The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In the first few pages of this book we learn that Angus and Sarah have lost one of their twin daughters in a tragic accident and now, 14 months later they are moving to a remote island off Skye in the hopes of a fresh start with their remaining daughter Kirstie.
The death of Lydia has had an effect on everyone, there is tension towards Sarah from Angus; Kirstie is obviously missing her identical twin, having strange dreams and behaving differently and Sarah is rightly worried. But when Kirstie announces to her mum that she is not Kirstie but Lydia, Sarah' world is upended....because, what if......suppose they had got it wrong 14 months ago and it was not Lydia who had died but Kirstie?
As Sarah becomes more convinced by the truth of this she in turn must convince Angus and everyone else that a horrendous mistake has been made.
This book is utterly brilliant. A shiver crept down my spine when I read the words.'It was Kirstie that died. I'm Lydia, ' because can you imagine if that ever did happen? How could you prove it. How would you feel? How would the child react? Your life would be turned upside down again and that is just what this books is about. It was a fascinating and psychologically thrilling book and one that I could not put down. As the story progresses with Sarah becoming more convinced that Kirstie is Lydia there is an obvious tension between Angus and Sarah and a hint of secrets that I could not begin to guess at; on the surface everything seemed as okay as it could be under the circumstances but there was just something 'off' which increased the mystery and tension as I read.
Not only were the characters superbly depicted but the descriptions of the location of Eilean Torre and the utter primitiveness of it and the cottage added atmosphere and to the certainly that something was going to happen but not knowing what....and the climax when it is reached is a shocker with secrets tumbling out in quite an unexpected way....and an ending that lets you make up your own mind.....