The Ice Twins

The Ice Twins by S. K. Tremayne

Published by Harper

3rd September 2015

Paperback Edition

 

A year after one of their identical twin daughters, Lydia, dies in an accident, Angus and Sarah Moorcraft move to the tiny Scottish island Angus inherited from his grandmother, hoping to put together the pieces of their shattered lives.

But when their surviving daughter, Kirstie, claims they have mistaken her identity – that she, in fact, is Lydia – their world comes crashing down once again.

As winter encroaches, Angus is forced to travel away from the island for work, Sarah is feeling isolated, and Kirstie (or is it Lydia?) is growing more disturbed. When a violent storm leaves Sarah and her daughter stranded, Sarah finds herself tortured by the past – what really happened on that fateful day one of her daughters died?

I wanted to read this book from the blurb itself, it sounded such an original idea for a book, the premise that, if you had totally identical twins, and one died, or went missing etc, then how could you ever be totally sure which one it was.  This is the whole basis behind S. K. Tremayne's gripping novel The Ice Twins when one tragic afternoon, one child, an identical twin, tumbles to her death.  Mother Sarah Moorcroft is quite sure at the time which of her twins has died, but as the months progress, and her remaining daughter's behaviour starts to echo that of her twin sister, she begins to have doubts as to what actually did happen that day, and worse of all, did they actually bury the 'wrong' twin.

Completely identical twins are a rare phenomenon but it does occur and I really enjoyed the whole 'dilemma' that Sarah and her husband Angus are faced with, as to which twin is still alive.  They acually only have Kirstie's word that she is who she says she is, and when they move to an isolated island off the coast of Scotland, then her behaviour begins to be questioned not only by the family, but by outsiders too.

This is a ghost story but it's also that of a family in turmoil, the guilt of losing one's child and the anguish that Sarah and Angus go through as they try to rebuild their lives.  The book has had mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it, and though some parts may seem a little far-fetched, I think that the genre of the book allows for that in every respect, and it didn't stop me turning the pages to reach what I felt was a satisfactory conclusion to this story.  It's a great read for curling up with on a winter's night!

 

Happy Reading

 

Miss Chapter x