Book review: A chilling novel – The Ice Twins by SK Tremayne

When I was chosen to review this book, I was really excited.  The blurb sounded haunting, and after feeling a bit meh over the last book I read, I wanted to get back to one I really got into.  The Ice Twins didn’t disappoint.

The Moorcraft family move from London to a Scottish Island a year after the death of one of their identical twin daughters Lydia, and following money worries.  The father Angus is returning back to his Scottish roots, and the family are looking forward to settling and doing up their ramshackle house on the isolated island.  But then the surviving twins starts showing characteristics more like her dead twin, and claiming that she is Lydia, and the relationship and normality is strained.

For any parent the thought of losing a child is traumatic enough, but with the close link between twins you expect things to be harder, and to take time.  The novel’s quite disturbing with the events eventually unravelling.  You feel the angst of parents pulling away from each other, the concern of the impact that having favourites could bring, and the difficulty in relocating and trying to settle a 5 or 6 year old into a new school, when they’re showing strange behaviour and psychological damage.

I was expecting this book to be scary, and not one to read at night.  I’m not a fan of horror or disturbing books, although I do enjoy psychological thrillers, so I got right into this one.  I did read it at night, alone, and I wasn’t too scared, but it was certainly a book not for the faint hearted or who might have gone through any of the experiences of these children or the parents.

Trust is a big part of this story, with it seriously lacking  in the relationships.  The book make you wander what actions and knowledge that  Sarah, the mother has repressed, and what could be so horrific in the lead up to her daughter’s death.  And you’re always wondering what David has to hide – from his wife, from his friends.

The location of the lone, Scottish island, and the wreck of a house they move into, reflects the nature of Sarah and Angus’ relationship, as well as the state of confusion and hatred that the remaining twin is going through.

I really liked how quickly I got into the book.  It certainly got me hooked straight away, although I did have to go back and reread the last 2 chapters to make sure I’d read it right.  The ending definitely made me wonder what really happened, thinking it maybe wasn’t quite as straight forward as you first read.

If you see this book on the shelves, I’d recommend trying it.  It gets the heart rate going, and gets you thinking more about what led to the events, and who the daughter really is.

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Disclosure: I was sent this book by Mumsnet for the purpose of review. All words and opinions are my own.