The Ice Twins
S.K. Tremayne
Psychological thriller
Grand Central Publishing 2015 308 pages
The Ice Twins is one hell of a psychological thriller by S.K. Tremayne. It is the story of Angus and Sarah Moorcroft and their identical twin daughters Kirstie and Lydia. One of the twins fell off a balcony and died and the Moorcrofts are having a difficult time dealing with the incident and their grief. There is an undercurrent of rage between Angus and Sarah as both have not been perfect. Things get even more tense when it becomes uncertain which of their twin daughers died and which one was left behind. Finding that out might allow them to figure out who their remaining daughter is. The Ice Twins: A Novel on Kindle
S.K. Tremayne adroitly balances between the point of view of both parents and keeps both voices perfectly limited in their omniscience. The author is also very good at creating a believable and interesting six-year-old.
The one thing that is harder to buy is the premise for the setting of this thriller. The Moorcrofts decide to start anew somewhere else. Fine. However, they decide to settle on a rough island that often gets cut off by the weather and live in the lighthouse keeper’s abandoned cottage. Their only link is a couple of friends who settled nearby and that this was where Angus would spend his summers.
For people facing an internal and family crisis, isn’t it just adding to the problem?
This said, once a reader gets over that particular aspect, the story is fascinating and a tad wee bit creepy at times. The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne features the occasional black and white photo of the island and the cottage which is a nice touch
The reveal feels a bit rushed at the end of a rather carefully paced narrative but it is still satisfying.
I am not one to be particularly sensitive to and comment on the artwork of a book but I especially like the cover art here.