First Born - Will Dean

Genre: Psychological Thriller | Mystery

Release Date: Expected 14th April 2022

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

"I am half a person. The darkest half."

Molly and KT are inseparable … even when they are separated by entire continents.

They always say having a twin sister is like having a pre-made best friend, and that's always been the case for them, despite them not being identical in any way but their DNA. Even when Katie decided to to move to New York to chase excitement and fun while Molly stayed behind in London with her quiet, meticulously structured life. But even then, they spoke every day and Molly looked forward to the day Katie would come home.

But she's not coming home.

When Katie dies suddenly in New York, Molly feels half of herself get ripped away and as her and her parents journey to her final resting place, she knows she has to start looking. As terrifying as it is to leave to chase ghosts, it's not as terrifying as never knowing. As she digs into Katies last weeks alive, she realises there's a lot more buried she was never meant to see … and if she's not careful, she'll end up in the dirt with her sister.

"We were once one person. We are not anymore."

Will Dean has done it again. He has a way of making the smallest details seem sinister and frightening, using everything in his arsenal to create a truly immersive experience. Full of devilishly dark twists that would make me flip back the pages to make sure I'd really read them, this is a labyrinthine journey of terror that left my head reeling.

The characters were masterfully crafted - Molly was terrified of everything, but with a cold, clinical view. Her voice was one of survival, but not really living. She wasn't particularly empathetic, even with the tragedy she felt, but she was curiously intriguing and left me with some odd care for her. The pacing was perfect - the story exploded in the first few pages, simmering down into embers before exploding once again.

First Born is one of those stories when something truly unbelievable happens, but then you see you've got hundreds of pages left and wonder what on earth Dean could possibly come up with next. You'll just have to read it yourself to see what I mean.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.

CW: Murder, death, funerals, toxic relationships, abuse, misogyny.

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