Darlene's Book Nook: #Book #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for White Bodies by Jane Robins @alfresca @TouchstoneBooks

Friday, January 5, 2018

#Book #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for White Bodies by Jane Robins @alfresca @TouchstoneBooks

TITLE: White Bodies

AUTHOR: Jane Robins

PUBLISHER: Touchstone

PUBLICATION DATE: September 19, 2017

FORMAT: Hardcover
LENGTH: 297 pages

GENRE: Mystery, Thriller/Psychological Thriller

ISBN: 9781501165085

This chilling psychological suspense novel--think Strangers on a Train for the modern age--explores the dark side of love and the unbreakable ties that bind two sisters together.

Felix and Tilda seem like the perfect couple: young and in love, a financier and a beautiful up-and-coming starlet. But behind their flawless facade, not everything is as it seems.

Callie, Tilda's unassuming twin, has watched her sister visibly shrink under Felix's domineering love. She has looked on silently as Tilda stopped working, nearly stopped eating, and turned into a neat freak, with mugs wrapped in Saran Wrap and suspicious syringes hidden in the bathroom trash. She knows about Felix's uncontrollable rages, and has seen the bruises on the white skin of her sister's arms.

Worried about the psychological hold that Felix seems to have over Tilda, Callie joins an Internet support group for victims of abuse and their friends. However, things spiral out of control and she starts to doubt her own judgment when one of her new acquaintances is killed by an abusive man. And then suddenly Felix dies--or was he murdered?

A page-turning work of suspense that announces a stunning new voice in fiction, White Bodies will change the way you think about obsession, love, and the violence we inflict on one another--and ourselves.

MY REVIEW:

I was totally sucked in to this twisted psychological thriller!

The story starts off in Autumn 2017, with the death of Felix in a hotel room. He was there to attend a conference, and his colleague became concerned when Felix did not show and he could not reach him by phone. When he goes to Felix's room, he finds a "do not disturb" sign hanging on the door. Being even more concerned because this was highly out of character for Felix, he summons the hotel manager who enters the room and finds Felix dead on the bed of an apparent heart attack.

The story then moves back to Spring 2017, where Callie receives an invitation from her twin sister, Tilda, to come to her flat for movie night because there's someone who she wants her to meet. Callie is taken aback at how Felix seems to have taken over Tilda's flat. She also finds empty syringes in the trash, and she confronts Tilda who says that they are nothing more than Vitamin B12 injections.

The timeline moves further back into the past, so we see glimpses of the twins during childhood and adolescence. Callie displays some very disturbing behaviour, such as wanting to consume parts of Tilda like her hair, teeth, even her urine! She also keeps what she refers to as a "dossier" on Tilda, where she records her observations about her twin.

As you can probably guess by now, Tilda is the more bold and popular twin while Callie is the more quiet and reserved one. Their career choices are an example of their different personalities, with Tilda pursuing an acting career and Callie working in a bookstore.

At first glance, Felix and Tilda seem like the model couple. However, as Callie spends more time with them, she sees through the illusion. Callie becomes more and more concerned with Felix's overbearing behaviour and the change in Tilda who is becoming more and more withdrawn, and Callie also spots bruises on Tilda's arms. In an effort to find a way to help her sister get out of this dangerous relationship, Callie finds an online support group for abuse victims.

I really enjoyed Robins' debut novel! It was a fast-paced story that kept me guessing, and I will definitely keep my eye out for more books by this author.

MY RATING: