Sienna Scott returns to her hometown to help her older brother care for her mentally disturbed mother and face some demons of her own. Just as she arrives in town a decade-old murder investigation is reopened. sienna will never forget the case; she was the one that found the body. and she had always suspected she was the intended victim. while Spindler delivers up and interesting story, her characters just did not ring true and had too many internal inconsistencies to feel like real people. And though I suspected who the killer was about halfway through the book, the reasons behind the killing just seemed ridiculous. I really enjoyed THE OTHER GIRL, Spindler's last book, and I will certainly give her next book a try, but this one missed the mark for me.

A stand alone thriller a chilling look at mental illness .A mentally ill mother a daughter struggling looking for the truth of a horrific act .Multi layered so well written. So tense.#netgalley#st.martins

So good! I am not typically one for thrillers (I have enough trouble sleeping as it is), but I couldn't resist the psychological element of this book. Is Sienna suffering from the same delusions as her mother, or is she on to something in thinking that a local girl who was murdered was really meant to be her? I couldn't put it down!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

II really liked this. The main character, Sienna, seems like someone that i could be friends with. She is not overly tough and strong, but not frail either. I also felt for Sienna, living with a mentally ill family member. The author provided a lot of insight of the struggles and how difficult it can be to watch someone you love go through this. While I did guess the killer almost as soon as the person was introduced, Ms. Spindler did a pretty decent job of steering me away and making me second guess myself. The storyline moves fairly quickly and held my interest throughout.. Is Sienna crazy? Was she meant to die instead? This was a nice break from the dark, intense thrillers I have been reading lately. I had read several Erica Spindler books over the years and will definitely go back and read some more!

Thank you #NetGalley, Erica Spindler and St. Martin's press for the ARC!

I have posted my review on Goodreads and will post to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook on January 28th, publishing date.

Well written with some unique characters but probably could have been edited for length. I guessed the killer in the first 1/3 of the book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45046788

The Look-Alike is a page turning thriller about a woman who returns to her home town after being away for a decade to ease her trauma over having found a dead body when she was a college student. In the intervening time, her father which whom she has a close relationship has passed and her mother, who is mentally ill, is even more delusional that before. The murder is still unsolved and Sienna is desperate for answers enlisting the local police, the big brother whom she adores and the handsome new neighbor to help her.

Taut, dramatic, slightly scary and a darn good read! I thoroughly enjoyed #thelookalike from beginning to end and highly recommend it. The stage is set by going back to the past and then switching to the present and this back and forth continues as needed to keep the story developing. The characters are not all as they seem but you are drawn in as they develop and reveal themselves along the way. A classic thriller! Thank you to #netgalley for the ARC to read and review.

Another absolutely amazing, suspenseful and fast paced book by Erica Spindler. Having read all of her novels, each one gets better and better! I thought I had this one figured out, then thought I didn't, then went back to original thought (and so on and so on).. Way to keep the reader on the edge of their seat. This is a book I will absolutely recommend. Thank you for the advanced copy!

Wow! This was such a captivating read! The author does a great job of dealing with the issue of mental illness and the stereotypical misconceptions. The mystery and subterfuge was wonderful. I kept looking at all the characters trying to figure out who it was. I wasn’t surprised by who the evil villain was, but it kept me guessing to right before it was revealed. The writing is phenomenal. This is truly a wonderful piece of psychological suspense. The author should be very proud of herself for creating this masterpiece!

I love reading thrillers that have me guessing until the end and Erica Spindler is a master at them!!!

The Look-Alike centers around Sienna Scott who at age 18 was at the scene of a vicious murder. Not remembering what had transpired that horrific day has haunted Sienna for 10 years! Sienna has avoided her hometown for the last decade for a couple of reasons—the unsolved murder being #1, but her mother instability and metal illness had also played a huge part in wanting to escape. Now back in her hometown, Sienna is determined to help solve the murdered that rocked her to her core as well as face the fears she’s buried about her mother! Wowzer!!!

As I write this review I am still waiting for my racing heartbeat to slow down lol! I found this edge of your seat thriller completely captivating! Erica Spindler has a real talent for placing unforeseen twists and turns in exactly the perfect spots! The storyline was well paced and I promise you won’t be able to put this book down (and if you do, you will be non-stop thinking about it 😂)! The Look-Alike is a 5 star gem that I recommend every mystery/thriller fan!

I have read many of Spindler's books and this was another good mystery. Told in two different timelines, this is a story about how our pasts can haunt us and how we may doubt what we believe to be true. I enjoyed the story line, characters and way Spindler developed the mystery. The Look-Alike was a quick and enjoyable read. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was very good, but the ending wasn't too hard to guess and that took a little away for me.

Sienna was a Wisconsin college student when she found a fellow student stabbed to death during a snowstorm. This stressed her mentally ill mother. That, and what her father deemed an inappropriate relationship with the campus police officer who came to her aid, caused him to send her off to London. Five years after her father's death Sienna came home, hopefully to stay and open a restaurant. Just at the time of her return the police decide to reopen the still unsolved case.

There are lots of people that Sienna trusts, but everyone has secrets. Her mother's mental state is not good, her brother is going through a divorce and does not want Sienna to contact his ex, and then there is the very cute new neighbor across the street who always seems to be up and looking right into Sienna's house....

It was good and a fast read and I liked it enough to read a little in the middle of the night when I had trouble sleeping.

The Look-A-Like by Erica Spindler is a very good novel that is a mystery, a story about mental illness, betrayal, death, and love all woven into one plot. Not only did I enjoy reading this novel but I also learned quite a bit about mental illness and how it can effect not only the mentally ill person but also a family and community. This story starts very early on where a female has been murdered on a college campus. Thus the mystery begins. Who killed her and why? As the story progresses ten years pass and still the murder has not been solved. Who can be trusted? I woke up early in the morning just to finish this novel . What happens to these characters? I NEEDED to know. The Look-A-Like is an easy read and one that I am sure you will enjoy. I look forward to reading more novels by this author. I received this novel for free from the publisher in conjunction with Net Galley in exchange for a fair and honest review .

I always enjoy reading anything by Erica Spindler. The story was well developed and easy to follow. The characters were well developed and believable. I would definitely recommend it!

Yikes! I haven't read an Erica Spindler book for a while and forgot how they keep you on the edge of your seat. The Look-Alike is no exception, this old woman had to learn edge of the seat balance again. Ms. Spindler has created a book that is well-written and populated with a phenomenal cast of characters. Sienna was in college when she came across a murdered woman. After ten years in London with her grandmother, she returns home, just as the case is opened again. Sienna is inundated with thoughts about the murder, her mother's illness, Jonathan the new neighbor and worries about having the same illness as her mother. This book is loaded with drama, humor, sizzle, action and suspense. I enjoyed every word and will be working on catching up on the Erica Spindler books I haven't read yet. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sienna Scott has returned home after living in London for 10 years with her grandmother. She is happy to be back with family, her mother and brother.
She mother has issues with paranoia and Sienna has been a witness to her meltdowns for years. After her father's death she decided to return home, help with her mother and put the ghosts of the past to rest, if possible.
When she arrives she is greeted by her brother. Her mother seems on edge, living in her home in darkness. All the drapes and shades are closed. She is determined to prove people are passing in front of her home. And that she was pushed down the stairs by an unknown assailant. Even though she told everyone she tripped and fell. Of everything her one challenge is to keep her daughter safe, no matter what.
The girl that died 10 years before was a look a like of her daughter. She is sure that Sienna was the one meant to die.
A story where no one can be trusted. Not family, friends or lovers.

Sienna returns to her home town ten years after leaving it following her discovering the body of a fellow college student who had been brutally murdered in the snow. Her mother, a woman suffering from paranoia, recently fell down the steps of their home. According to her mother, she was pushed but everyone believes that is just another symptom of her illness. Sienna learns from her brother that the police have reopened the investigation into the ten year old unsolved murder. She is reluctantly dragged into the investigation and begins to suspect everyone around her including her new across the street neighbor. I won’t go any further into the plot because of spoilers but did find it to be fast and entertaining reading. Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC for an honest review.

An entertaining psychological thriller although a bit of a slow burner.

Sienna grew up with her mentally troubled mother who made her life miserable.
Now she is back in her hometown trying to solve a murder mystery.
However, the deeper she digs into this murder mystery, the more danger looms around her.
It's either she is the killer's next target, or paranoia is getting the best of her.

Thanks Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Erica Spindler for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest and unedited opinion.

I had never read one of Ms. Spindler’s books before and probably won’t after reading this one. I do understand the good Press for her writing, but I found it overly long, too wordy and too many things going on. The basic story is that a girl dressed like the main character was killed on campus many years ago. Now that the main character is back in town, she is getting anonymous calls claiming she was the one meant to die. Five thousand pages later, you find the answer. Not for me....

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This book is less of a psychological thriller than a airport purchase suspense novel. The heroine is very passive and the mystery seems to happen around her, which doesn’t necessarily take away from the plot, but it is kind of distracting if you’re the kinda lady that prefers the company of more ballsy females. 3.5.