The Look-Alike by Erica Spindler

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Net Valley in exchange for an honest review. They give me no money, not do they in any way influence my thoughts – those are 100% my own for better or worse.

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Other Girl and Justice for Sara comes a thrilling psychological drama about a woman who believes she escaped a brutal murder years ago—but does anyone else believe her?

Sienna Scott grew up in the dark shadow of her mother’s paranoid delusions. Now, she’s returned home to confront her past and the unsolved murder that altered the course of her life.

In her mother’s shuttered house, an old fear that has haunted Sienna for years rears its ugly head —that it was she who had been the killer’s target that night. And now, with it, a new fear—that the killer not only intended to remedy his past mistake—he’s already begun. But are these fears any different from the ones that torment her mother?

As the walls close in, the line between truth and lie, reality and delusion disintegrate. Has Sienna’s worst nightmare come true? Or will she unmask a killer and finally prove she may be her mother’s look-alike, but she’s not her clone?

My Thoughts:
The prologue was really, really good. Unfortunately the rest of the story failed to live up to that one masterful paragraph. It was short, well-written, and intense. Everything else was a little too trope-reliant for me. I don’t know how much more “am I mentally ill because I look just like my mentally ill mother everyone says so” I could have handled. Probably none. I would have preferred several times fewer than I got, honestly. Look, I get that hereditary mental illness is a terrifying prospect – truly. But damn, Sienna! If you’re really so worried that you might be suffering from a mental illness TALK TO THAT PSYCHIATRIST YOU KEEP SEEING ABOUT/WITH YOUR MOM. Mental health scares as plot devices are kind of frustrating, y’all.

That being said, outside of my misgivings about her another is she just imagining all the things mystery story, the writing is pretty solid. The story is well paced, and I never found myself bored. Although while I’m here, I did find the constant “bro,” ” sis,” and “sib-” ing between Sienna and her brother really bizarre. Do people really do that? I have both a brother and a sister, and I have never even considered addressing either of them so…weirdly.

My Rating:
2.5 out of 5 arbitrary items of rating. it was ok, but ultimately relied on some plot devices that I find tiresome. If you like books about ladies who don’t trust themselves because there’s a possibility they might be mentally ill, but they would rather find out based on external validation by random happenstance than go to a mental health professional this might be the book for you. Ultimately, it just wasn’t really for me.

The Look-Alike

By: Erica Spindler

St. Martin’s Press

Thriller
ISBN13 9781250083678

ASIN: B07SBQDL4
Expected Publication: January 28, 2020