The Look-Alike by Erica Spindler is one hell of a suspenseful read. This thriller had all the right hooks to keep me entertained. The cast of characters was done well. There were many suspects and each one had guessing if he/she could be the murderer. But I was kept in the dark until Erica Spindler told me in plain words. The pacing was great. It flowed enough to keep me moving towards the ending.

The plot centered around a young female being worried that she'll end up as crazy as her mom. The writer had me wondering if the daughter was crazy or not, or if the fears were due to a real situation. There were risks/danger presented with every page. An eerie atmosphere of whodunnit and why. If there were real reasons to be afraid than who is the killer? The question hung up there until the closing of the book. Great job!

The main character, Sienna, is enjoyable to follow. Her personality and fears made her a real person. One that I could easily connect with on every level. She showed so much loyalty and love for her mother and brother. A mother who is going through an illness and a brother who is charged for a crime he didn't commit. Sienna's main goal is to save her family.

The ending was the most powerful part to this novel. It was epic. I truly recommend this read to all thriller and suspense readers alike.

This book was completely riveting. Sienna returns home after 10 years following her discovery of a dead body at school during a terrible snowstorm. It’s not as simple as coming home as her mother has struggled with mental illness throughout her life. I don’t think she realizes how much she is taking on by moving in with her mother. She can’t forget the dead girl that she had found on campus and the case has recently been reopened. One thing that sticks in her mind is that she was wearing the same coat as she was. Her main thoughts center on the possibilities that she was the killer’s target and the fact that she might have inherited her mother’s illness. This story is carefully woven throughout the book and kept me guessing until the end.

Also reviewed at B&N and Kobo under the name IrishEyes430

What I Loved:
The Look-Alike takes the reader on so many twists and turns, I was constantly pointing blame at a different character in the book! I loved the way the story unraveled a little at a time, giving me one piece here and another there. It made the suspense wonderful and the ending fantastic!

How I Felt:
The Writing: Erica Spindler’s ability to tell a story is wonderful. She gave the book a well-rounded story with backstory and history to each character.

The Characters: There are quite a few characters in this story that were pivotal to the overall plot. I felt like I was given the chance to know each of them without being confused or overwhelmed. The main character is Sienna though, and overall, I liked her.

The Plot: The overall plot was awesome. I spent so much time thinking about what was happening in this story. Looking back at my notes, I pointed to no less than 7 different people as the killer, and in the end, one of my theories was right, but I couldn’t be sure until we got to just that right reveal point in the story.

I didn’t really enjoy the romance in this plot. I understand the overall need for it in the story-line, but I felt like it seemed very abrupt at how quickly Sienna just fell in love with this man. I would have liked just a bit more time before she was head-over-heels for him. That however, did not detract from my overall love of the story.

Overall: I really enjoyed The Look-Alike. The story was mysterious and suspenseful. The writing was good and I loved the story. I look forward to reading more from Erica Spindle!

To Read or Not To Read:
I would recommend The Look-Alike for readers that enjoy thrillers with a psychological aspect and a mystery to solve.

I was provided an advanced readers copy of this book for free. I am leaving my honest, unbiased review voluntarily.

Erica Spindler’s latest novel The Look Alike is a gripping psychological thriller that follows Sienna Scott, a young woman who, while a college student, discovered a dead body in the snow one night as she was walking back home from the campus library. The campus and local police were never able to solve the case. Sienna is also dealing with some troubles at home. Her mother suffers from a condition that makes her both paranoid and delusional. She believes that everyone is out to get her and, specifically, that they’re going to hurt her by hurting her daughter. These circumstances create such a suffocating environment for Sienna that her father finally tells her she should leave home so that she can have some semblance of a life. Sierra stays away for 10 years but returns home to care for her mother after her father passes away.

As soon as Sierra returns, that unsolved murder begins to dominate her thoughts and a nagging thought she had all those years ago returns – She and the dead woman were wearing the same jacket that fateful night. When strange things start happening – prank phone calls, a strange van driving past her house at all hours of the day and night, etc. – Sienna becomes even more convinced that she may have been the intended target and is now in danger. Is she right? Or is she just letting her imagination get the better of her? Or is it possible her mother’s condition is hereditary?

Wow, this book was such a wild ride! It was so suspenseful and filled with twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. Every time I thought I had the murderer figured out, the author would introduce a new clue that would send me spinning off in another direction. I devoured The Look Alike in just a couple of sittings because I needed to know what happened and which girl was truly the killer’s target.

I was also very much drawn in by the characters. I felt tremendous sympathy for Sienna for all that she has had to contend with, and I felt equally sympathetic toward Sienna’s mom. Yes, she can be suffocating at times, but it’s the mental illness that makes her that way. Imagine thinking day in and day out that someone is out to hurt you and your child. That would be pure hell for any parent. With her latest novel, The Look Alike, Erica Spindler has crafted both a riveting murder mystery and an intense family drama about mental illness. I highly recommend it!

At first, I wasn't enjoying this book.. Then about halfway through it started to get good. and I raced through the rest of the book. If you're paying attention, there are lots of clues about who did it that I totally missed! (Guess I wasn't paying attention!)

“Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.”—Joseph Heller, Catch-22 (and plot summary of The Look-Alike)

In The Look-Alike, Sienna has a problem. She is worried that not only does she look like her mother—but she might have her mental health issues too. Sienna mother, Vivienne, is afraid of everything. She is convinced someone is plotting to get her and her loved ones. After all, didn’t they push her down the stairs in her own locked house. She isn’t safe anywhere now.

Sienna returns home to reconnect with her mother and half-brother after ten years away. Her mother’s mental health has deteriorated so she barely leaves the house. Sienna still has nightmares about finding a murder victim on her campus ten years ago. Then she hears that the police have just reopened the investigation.

There is one clue in the first few pages that is thrown at the reader during the twist at the conclusion of the book. Unfortunately, I noticed that clue originally so I knew who the murderer was from the beginning, which spoiled the surprise ending for me. However, if you are not so observant, I think you will like this plot-driven thriller. 3 stars.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This author has never disappointed me in her writing and this was one of my favorites of hers. There were so many twists and turns and I could not figure out the murderer until the very end. I loved the characters and how she wrote about the troubles that Sienna’s mom lived with for much of her life. There was so much suspense and a little bit of romance. I could not put this book down. I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

The Look-Alike was a great read by Erica Spindler. Sienna grew up in her mother’s shadow of paranoid delusions. She has been away tens years at the hand of her father. She returns to confront her past and the murder she stumbled upon years ago, that always went unsolved. Sienna is back in her mom’s house and her old fears creep back to haunt Sienna. She still fears that she was the killers intended target. Sienna has a hard time separating reality and the delusions. She fears that she is more than just her mother’s look-alike and has the same paranoid delusions. I loved reading this book and can’t wait t9 read more by Erica Spindler.

The Look Alike was one of those books in which you know that the characters are all hiding something and that there are red herrings being thrown at you so hard and fast that you think it must be some biblical plague. And you keep asking yourself how this woman could be so naive. Every woman is hysterical and every man seems shady. No one comes off well in this one.

It all goes back ten years when Sienna stumbled upon a body. She doesn't see much, but she does see someone wearing the same coat who could easily have been mistaken for her with the hood up in the late night snow. After, she ran away to London. For some reason she comes home and not much has changed. Her brother still treats her like she's a fragile child. Her mother is still the town crazy. The college police officer first on the scene is now running the reopening of the investigation. There are new people, but they just fall in line with the rest. Picking sides. Hiding things.

Still, I read to the end. You have to know. Who are these people? What is the story they aren't telling? They can't all have stabbed this girl, so which one is hiding something less important to throw us off? I mean...there were 18 stab wounds so they could have all stabbed her...The pace is fast and the events keep you hooked.

Thanks to Netgalley, Erica Spindler, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It's been almost ten years since I last read an Erica Spindler novel. There's no good reason for this lapse, other than that with many great books are released each year, I sometimes lose track of authors I love. However, with the release of The Look-Alike, Ms. Spindler has definitely regained my attention, and I plan to catch up on her back list just as soon as I can.

While walking back from a late-night study session at her college library, Sienna Scott literally stumbles across the body of a young woman who bears a striking resemblance to Sienna herself. It's clear the woman has been murdered, and Sienna is understandably traumatized by her discovery. No matter how hard she tries, she can't get the image of the woman's broken body lying in the snow out of her mind, and as time passes and the case remains unsolved, Sienna begins to wonder if the murder is somehow connected to her. After all, she and the victim look enough alike to confuse the murderer, especially in the dark of night.

When Sienna mentions her fears to her father and older brother, both men dismiss her concerns out of hand. Sienna's mother suffers from extreme paranoia, and Sienna doesn't want anyone to think she's inherited the mental illness. As a result, she doesn't bring up her fears again, but her father decides she needs to spend some time away from home in order to gain a fresh perspective.

Ten years later, Sienna's father has died, and she returns home to help care for her mother who is still battling paranoia. Most of Viv's delusions center around someone trying to harm Sienna, and no one is sure how Sienna's return will impact Viv's fragile mental health. Still, Sienna is reluctant to saddle her brother with all of Viv's care, so she decides to stick around for a while.

As soon as she returns to town, memories of the murdered woman come flooding back. To make matters worse, the police have re-opened the case in a last ditch effort to bring the killer to justice before the police chief retires. In spite of her best efforts, Sienna is drawn into the investigation, and it's not long before she is once again wondering if she was the killer's intended victim after all.

This is an extremely fast-paced book. It starts off with a bang and the pressure doesn't  let up until you reach the end. Ms. Spindler throws in some fantastic red herrings, and while I had my suspicions as to the killer's identity, I didn't know for sure until Sienna discovered the truth. There were so many possibilities, and Ms. Spindler makes each one feel perfectly plausible.

The romance angle is pretty low-key since Sienna isn't sure who she can trust. However, I did find her blossoming relationship with a certain someone to be quite satisfying. There are a few big misunderstandings thrown in to complicate matters, but I found them to be believable rather than annoying. Some readers might wish for a bit more romantic intensity, but the understated nature of the arc worked well for me. It complemented the mystery rather than taking away from it, and that's exactly how I like my romantic suspense!

Mental illness isn't always handled well in fiction, but Ms. Spindler does a fabulous job bring Viv to life in an authentic way. Her illness is part of who she is, and I never felt it was used as a plot device. The novel contains some tough questions about how people with various forms of mental illness are viewed by society as a whole, but the author's message doesn't come off in a preachy way. Instead, Viv's struggles really make the reader think even as they're trying to solve the case alongside Sienna.

If you've never picked up an Erica Spindler novel, The Look-Alike would be a great place to start, and I believe it will appeal to returning readers as well. The characters are well-drawn and the plot is compelling. It's a book I'm glad I chose to review, and I hope other fans of complex romantic suspense will pick it up and fall in love with it too.

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The Look-Alike was my first book by Erica Spindler. It was a quickly paced thriller about an old unsolved murder. It has lots of twists and turns as well as dysfunctional family relationships. Throw in a paranoid mother, lots of potential suspects and a random insta-love romance and that's the basis of this book. The writing was good but some of it I found repetitive. I found this book really interesting at first but as it progressed I got a little bored. The ending was quite good however and made up for it. I had an idea who the murderer was from reading so many thrillers but Spindler kept me questioning this and had me thinking maybe it might be someone else. I would give this book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

BOOK TAGS⇣

⁝ BILLED AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER ⁝ MENTAL ILLNESS ⁝ MURDER MYSTERY ⁝ A ROMANTIC INTEREST ⁝ A STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION ⁝ WANTED TO DNF...INSTEAD, I SKIMMED A LITTLE ⁝

BOOK DETAILS⇣

BOOK COVER⇢ I LIKE IT...AND IT DREW ME IN, SO I BLAME THE COVER.
SETTING⇢ TRANQUILITY BLUFFS, WI
SOURCE⇢ I RECEIVED AN ARC VIA NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
eBOOK LENGTH⇢ 320 PAGES

MY THOUGHTS⇣

This story hinges on the belief that because of her mother's paranoid delusions...that she (Sienna) has them too? The only issue I have with that is nothing she did or thought made it feel like she was having paranoid delusions herself. I think she was perfectly within her right mind to think the killer was maybe after her instead of the girl that was killed. They had the same coat, she was walking the same little-used path as she took each night after her study group and at the same time that she would. I don't get why her Dad, her brother, and even the Police tried to convince her it was all in her head. Like she's her mother's clone. Then came the last straw for me...Sienna and her Mother are wrestling over a gun...yeah, a gun and guess what happens? Of course, you figured it out...one of them gets shot. I'm like...really???

Insert Mila Meme here...

So...I started skimming sometime after that point because seriously, no one's got time for that shit. I did want to know how it would end, though, so I stopped around the last twenty percent, and I read all to way to end. All in all, I read just over 60%...which I believe is enough to rate a book.

I believe the author wrote the book the way she did, to trip readers up, so they won't guess the end. Maybe??? But to make that work, it still has to be believable, and it just wasn't. Basically, if your story starts out being too unbelievable, everything that comes after isn't going to be either.


MY RATING⇢ 1¾✰STARS✰

BREAKDOWN⇣
Plot⇢ 2/5
Characters⇢ 1.5/5
The Feels⇢ 1/5
Pacing⇢ 1/5
Addictiveness⇢ 1/5
Theme or Tone⇢ 2/5
Flow (Writing Style)⇢ 1/5
Twisty-ness⇢ 1/5
Originality⇢ 2/5
Ending⇢ 2.5/5

This was an engaging thriller that pulls you in from the start. A woman who found a murdered girl years ago is now back in her home town and all her doubts come back. Her mother has always been mentally unstable and when Sienna went through her trauma, her dad worried that she was losing her grip on reality, so she was sent away. Now, her dad has dies and her mom needs her so she comes back, but the murder from years ago is still out there, unsolved. The only way to get peace for herself is to figure out what happened all those year ago.

I have read many of Erica Spindler’s books. She is a master at spinning a psychological thriller. The Look-Alike has many twists and does not disappoint!

I wanted to like this book. I wanted to LOVE this book. But the dialogue was insanely bad and I couldn't get past it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’m a day or so late on posting this review on the brand new book that came out on Jan 28. I’m surprised I have not seen more of on #bookstagram - it’s a great read!

Tiny Synopsis: Sienna Scott has moved back to her hometown after living 10 years in London after she was sent away after a traumatic ordeal in which she saw the bloodied murdered body of a female student on campus. They wore matching coats. They took the same route home - was the murderer really after her? Sienna’s mother who suffers from paranoid delusions believes so - after she thinks “they” are watching them and even going so far as pushing her down the stairs and watching the family house. Now that Sienna is home again, the phone calls begin and so are the stares. Is this all in her head as she fears she is becoming her mother or is someone really out there to get her?

Thank you to @netgalley and St Martins Press for the advanced copy for my honest review!

My Review:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars

At first I thought this story was going to be all over the place. But then I got hooked and finished it in just 2 days. There were so many different motives and possible killers that I was constantly convinced of different people throughout reading this. I thought her mother, Viv, was such an interesting character and she kept you on your toes about what she was feeling or experiencing. Was she having delusions or was she really pushed down the stairs? I felt the romance aspect deterred from the rest of the story because it felt rushed and TOO much of a coincidence - that it was unbelievable. This book really made you question everything - Sienna’s family, her mother’s disorders, the new neighbor, the cops, and the campus officer… All in all, it was an exciting read and I highly recommend.

A good quick read! 4 out of 5 stars.

Sienna returns back to her hometown of Tranquility Bluffs after being away for 10 years to be closer to her mentally unstable mother and with the dream of opening her own restaurant. 10 years ago Sienna found another young woman murdered wearing a similar outfit as her. The case has been reopened as she returns home and Sienna is determined to find out the truth so she can move past this traumatic event.

A quick read with a ton of twists. I enjoyed the short chapters and the non-stop action against a solid plot line.

Thank you Erica Spindler, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley

When you grow up with a mother suffering from a delusional disorder, you know what paranoia is.

When you’re walking home from your late night study group and come across a dead woman, you feel what fear is.

And when you realize that the dead woman was wearing a coat very like yours, walking on a path you take every week at that same time, then you start to experience that paranoia yourself.

Sienna Scott was in college when she came across that body. She left Wisconsin after that, moving to London to live with her grandmother. But now, it’s ten years later and Sienna wants to move back home. She moves back into her mother’s house to help take care of her, but since no one was ever arrested for the murder, her mother is also trying to look out for Sienna.

At first, being home seems great. Sienna sees old friends, helps stabilize her mother, and even starts thinking about opening up a restaurant in town. But then the phone calls start. Hang-ups, vague threats, and then a voice, clearly disguised, telling her that she was the one who was supposed to die.

She tells her concerns to police officer Randy Clark, the same man who, as a campus cop all those years ago, came to her rescue when she found the body. But she doesn’t know who else she can trust. Her mother, who already has her own issues? Her older brother Brad, who has been secretive ever since she came back to town? The police chief, who had been longtime friends with her father, and who might be covering for someone in her family? Jonathan Hart, who bought the house across the street to fix up and always seems to show up just when she needs someone the most?

As Sienna tries to unravel what happened all those years ago, as well as what’s been happening to her since moving back to town, she also has to figure out if her mother’s delusions have been passed down to her, making it twice as hard to figure out the truth.

The Look-Alike by Erica Spindler is a page-turner perfect for cold winter nights and stormy weekends. The twists will keep you guessing at the truth, thinking you know the answers and then having to rethink everything over and over.

I really enjoyed The Look-Alike. It was twisty without being too frightening, with well thought out characters and a lovely sense of place. A decidedly good psychological thriller.

Galleys for The Look-Alike were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

10-years ago, college student Sienna finds a girl named Madi brutally murdered on her campus and she was wearing an identical coat to Sienna. This not only spooked Sienna, but made her believe that maybe she was meant to be murdered, not the innocent girl who was. Her mother suffers from a psychological disorder that makes her delusional and paranoid, so Sienna’s involvement in the discovery of Madi’s body sent her into a terrible episode. So that’s when Sienna’s father sent her to London.

Now a decade later, Sienna returns to her hometown to face her fears and reunite with her mom and half-brother after their father passed 5-years earlier. Just as Sienna arrives home, Madi’s unsolved murder case is re-opened, and anyone and everyone are possible suspects, including Sienna’s family.

Sienna connects with her mom’s next door neighbor Jonathan and the two of them have a kindling relationship. But it’s clear Jonathan has some secrets of his own. And when Sienna starts receiving suspicious phone calls, she starts questioning yet again if it was supposed to be her all along...

The Look-Alike by Erica Spindler is a stand-alone psychological thriller that focuses heavily on what it’s like to live with a family member who has a life-altering psychological condition. I found the premise engaging and this read quickly, but I felt it was a take it or leave it kind of story. I didn’t find the twists that shocking and the ending was one I’ve seen time and time again. 3/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Erica Spindler for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Erica Spindler weaves another good, fast-paced, suspenseful tale in The Look-Alike. Sienna Scott returns to Tranquility Bluffs, Wisconsin after spending ten years living in London with her Grandmother. She literally stumbled upon a dead body following a late night study group at her college. Snow was falling heavily and she couldn't see but a step in front of her. The shock of stumbling onto a murdered fellow co-ed was bad enough, but then she noticed that the girl had on the exact same coat as she was wearing, and they were on an off-the-beaten path shortcut that Sienna routinely took but few others used. Was she the intended victim? Was she starting to show signs of the paranoid delusions that have troubled her mother for years? Fearing for his daughter's physical and mental safety, her father sends her to London to live with her Grandmother.

Now she's back to help take care of her mother. The mother's mental illness is definitely a challenge that has and continues to impact her family in many ways. The author handles this subject very well. With Sienna's return, strange things start to happen and she wonders again if she was the one who was supposed to die that night ten years ago.

There are plenty of people to suspect and even though the author drops clues throughout the book, things are not as they seem. Spindler does a marvelous job of leading readers down many false paths before divulging the true culprit in a dramatic ending.

Psychological suspense, mystery, a family dealing with mental illness, a bit of romance thrown in, The Look-Alike has something for almost everyone and I found it a very good read. A 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars from me.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read a copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own.