Oh, I so dislike being in this position. I didn't like this book. The short explanation: The story is implausible and the characters' behavior is ridiculous.

Now I will do my best to elaborate without spoilers.

The story starts out well. We meet Mallory, "the good twin", whose part is written in first person. Initially, I found her character compelling and mostly likable. The pace is steady and the plot shrouded in mystery. We have elements of jealousy, greed, loss, and deception that could have made for a powerful story.

Then we meet Ben, Charly's husband, whose part is in third person. He is immediately and wholly unlikable. Mallory connects with Ben and, despite the fact that he oozes narcissism and deceit, decides to trust him implicitly without the slightest hesitation, much less the merest hint of disbelief.

Next we meet Charly, the other twin, whose part is in first person. Here we begin rehashing all the previous events from her perspective, which slows the pace quite a bit. Despite all the rehashing, I didn't feel her part was as developed. I didn't understand her on the same level as I did with Mallory and Ben.

I'd really like to know what Charly and Mallory saw in Ben that made him even remotely appealing. Honestly, he's a whiny, greedy, selfish, arrogant, narcissistic womanizer. Yet Charly delves right into his sociopathic world without first doing the sane thing of fact-checking, and Mallory is married to the jerk.

And then events happen that had me shaking my head, sputtering words like, "Seriously?" I mean, I know this is fiction, but it's not fantasy. I have to believe it could happen.

All that being said, this is a fast read. The writing itself is good. So, if you can suspend belief and go where this story leads the same way Mallory did, without hesitation, then you might enjoy it.

THE GOOD TWIN is a psychological thriller full of twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the end. Once you get past the first question -- could someone really try to kill their sister - the rest of the book is great to read.

Mallory grew up in poverty with just her and her mom in Scranton PA. She couldn't afford to go to college but after her mom died, she moved to NYC to take art classes that she paid for by waiting tables. She lived in a run down rooming house and lived a very frugal life. One day at the restaurant, someone called her by another name because they looked alike. When she investigated, she found out that she had a twin sister that she didn't know existed. Charly had been adopted by a rich couple and lived a very lavish life style. Was this difference in their lives enough to make her concoct a scheme with Charly's husband to have her killed so that Mallory would get Charly's inheritance? I can't say much more about the plot without giving away spoilers. What I will tell you is that there was a shock near the end that I didn't see coming that made this an even better book.

I highly recommend this book and plan to look at Marti Green's back list to read some of her earlier books.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Talk about attention grabbing! The Good Twin opens in the hospital with a young girl giving birth. It pulls you in from the very first paragraph.
I don't want to say much about the plot of the story because I think this is one of those stories that is almost more fun if you don't know anything going into it. This was like a roller coaster. There were SO many twists and turns that I didn't see coming. As I read, I was SO SURE I knew how it was going to end... for about 10 pages. And then I would come up with a new theory, that would last another 10 pages. I had no idea how this would turn out, right up until the very end. It was a pleasure to read. (Just for the record- I still haven't decided who the "Good" twin is)

For starters, this is a true work of fiction. If you are preparing yourself for a believable tale, don’t. Going into this with the mindset and expectation of an unbelievable yet entertaining story will set you up for a more enjoyable read. The lack of believability was the largest part of my overall displeasure. But, as I said, go into this one with this expectation in mind and you are in for a slow building suspenseful ride!

Marti Green has offered a well written and descriptive tale. The story unfolds in a slow buildup and is told from two perspectives. The first half of this book kept me turning the pages. I was hooked on learning more about the characters and figuring out the direction it was going. However, while Part II paints the full picture, I became less impressed. In Part II the story goes back to the beginning, but this time as told by Charly’s perspective instead of her twin Mallory. I found this to be less intriguing and the story lost a bit of momentum for me.

While there were some surprising twists, there is also some heavy foreshadowing throughout which inevitably began to give the story away. The ending fell a bit short for me as I would have preferred to see this story pan out differently, but it did result in a well-rounded story. By the way, am I the only one who sees Natalie Portman when looking at this pretty cover? I couldn’t help but imagine Mallory and Charly being represented as Natalie because of this.

Despite my quarrels with the second half of this story, it was an entertaining read. I suggest this read to anyone who is a fan of Lifetime-style movies. Actually, capital idea… perhaps this should be made into a Lifetime movie starring Natalie Portman!

This is one of most exciting compelling thrillers I have read all year! I literally was unable to part with this exciting book until it was finished. I read it in one sitting.
I love stories where people have intricate although flawed intentions and this story is full of intentions. This is the story of two twins, one rich, one poor. Mallory and Charly are identical twins separated at birth, and Charly (born second) is put up for adoption. By a fluke Mallory is mistaken for Charly and Mallory's curiosity leads her to Charly and her husband Ben who live in wealth. Mallory meets Ben and devises a plan so deceptive, so good, so devious that I had to cancel the rest of my day to finish this book. The deceit grows as plan is formulated that will have the reader asking themselves, would i do it?
There are some books so delicious, so perfectly written that you wish they would not end. This is one of those book ! Read it you will love it.
I received a ARC of this book for a honest opinion. I look forward to further work by this author. What a thrilling story that had me on the edge of my seat.

The Good Twin is a well written psychological thriller. Great plot and characters. I enjoyed this author’s writing and look forward to reading more of her books.

When I started The Good Twin, I wasn't sure I could finish. The idea that a sibling could plot the murder of her twin just didn't sit right with me. But I'm glad I kept going. It is a great thriller.

Mallory grew up in a poor, single mother home. She has struggled her entire life, both in terms of lack of money as well as lack of relationships. All that is changed when she is mistaken for Charlotte "Charly" Gordon, gallery owner, art dealer, and heiress to a FORTUNE. It is said that everyone has a twin, but what if you actually had a twin whom you were separated from at birth? This discovery of a sibling brings elation that she is no longer alone but also jealously - if she had been adopted too would she be rich?

Charly's husband is excited to discover Mallory for a totally different reason. He is miserable in his marriage, forced to take a job he never wanted with his father-in-law, but he has become too accustomed to a wealthy lifestyle - a lifestyle he would have to walk away from should he divorce Charly. With Mallory in the picture, he now had his way out: murder Charly and have Mallory take her place so no one is any wiser.

That's the basic plot and to say any more would run the risk of spoiling the story.

The story is told in alternating chapters focused on Mallory or Ben and then later on Charly. Even so, the reader isn't privy to everything so there are a few twists. The first twist I had hoped would happen from the beginning. It is one of the things that reader isn't told until much later in the story. Though I had hoped it would happen, I felt unsatisfied with how it played out. I'm not sure what I wanted. The only way I can think of to describe it is that I felt a bit flat and I think I expected to feel relief. The later twists toward the end of the book were a surprise and definitely kicked the thriller aspect up a notch.

Everything was wrapped up in the end rather tidily so you aren't left wondering about the future for the characters.

I think what I liked best about the book were the what-ifs that were explored. Could you have plotted murder against your own sister? What if Mallory had been adopted and not Charly would that have changed their personalities and therefore decisions (the age-old question of nature vs nurture)? Even the smaller questions such as what if Charly hadn't married Ben right out of school and instead let him finish law school would their marriage been any stronger were interesting.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. Not as faced-paced as many psychological thrillers, but definitely a great mental exercise as the readers explore their own feelings on the situations faced by the characters.

The Good Twin by Marti Green is quite a suspenseful and twisted page turner. Mallory and Charly are identical twins separated at birth, and Charly (born second) is put up for adoption. By chance, Mallory is mistaken for Charly and Mallory's curiosity leads her to Charly and her husband Ben who live abundantly on Charly's family's wealth. Mallory meets Ben before he meets Charly, and Ben devises a plan so deceptive that I had to grit my teeth to keep my jaw from gaping open. Many lies and much deceit follow as this wild ride of a thriller keeps readers guessing and even questioning themselves.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

At first the summary seemed like this would be a bland story. Once I started reading it, it was a surprise and a pleasant one.

Definitely a crazy, twisty thrill ride that keeps you guessing at what’s really going on throughout. I really enjoyed how we got multiple perspectives and how these changed the further you got into the story. It really helped give depth to the narrative. While not the best psychological suspense I’ve read this year it’s still in the top 10 and I’ll definitely be recommending it all around!

Wow. This was a really good book. Twin sisters that did not know about each other come together and devise a plot against the husband who thought he was the master plotter. Lots of twists and turns and the ending was very good and one I did not see coming. A chance encounter with one twin, starts this whole process. The book was a little slow in the beginning and yes, it does work if you just roll with some of the situations, but it does get better as it goes along and then Boom!!! I enjoyed this book overall, and will look to read more from the author. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

There is very little in this book that is believable. If you will have a problem with that, it's not for you. If you can just accept that it'll be a fun, wild, juicy read before you start, go ahead. As easy to read as it is outlandish, I flew through it in only two sittings. It's like a soap opera, filled with betrayal and more twists than you can count. I did enjoy the read, and if the ending hadn't gone just too off the rails, I would have rated it a little higher. The author definitely took a crazy premise and ran with it.

A lot of us have been confused for someone else at some point in our lives. An honest mistake, someone on the street or at a restaurant thinking we're someone else. They usually realize they're mistaken immediately, but that isn't the case for Mallory. The man who thinks she is "Charly" is wondering why his wealthy friend is working as a waitress. Some kind of joke? Nope. Just two women that if it weren't for some small differences, could be mirror images of each other. Intrigued, Mallory seeks out her doppelganger... and is stunned by what she sees. So stunned that she runs before she's spotted. This isn't just a passing resemblance. This is two women who have to be sisters. Twins, even.

Mallory rents a crappy room and works her butt off to pay for her art lessons. Twin Charly hasn't had to worry about where her next meal is coming from... ever. She's always been rich beyond what most people can imagine. They couldn't have been raised more differently. When Charly's husband Ben finds out about Mallory before she does, he has an idea: Mallory can take her place. With just a few tweaks, they would be completely identical. Ben would be free to spend as much time with his mistress as he wishes, they could get rid of the prenup, and half of her money could be his. Mallory would have more money than she'd know what to do with... if they can pull it off.

I received this book from Net Galley and Thomas & Mercer, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

I honestly don’t know where to start with this book, it was a bit of a mess.

Try to suspend your disbelief when reading this because this book definitely requires you to.

We have a young mother that was thrown out of the house because she was pregnant and refused to give up her baby. At the age of 16 a young girl made a hard choice when she found out that she had twins. She gave up her first born in adoption and kept the second twin to raise by herself. One grew up in a very rich family, the other grew up in poverty.

Years later, Mallory is a waitress and stumbles upon a man who confuses her for someone else. Curious, she tracks down the woman he thought she was only to discover, wow, she looks just like her. Too afraid to approach her in person, she decided to visit the woman at her house only to be greeted by her husband and spun a bunch of lies.

Now Mallory thinks her sister is heartless and that Charly (the sister) believes that Mallory only wants to meet her because she wants her money, she believes her husband Ben who is spinning these lies.

Ben offers Mallory a proposal that if all Mallory does is say yes, her life will be changed forever.

I don’t even know how to review this without spoiling everything.

All the things I found wrong and frustrating

1. I could not wrap my head around Mallory and her decision to go along with Ben’s plan and still claim that she is such a good person and is deserving of so much more because what she agreed to do wasn’t simple as blueberry picking. It’s not a decision that a “good” person would step into lightly and quiet frankly, her reasoning made me sick as well.

2. The end was just a mess piled upon a layer of another mess and turned me beyond angry. I wanted to throttle Mallory, who became the world’s BIGGEST freaking hypocrite, trust me guys, it is taking me a lot of self control here not to let out a string of curse words and how much I loathed that ending. I found it unrealistic, I found myself angry at everyone involved and in the end, I honestly just wanted to see them all burn. After everything that went down and how it went down and all the stupid lies and actions these two sisters did not deserve any kind of happiness.

The end kept kind of jumping forward in time quickly over and over again and I just could not wrap my head around who the hell did Mallory think she is, making those kind of decisions after what she herself tried to do and blah just no.

Overall, it was fast paced. Suspend your disbelief and you might enjoy it. For me? This book just made me angry beyond belief.

This book started fast. It was a compulsive read and was constantly providing something interesting which is awesome. Shortly into the read, I noticed that there was some information being given that seemed like filler. By the end of the book, I was able to determine that it was some filler. Mallory trying to find her mother’s best friend took a couple of pages and was really unnecessary. It wouldn’t have changed anything had Mallory had the phone number and just called her herself. These issues are small but I’m a person who wants to get into the drama and feel connected the entire time. The writing seems a little underdeveloped and rushed. It also feels as it’s written a little soap-operaish for lack of a better term. Some of the unnecessary information gets in the way a little bit and then random happenings that don’t do much to the story keep adding to it. However, with even these qualms, the read is hard to put down with drama and suspense in every corner.

Mallory’s character is developed first. A single, hardworking woman who was never given much of anything growing up. She’s single, as I mentioned, and the author really hammers it into our heads that she doesn’t want a relationship in multiple instances.

Charly is a little more mysterious at first other than she is a successful art galley owner who was adopted into a very whelthy family. Her cancer-ridden father owns a very large and successful business which employs Charley’s cheating husband, Ben. Ben hates the company and is no longer interested in his wife but is using Charly and her family to hopefuly enhance his political aspirations.

Characters are extremely unlikable but for obvious and good reasons. Mallory was likable at first but her plans with Ben make it hard to see her redeeming qualities at all. At first, I felt bad for her until she agreed to plan with Ben. It’s important to the story that these two are pretty awful human beings. Characters however do have their redeeming qualities and you’ll have to read to find out any more specifics. This is a very hard read to talk about without giving anything away.

The book had me turning pages as fast as I could. I was interested the entire time and although some have reviewed the story as cheesy, I thought it was really good. In my opinion, the ending felt rushed. There was much more the author could have done with this forever twisting plot. Everything happened so fast that it seemed incomplete even when it was done which helped me go to the 3.0 rating. If I could, I would give it more of a 3.5 because I did really enjoy the read! Also, as others have said, it felt a little too unrealistic. Many thrillers are so that doesn’t necessarily bother me but in the end, I was even rolling my eyes just a little bit.

I do highly reccomend the book though! It’s a quick and interesting read for sure.

I was really excited to read this one.....the twin/thriller/twist plot is always an interest for me. I found myself not really able to get into it, though, due to pacing and flat characters. It was an OK read for me, just not great.
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, Marti Green and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This book was just okay for me . A decent read but not great. It was a very predictable book with not a lot of suspense.

This was a quick read with a really interesting plot. Getting to see how the twins’ lives differed as a result of the pure “luck” of their birthing orders was an angle I enjoyed. And while I like suspense and thrillers, this book just had a few too many unbelievable parts for me, causing me to knock it down a star to three stars. I’d be interested in others works by Marti Green though, I liked her writing style. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher!

I couldn't put it down. Turkey suspensful and the twists are amazing. Great plot. I would definitely recommend this book and author.

I received an ARC from Net Galley and publisher Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review.

I was honestly so disappointed by this! So the twin/thriller thing has been done to death and this doesn't exactly have the most original plot. However, that gorgeous cover and the potential for a good story sucked me. After all, I don't really mind how original my thrillers are in premise so long as they keep me entertained. Unfortunately due to a poor writing style, The Good Twin barely did that.

It is ultimately the writing that lets this book down. The characters are very flat and don't feel like actual people at all. It switches between focusing on Mallory and Ben, but Mallory's chapters are written from her POV and Ben's chapters are in third person. This makes for a very jarring reading experience. I can only assume this was done so we could tell who the focus was on without the chapters saying 'Mallory' and 'Ben' all the time, but it's really not a great solution.

You also then get flashback chapters from Charley's POV which don't add much new to the story and you have the whole thing of having to go over events you've already read about. This is a good chunk of the book and it just feels like you're waiting to catch up with the present again. Out of all three of the main characters, Charley is probably the best written but that isn't saying much.

My other major problem with this book is that it swaps plots a fair bit in the standard twisty thriller way. The issue with this is I was far more interested in the story I thought I was getting before the twists happened. I liked the whole 'can I really trust them?' aspect of both Ben and Mallory's interactions, and the same thing at the end part too (not going into detail because I don't want to spoil but it should be clear what I mean if you've read it). The first twist has been done to death in books like this while I haven't really read many books that cover the whole 'can I trust my partner in crime?' thing.

Overall, this book isn't bad enough to really annoy me but it was a bit of a slog to get through. There isn't really anything positive that would make me recommend it. It's passable but there are far better thrillers to pick up.

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Mallory is a down on her luck waitress that really wants to be an artist. She was raised by a single mother and they struggled to get by on a daily basis.

Charly was adopted by loving, wealthy parents when she was three days old. She owns an art gallery in Manhattan and is happily married to a handsome man and her college sweetheart, Ben.

One day while Mallory is at work she is mistaken for someone else. The man insists she is Charly Gordon. He mentions that she owns an art gallery near by. Her curiosity piqued she decides to head to the gallery. She is stunned to see the resemblance. They are completely identical. Rather than introducing herself she runs away in shock.

After a few days goes by she builds the courage to return to the gallery only to find it closed. A quick search on her cell phone and she finds her feet carrying herself to the front door of Charly & Ben Gordon's home. When Ben answers the door he can't believe his eyes....or his luck...and I'll just leave it at that!

This book is going to require your suspension of disbelief. I wasn't completely sold on this one until about 50% in and then things started to get more interesting and the twists start coming at you. Overall, this was a fairly enjoyable psychological thriller. It didn't blow my socks off but I never once wanted to DNF either. A perfectly passable novel to sit back, relax, and enjoy without too much thought involved. 3.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Mart Green for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.