This whirlwind thriller tangles everything up and hits extra hard!! Will Dean is a true master of narration. I’ve now read two of his books and each of them captured the narrator’s thought process so effectively that I felt like I was in their head. In this case, monozygotic twin, Katie, has recently lost her estranged sister. Although highly anxious about life, she steps out of her comfort zone and flies overseas to uncover the truth behind her sister’s death. I honestly could have read this book in one sitting if I had the time. It’s fast-paced, engrossing, and messes with your head. To anyone who loves thrillers: do not miss this one!! Thank you so much to Atria and NetGalley for the e-galley. I look forward to reading more from this author!

"𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝟓𝟎 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭."

With those opening lines, I was hooked. Stories about twins are inherently fascinating to me, and FIRST BORN explored this trope so well.

Molly is the introverted twin living a quiet life in London. Her life is centered around order and routine. She takes no unnecessary chances and surrounds herself in the comfort of her logical, safe existence.

Her twin Katie is her opposite in every way. She's living the dream in New York City; adventurous, free, and dynamic, until Molly gets the call that Katie is dead. She and her parents travel to NYC to piece together Katie's final moments and who would want this girl dead. The shady neighbor, the boyfriend, even their own father all fall under a cloud of suspicion.

Then, at almost exactly the 50% mark, a HUGE twist was just casually waiting at the end of a chapter. It's not hyperbole to say my jaw dropped because it did, and I stayed glued to those pages until I could unravel this mystery. NEVER did I see this ending coming.

Usually I start a new book immediately after finishing one, but after finishing this one, I needed time to process. Will Dean is a gifted storyteller who writes with precision about the best and worst of us. So grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for this early read. Releases July 5, 2022.

I really liked this book! Haven't previously read Will Dean but will in the future. This book definitely surprised me in the best way and I really would recommend it. Lots of twists and turns, it kept me guessing till the end.

<i>"I am half a person. The darkest half.</i>

Molly Raven lives her life by strict rules. A doomsday prepper, her in London day is mapped out start to finish by specific routines, meals, safety precautions and concealed weapons.

Her twin sister Katie’s (KT) life in New York City is the complete opposite. She lives in a carefree life of a student, in a wonderful apartment, taking various trips, has a boyfriend and goes out to clubs.

She <b>lived</b> a carefree life.

Katie was found murdered in her bed while their parents were visiting from London. Molly leaves her comfort zone and heads to New York to her parents side and begins to investigate her sisters life, trying to find her murderer.

This suspenseful novel is intriguing, though I found Molly to be a very unreliable narrator. The constant vigilance and safety measures don’t make sense (as the reader is never given an answer as to why they started to begin with). And her cavorting about town and disrupting the investigation with her own seems unrealistic. The novel does get interesting towards the ending but by then, it does little to re-inflate interest. 3.5 ⭐️

Molly and Katie are identical twins but the complete opposite of each other in personalities. Molly is a very anxious, paranoid young lady afraid of everything. Katie is outgoing and leaves Molly behind in London to go to New York and enjoy her life. The family gets a call that Katie has been murdered in her apartment. Molly knows she has to go find out how this happened. She goes through some outrageous behaviors to get to New York and even after she arrives the behavior continues. There was a lot of off the wall things said and done and a lot of different characters to follow. There is a big twist that I didn’t see coming so it was mostly worth reading through to the end. Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book for an honest review.

Will Dean's First Born is about Molly, the definition of clinically and debilitatingly anxious, in the aftermath of her twin sister's murder in an unfamiliar country. She's determined to dig up the truth and find out who killed KT and determined to protect her mum and dad who are not only grieving the loss of their daughter but are also going bankrupt. What's it like to be the only survivor in a pair? To live in a world alone after entering it with someone always at your side? Follow Molly around New York and figure out what really happened. In all honesty, this book was hard to get into and I struggled to the halfway point. At almost exactly halfway through, I was hooked. I guessed the truth fairly early on, but Dean convinced me I was wrong--only to find out right at the end that I should've trusted my gut.

“My twin sister knew me better than anyone. We were identical. We’d never been apart. Until now. The police are searching for the truth about her death. And so am I. Because there are some things only a twin know. The last thing a twin expects is to be alone”

Katie attends school in New York while Molly lives in London. News of Katie’s death reaches London. Both Katie and Molly’s parents were already in New York visiting Katie so Molly had to make the horrendous trip to New York by herself and try and figure out what happened to her sister.

The story started strong and then it took a turn to somewhat repetitive dialog. With Molly asking her parents at every opportunity, when will they know what happened to her sister, to the detectives telling Molly over and over “they are getting to the bottom of it”. The conversations Molly had with Katie’s friend and boyfriend felt awkward or fake.

The story did pick up towards the end and the anticipation increased. it does give a crazy twist at the end but had wished the thrilling part was throughout the book. I really enjoyed his other book “The Last Thing To Burn” so will still look forward to reading his other books, this one just didn’t do it for me

Thank you @netgalley @atria books and author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book is set to publish July 7, 2022

Mollie and Katie are twins who do everything together. That is, until Katie moves to New York and leaves Molly behind. When Katie is murdered, Mollie makes a trip with her parents to retrieve Katie’s body and belongings. She begins to investigate who could have killed her twin by befriending Katie’s friend group. The ending of this book made me go back and reread for the clues because I did NOT see it coming! Loved it!

"I am half a person.
The darkest half.
The half that isn't quite 50 percent."

^ opening line and I loved that!

Will Dean is the author of The Last Thing to Burn and is back with his latest novel, First Born.

I enjoyed my time reading this book, never found myself putting it down too much, but I have to say that I found it to be a very slow-moving thriller. I love twin plot novels but tend to guess the twists or endings. This was no different. It didn't give enough to leave a lasting impression...However, with the 4.12 rating on GoodReads so far, I know there is a wider audience out there that will love it!

A big thanks to Atria Books for this ARC and to Netgalley for the eARC.

First Born is expected to publish on 7/5/22

When Molly's twin sister dies mysteriously, Molly flies from London to New York to find out who was responsible for her sister's death. Molly is very different from her twin sister Katie. They may look identical but they see life very differently.

I was sucked into this story right away, we jumped right into the action. This story is told from Molly's perspective so we get to feel her heavy anxiety as she travels from London to New York. She is devastated by her sisters murder and you can feel it coming right off the page. I blazed through the first half of this book, it was hard to put down. I wanted to find out what happened to Katie- who did this, and why?

The second half was a trip. This story went a little off the rails and after finishing it I still have a few questions.

What I loved about this book was the short chapters that ended on cliffhangers. These types of stories are hard to put down.

Overall, strong start, wonky finish.

Will Dean’s writing has an incredible way of making you feel you are a bystander watching the events unfold. From page 1 of First Born, I was already invested in this story. With each chapter, a little more light was shed on the complex relationship between identical twins, Molly & Katie. This book had it all from family drama, mystery, thriller, action & international intrigue. I could not put this book down. The twists will make your jaw drop and even though I had some suspicions in how things would be revealed, I was throughly captivated by the journey to the end!

Molly Ravin is an introvert living in London and she takes some comfort in her quiet and structured lifestyle. Katie is Molly’s identical twin sister, but they are polar opposites in the personality department. Molly is shocked when she learns of Katie’s death in New York. Although she is terrified to travel overseas, she must find out what happened to her sister. As she starts to uncover some clues, she realizes that there were many things that she did know about her sister.

FIRST BORN was my first book by Will Dean and it will not be the last! I thoroughly enjoyed this excellent mystery. The pacing was perfect to keep you on your toes. I was racing through the pages trying to solve this puzzle! Even so, I still got a nice big surprise at the end! I highly recommend FIRST BORN for all thriller and mystery fans!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

I love love love stories about twins and author @willrdean once again delivered with his newest thriller 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝐵𝑜𝑟𝑛. This is a disturbing and sinister story, seriosuly addicting and full of “wtf” and jaw dropping twists.

I went into this totally blind and had no idea what to expect. The story definitely starts as a slow burn but it picks up with each chapter. There are so many questionable characters; disturbing and dark characters at that, I even found the twins parents to be really strange - but all this weirdness made the story even more intriguing.

I had so many scenarios in my head about the conclusion of this story, but they were all wrong. The ending was fantastic and in my opinion far from predictable.

This is the second 5⭐️ read I’ve read by author @willrdean and its safe to say I have new auto-buy author added to my list.

✨special thanks to @atriabooks for the gifted copy✨ release date for 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝐵𝑜𝑟𝑛 is July 5, 2022

SYNOPSIS: “Sisters. Soulmates. Strangers.

Molly Raven lives a quiet, structured life in London, finding comfort in security and routine. Her identical twin Katie, living in New York, is the exact opposite: outgoing, spontaneous, and adventurous.

But when Molly hears that Katie has died, possibly murdered, she is thrown into unfamiliar territory. As terrifying as it is, she knows she must travel across the ocean and find out what happened. But as she tracks her twin’s final movements, cracks begin to emerge, and she slowly realizes her sister was not who she thought she was and there’s a dangerous web of deceit surrounding the two of them.”

✨✨✨✨✨

⭐⭐⭐.5 stars.(not quite enough for me to round up)
I read “Last Thing to Burn” which also featured sisters ~ Thanh Dao and Kym-Le, who left Vietnam for a better life in England. Thanh Dao has been living on the farm against her will for 7 years.
Kym-Le was told that her sister was happy but went back to Vietnam. Hmmm

In this story Molly Raven and her identical sister Katie are so opposite. Katie is three minutes older than Molly thus the title “First Born”.
Molly is content in a quiet structured life in London. Yes very structured life ~ she has a back-up plan for her back-up plan!
Katie is carefree and bold and moved to NYC to attend Columbia but is also looking for adventure!

Molly gets a call from her parents Paul and Elizabeth who are in New York and call that her sister is gone. Molly immediately asks ~ Where has KT gone? They report she is dead. Parents, of course, are terribly upset and ask Molly to travels to New York as they need to be together.

Story is a bit slow!! I love psychological thrillers so was sure twists/turns were going to happen and secrets would be revealed. I just needed to hang in there.
I always try to figure it out and sometimes close but usually wrong. In this case I cannot say … I didn’t see that coming as I was more than close!

I know there is an audience that is going to be wowed!
,Although not a super big wow ~ I certainly will read another novel author author., Will Dean.

Want to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 5, 2022.

While I appreciate that opportunity to read this book early it didn’t do it for me. The book dragged on too much and did not hold my interest. I’ve heard good things about Will Deans other books so I’ll look those up. Thanks netgalley much appreciate but this one dragged on too much. DNF.

Ooo... now y'all know with a title like this it is going to be a great thrill. Absolutely amazing writing and the suspense was crazy!! Kept me guessing the whole way through... and trust me you will want to read all the way through!

This is the second book I read from Will Dean and, so far it’s the best book I’ve read this year. It’s the kind of thriller a reader hopes for every time they pick a new book to read. Fast paced, full of unexpected twists, believable characters and a perfect plot. Really amazing. A would give more than five stars if I could.

It took me about five pages to get into this book. Then I pretty much blinked and it was done.

I haven’t read Will Deans books in the past but I reckon I will read more in the future. In this book, he constructs a compelling suspense story that is just as much about character as it is about plot.

Molly is a highly structured, OCD-laden gal living in London. Her identical twin sister, Katie, is living in New York. Well, she was living. She’s now dead. And it looks like murder.

What life was Katie hiding? Who of the many shady characters was the one that did this?

It’s a bumper car of a ride as Molly takes it on herself to try and solve the murder mystery.

Sure, some of the twists and turns are fairly obvious and expected, but it doesn’t make the story any less compelling.

Awesome beach read if you need one. Just bring a back-up book, cause this one will fly by quickly.

Well done will dean.

#netgalley #firstborn

This book had a lot of potential but didn’t do it for me. It centers on Molly, a quirky identical twin who travels to NYC from London after finding that her twin Katie (who she inexplicably referred to as KT) was murdered. The rest of the book focuses on Molly’s search for answers, but with a few twists along the way.

I had 2 major issues with this book. The first was that I didn’t really understand these characters and what made them tick, leaving some of their actions to either come out of nowhere or conflict with other things that they did. The second thing is that I felt like there was a plot hole around the motivations leading up to the planning of the murder and I walked away not really understanding why it all went down like it did.

Despite these issues, the book was a fun read and there were a few things I didn’t see coming. I kind of felt like the author was trying too hard to shock the reader rather than allowing the story to unfold in a natural way, though. Overall it held my interest but I felt like it could have been so much more. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Here is my unpopular opinion on Will Dean's latest novel, First Born. It's not his best. I truly adored The Last Thing to Burn, so I had high expectations for this. First of all, the two novels are not comparable as they are so different. I did not enjoy the flow of First Born, I wasn't hooked. It was a good mystery, but alas, not the best work of a brilliant writer.
Molly Raven is a young woman living in England with overwhelming anxiety and OCD. Her identical twin, Katie has moved to the US and the novel opens to Molly finding out the worst possible news: her twin is dead and possibly murdered. Molly faces many fears and travels to New York to meet up with her parents and find out what happened to her sister.
I struggled through the first quarter of the novel, feeling like I missed something, some small detail. It's a quick read with a twisty plot that is well executed. Will Dean is an excellent writer and I look forward to his next book.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.