blew me away. I didn’t see it coming. This was a fast read and easy to follow with alternating chapters between Edie and Fatima.

The Missing Twin is an exciting debut novel by Alex Day, and that will keep you guessing and turning the pages to find out what will happen next.

Now available for request on Netgalley (UK)
Publication date is August 18, 2017

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Now EVERYONE knows I love a twin book and I had so many people point me in the direction of this book but I have to say a special thanks to the fabulous Claire Knight who made sure I was aware of The Missing Twin as soon as it became available. And what a twin book this one was! Heartbreaking, intense and frustrating at times, its definitely one you won’t be able to put down as you struggle to work out the connection between Fatima and Edie. I thoroughly enjoyed following their stories, which are on a collision course to some shocking reveals!

Two very different women with two very different stories meant that this intriguing thriller was never quite what I expected. And I had rather different reactions to them both as well. Edie is working in a holiday resort somewhere on the Adriatic coast and is unexpectedly surprised by her twin sister Laura who turns up to visit her. But the day after she arrives Laura goes missing and Edie is struggling to remember what happened the previous evening. Fatima is escaping her war torn country for a better life in the EU with her young twin daughters but every step of the way is fraught with danger.

I was really baffled to begin with on how the stories of two such different women could actually be connected! Edie wasn’t a particularly likeable character in my mind, she seemed to have no self respect or discipline and made some very questionable decisions. But as soon as Laura went missing she changed and it became 100% about finding Laura for her. I had much more sympathy for Fatima and her heart wrenching tale of escape so she could provide a better life for her children. I found myself quite heavily invested in this part of The Missing Twin as Alex Day wrote with such emotion that I was always keen to get back to her story, hoping that nothing else could have gone wrong as she fought her way to safety. Whereas I was getting very frustrated with Edie as, although she was increasing in her desperation to find Laura, her questionable methods made me want to slap some sense into her (and I’m not a violent person honestly!) And her boyfriend Vuk gave me the creeps everytime Edie came into contact with him.

I do defy anyone to guess the outcome of this compelling thriller! Towards the end there are more twists and turns than you can throw a stick at and Alex Day needs to take a bow for writing this expertly crafted, diverting and absorbing storyline. Recommended by me.

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A missing girl…a secret to be uncovered.

Edie and her identical twin Laura have always been best friends. So when Laura surprises Edie at the Mediterranean holiday resort where she’s working, Edie can’t wait for the partying to start! But then, Laura vanishes without a trace…

At the same time, in a country on the other side of the sea, Fatima and her twin daughters set out on a harrowing journey that only the strongest – and luckiest – survive.

Edie and Fatima’s lives are worlds apart, but now, their paths are set to collide, with devastating consequences. When Fatima hovers on the brink of survival, Edie must risk her own life to save her, and finally discover the truth about her missing sister.

I read this book in one sitting and I can’t say much about this book without giving any spoilers. Needless to say I enjoyed this book. 4*

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I was intrigued by the title of the book, a missing twin?, but this was two stories in one, set in two different countries, about two very different women; Edie and Fatima. Each chapter was devoted to telling their individual tales.
Edie's story started the book, with her erratic lifestyle, involving some not so nice men in her life. The authors writing style made these horrible characters easy to dislike, although I didn't always sympathise with Edie!
I actually found her persona rather irritating; very immature and self centred.
Fatima on the other hand has a much tougher start, with an incredible journey ahead of her. Through the wonderfully descriptive narrative, I was able to picture her surroundings, how life was for her and her family.
She was in my mind, a truly courageous woman.
Towards the end, the two women have a combined story, still told from their own point of view, that makes emotional reading.
I enjoyed reading the book, although I will admit it didn't grab me in a way that made me not want to put it down but it is a well written novel.
Thank you to the author and to TBC for the chance to read and review this title

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I found the story of Fatima interesting and very informative, it was a very emotional journey for her and her family and gave an honest account of the lives of those seeking asylum. On the other hand I found Edies story a bit erratic and I couldn't see how the two were connected. It was almost like two totally different stories. It was only really at the very end we got to see the connection.

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What a great story that kept me turning the pages until the early hours of the morning just to finish this. I loved Alex's writing style as well as the main characters. Vuk and Vlad were not very likable characters and I did not like it that Edie had to demean herself for Vuk. This was a very interesting story with an ending that I did not see coming.
Fatima had a rough time and my heart went out to her, her brother in law was not a likable character and I really did not like him, to me he was just a means to an end.
Very well written and I would definitely recommend this book to all Psychological Thriller readers out there.

Thank you to TBConFb and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the opportunity to review.

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The missing twin tells the story of two different people from different walks of life.
The first one is Edie who is working on a beach resort after leaving her life behind to do something different, one day her twin Laura comes to see her, they go out for the night, the next day Laura is nowhere to be be found. The rest of Edies story is spent trying to find Laura.
The second woman is Fatima, a refugee fleeing from a war torn country to claim asylum in the EU.
The book is split up into one chapter of Edie and the next Fatima and so on. At first Edie comes across as quite childish and annoying. Her obsession with Vuk, a man who works at the resort and treats her like dirt is annoying and at times I found myself thinking that it was ridiculous and no one acts like that. The chapters which were Fatima were, I thought a lot stronger at the start and her story was more real. The description of her life and what her and her family had to go through were really interesting and made me think more about refugees, and what they have to suffer to get to places such as England.
However once the story got fully going and Edie was uncovering clues as to where Laura was I found both parts or the story really good.
The way the story comes to its conclusion is really good and I wasn't expecting the twist at the end at all.
This book was fantastic and I really enjoyed it. It took me two days to read it and it's a real page turner. I know I'm enjoying a book when I skim in front because I can't wait to see what's happening, and I was doing this a lot especially towards the end when the story was reaching its conclusion.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley and TBC for providing me with a copy of this book to review.

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The Missing Twin is an exciting debut novel by Alex Day. It is a brilliant read, that’ll keep you guessing and turning the pages to find out what will happen next.

Edie and Laura are twins. Edie has been living and working on a Mediterranean island and is thrilled when her sister turns up out of the blue to surprise her. After Laura arrives they both hit the town but the next morning, Edie discovers that Laura is missing. Filled with anxiety for her twin, she is desperate to find her sister, but her boyfriend, Vuk, warns her against approaching the police. Who can she trust to help her?

Meanwhile, Fatmia is fleeing her country which has been torn apart by war. She is desperate to reach mainland Europe and begins the dangerous journey with her two children to find safety.

I was intrigued by both of the stories in this book. Fatima’s story was heartbreaking, it really makes you think about what is going on in the world today with the refugee crisis and Alex writes her story incredibly well. I was always looking for clues to see how the stories could possibly be connected but when I thought I had worked it out but I was completely surprised by the ending which Alex had in store for us, the ending of the book really blew me away.

A great read from Alex, a book that I highly recommend, I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy to read.

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Growing up in Brighton with two doctor parents, her twin Laura and their younger brother, Edie has only known her love life to be competitive with her sister as she falls in love with Vuk but as the adoration from Zayn stays strong, she vows to set him up with Laura.

When Edie wakes up from a night out to her sister being missing, she freaks out and panic's, just where is her sister now?

When the police can't help due to her sister being an adult and no suspicious circumstances being present. Whilst Edie carries on working at the resort she keeps on asking around if anyone has seen her sister.

Can she trust Zayn and Vuk completely?

Especially when her sister's scarf, texts supposedly from her begin arriving from an unknown number and a scream is heard also later on...

Fatima has two twin daughters whom she dotes over, however, when she finds their home has been destroyed by a bomb she never expects to find her husband's body there in an in repairable state. Taking her twins with her she flees for safety and a better life eventually after struggling for money and finding any relative safety. Unfortunately, that means forcing herself to marry Ehsan, a man who rapes her as he believes she owes it to him to fulfill his needs which then lands her in an even more dangerous situation as they are still on the run from their home country...

Then Peter, a holidaying cop makes a discovery as does Edie as she finds all is not as it seems and neither is the company she keeps as well as herself...

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

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