The intrigue of this book is that you don’t really figure it all out until the end. It is a fast paced psychological thriller involving a mother, daughter, a murder and paranoia.

So-so psychological thriller

CAUTION: May contain slight spoilers

I've read other books by Erica Spindler over the years and enjoyed them. This book is way too long for the content it contains - lots of padding. And the timing felt off. Falling deeply in love after one meeting? Give me a break.

Ten years ago Sienna Scott had stumbled across a murdered girl on the college campus in Tranquility Bluffs, Wisconsin. She is sent to live with her grandmother in London to recover from the shock and to have a timeout from her mother, who has persecutory delusional disorder.

Now she's back home, the murder case has been reopened since they never found the murderer, and Sienna is taking over the care of her mother, after leaving her half-brother in charge for the last ten years.

There's a lot of red herrings thrown into this story. It becomes a rather convoluted hodgepodge.

I did appreciate the way mental illness was handled in the book and that's why I rated this two stars rather than one.

I received this book from St. Martin's Press through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

The Look-Alike had me riveted from beginning to end. It was an amazing suspenseful adventure with many twists and turns and so many scenarios that had me changing my mind as to who had committed the crime. It was very well done. Definitely a page-turner. This is the first book by Erica Spindler that I've read and after reading The Look-Alike, I will be most likely be reading other books by her.

A big thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy.

This story was ok but I had a pretty good guess as to who the killer was by about 25% through. I also didn't like how quickly the character was involved with her neighbor, especially considering everything else that was going on.

I would read other books by this author but this one just fell a little flat for me.

This was my very first book by Erica Spindler and I have to say, I enjoyed it quite a bit. It won’t be the last one I read.

There is something about a death in the snow at night that already leads itself into something you want to uncover. When you add an eerie suspicion that it might be you that was the target, you want to uncover more. Sienna Scott stumbled upon a murdered girl in college one night, who happened to be wearing almost the exact same jacket and gloves. When no murderer has been arrested, she begins to wonder that maybe she was the target. Take into account that her mother has a mental disorder that leads her to paranoia and fear that someone is trying to get her, you begin to wonder if she is right or she is like her mother. We travel back and forth between the past and the present where Sienna has come back home after years abroad. Not only does she have to deal with memories, the case has been reopened and Sienna is getting phone calls that have her on edge.

You will feel the mounting fear rising in your chest as the story stretches out. You start to second guess everyone and everything. There is a great group of characters lead by Sienna that has you hoping you are right about some things and wrong about some things. The mystery didn’t last throughout the whole book, I pretty much figured out the killer pretty quickly, but that didn’t take away from the story at all. Sienna is someone you will want to root for.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a review copy of this book.

I loved this book!! Great story!! 1st book I have read by this author will read more of her books!! Received this book from St. Martin's press from netgally!!

It seems like I've been waiting forever for a new book by Erica Spindler. Now, I know that's not true but it has been a couple of years. Not that long in reality but in "Book" years, it's a very long time. We have trouble waiting six months let along a year or two.

I know you guys know I'm a diehard romance reader. I don't read anything other than romance. In fact, I don't even do women's fiction. I just do romance. Spindler is the only author I break that rule for. She always puts enough romance in with her suspense to keep me interested. Of course, there is the fact that she writes a great story too.

I was so looking forward to The Look-Alike and it didn't disappoint.

The story is full of murder and plot twists. You will be lost in the story before you know it. I really loved the characters and loved how you didn't know anyone else intentions but Sienna's. Everyone else is a mystery to you. Makes you spend the book wondering who's good or who's bad.

So much fun.

I so felt for Sienna and what she's gone through in her life. With her mother's illness, an overbearing father and coming upon a murder, her life hasn't always been fun. Of course, her sad life makes us very entertained. Really sucks to be her.

It was fun jumping from one character to the next thinking that they are the bad guy only to change your mind in the next chapter. At first, I worried that it would take me a while to get through the story but once I started I flew.

I loved many of the characters and enjoyed them within the story. As a whole, it's a great book that if you like suspense you'll love it. My only issue and it's a small one is some of the flashback scenes felt out of left field. They just happened. I know they had to happen just didn't always like how they happened.

Other than that minor issues I really enjoyed the story and I'm looking forward to what she has coming down the pike.

What a surreal story, I was so shocked by the ending. Just like sienna
In the story I did not put two and two together and was shocked with the ending? At first the author has you thinning the look a like is between sienna and her mother but wholly 360 turn of events. This was a great thriller and suspense.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Erica Spindler for the opportunity to read this fast-paced thriller - a great read!

Sienna Scott grew up in a home marked with her mother's paranoid delusions. When Sienna was in college, she came upon a murdered girl - the killer was never caught. Sienna's mom was convinced the killer meant to kill Sienna; her father sent her to Paris to live with her grandmother to get away from her mom's delusions. Ten years later, Sienna returns home to help her brother care for her mom and to stop running away. However, she starts wondering if possibly her mom was right and the killer really was after her. But is she right or is she following down the path of her mom's delusions?

Even if you may guess the real culprit in this story, it won't keep you from guessing and changing your mind a few times! This is a great thrill ride and another winner from this author!

Thanks to NET Galley for an advance digital copy of THE LOOK-ALIKE.

While this is definitely a crime thriller, and I wavered back and forth as to whether Sienna was the intended victim or whether or not she was paranoid, I really enjoyed the psychological component of this novel.

I thought Ms. Spindler handled the mental illness component of the novel very well. It gave me a good understanding of the paranoid delusional disorder that the mother had and showed various ways of dealing with it.

he Look Alike by Erica Spindler is a lovely creepy mystery. The elements of an unsolved murder, a mother with paranoid delusions and a young female who is so uncertain lead to a curious mixture of people. Sienna Scott is the main character. She has come back home after living away for 10 years, but it's hard to come back home. Sienna figures it's her turn to take care of her mother since her stepbrother, Brad has been doing it alone for a lot of years. She wants to open her own restaurant and to live her life, but there are several things getting in the way including a murder that happened 10 years ago.

The murderer, to my mind, has to be one of three people. Of course Sienna has everything to do with all three people. I like the twists and turns the book took. I did like Sienna as a main character however I do not think she was a strong character. A couple of times I did get a little creeped out with Sienna’s decisions but that was part of the novel. The Look-Alike by Erica Spindler was a good mystery and did keep my attention the entire way through.

I have always loved Erica Spindler books and this book was no exception. Well developed characters and a storyline that was easy to follow make this psychological thriller, with romance thrown in, a great read..

This is another fantastic thriller from one of the best authors out there. Spindler never disappoints. Always love the daughter; abroad; traveling home to the long buried, small town secret theme. Full of secrets and suspense, and a little romance. This was a great read! Thanks to NetGalley for the arc ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Look-Alike
A Novel
by Erica Spindler
St. Martin's Press
Mystery & Thrillers , Women's Fiction

Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for This digital ARC of this book. I will purchase this book for our library. We have many suspense readers who will enjoy this book.

A decent little romantic thriller which focuses heavily on mental illness, and how it affects those we love the most.

This is my first Erica Spindler novel, and I was mostly satisfied the story. It was a quite different take on the thriller genre, which I appreciated. I'd say it's a little long-winded, as evidenced by the superfluous details throughout, but I was absolutely engaged while reading.

Told strictly from Sienna's point of view, she has just arrived back home after a decade overseas in London. She's justifiably concerned about her mother's mental illness, and how their close proximity might affect her day-to-day life. Nevertheless, she's still happily making plans for her future in Tranquility Bluffs. That is until she discovers the local police force is reopening a homicide case from 10 years earlier...a case in which she was a key player.

Thankfully, Sienna and the rest of the gang were all well-developed and interesting characters.
Although the red herrings were quite good, I did manage to pick up a few clues which pointed to the killer almost immediately. For that reason, I deducted a star from my rating. While a few people may miss the clues, I doubt most will as they're glaringly obvious.

Overall, I was a fan, and I definitely plan to read more of Ms. Spindler's books in the future. Recommended.

3.5 stars rounded down

**Many thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Is Sienna Scott crazy? Does she see things that aren't there? That is the main question you will ask yourself as you read this book. One minute you think you have things figured out and the next something changes your mind. Murder, mental illness, lies, and other things you can't even imagine.

I liked this book but I felt that it wasn't quite as good as the past books that I have read by this author. I was still intrigued and still read through to the end so still a good book. And I will always read whatever this author puts out because she does and amazing job!

3.5 stars.

The Look-Alike by Erica Spindler is an entertaining thriller. It's about Sienna, who discovered the body of a murdered young woman when she was just 18. The woman's murder was never solved, and traumatized by the event, Sienna was sent away to live in London with her grandmother. Now, ten years later, she has returned back home to live with her mentally ill mother. And coincidentally, as soon as she returns home, the unsolved murder case is opened back up again. Plagued by her mother's mental illness and questions about her own mental sanity, Sienna uncovers family secrets and questions whether she can trust the people she believed to be closest to her. Can she even trust herself?

I found most of this story to be compelling, and it kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen. I had a pretty good idea of who the killer was through most of the book, but I didn't know why. And I thought I might be wrong, because my suspect seemed somewhat obvious. Spindler did a good job of creating a whole cast of characters that genuinely felt untrustworthy! I didn't trust a single character in this story.

One frustration that I had with this book was the dialogue. I thought the dialogue throughout the book was flat and unnatural. The conversations sometimes felt too abrupt and just didn't flow well. That was frustrating to me and did detract from the story at times. But overall, I enjoyed the book and think it would be a good option for anyone looking for a fast and entertaining thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book is available on January 28!

Finished this ARC today and it was so good! It was my first @erica.spindler.author novel and it did not disappoint! With every twist and turn I found myself changing my mind on what I thought was going to happen! It certainly kept me on my toes and will not be my last Erica Spindler novel! Get your copy in just 3 short days when it’s officially published! Thanks @netgalley @stmartinspress and @erica.spindler.author for the chance to read and review this ARC! 4⭐️!

A murder. A mistaken case of identity or a crime of passion? Delusional disorders. A love story or two. That’s what’s waiting for you in this fast-paced novel. I pretty much suspected the murderer the whole time, but Spindler did a great job of making me doubt myself time and time again.

Overall, I enjoyed this story - it made me feel paranoid! I wasn’t a fan of the ending, as it was pretty cliche, but it wasn’t bad.

*3.5 stars rounded up. This is a nice, light, entertaining thriller with a little romance thrown in. Ten years ago, Sienna Scott stumbled over the body of a young woman who had been stabbed to death while returning to the dorm at midnight in the midst of a blinding snowstorm. The police never did find the killer and at some point, Sienna began to wonder if SHE was the intended victim because the two girls were wearing the same color coats.

Because Sienna's mother suffers from persecutory delusional disorder, her family began to worry that Sienna herself was showing signs of the disorder with this kind of thinking, and she was sent to live with her paternal grandmother in London.

Now she's come back home to Wisconsin unannounced and is surprised to learn the cold murder case has been reopened after ten years. Once again Sienna wonders if she was the intended victim, especially when she begins to get anonymous phone calls telling her she was right all along...

Sienna is an interesting character. There are two aspects to the 'look-alike' of the title of this story: One, that she looks so much like the murder victim; and the other, that she looks so much like her mother. But does that mean that she will also develop the same mental disorder?

Sienna seems a little immature for her age--perhaps because she's been coddled all her life, the adored family 'princess.' Now at nearly 30, she finds she has a lot to deal with when she moves back in with her widowed mother whose attacks of paranoia seem so much worse than Sienna remembers, especially when her mother refuses to take her meds. Sienna needs to prove to herself and the rest of the town that she is not her mother's clone.

As the saying goes, you are not paranoid if someone is really out to get you. As Sienna begins to feel her life is once again in danger, she tries to sort through her memories and the clues of the old murder case to see if she can solve it herself. She needs help but whom can she trust? The handsome new neighbor across the street? Her half-brother who has been dealing with his stepmother since the death of their father? The campus cop who came to her rescue on that horrible night ten years ago? Erica Spindler throws enough red-herrings into the plot to keep the reader guessing till the exciting conclusion.

I received an arc of this new thriller from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks.