A well-written story that addresses mental illness via the main character, Paula.
Paula suffers from childhood trauma, blackouts, mental illness, and chronic depression, which is a prominent theme throughout the novel. It was really well-written and researched. The story is a brilliant ride of twists and turns, and with an untrustworthy narrator, it's easy to believe anything just to discover that reality is quite different. Surprising and unexpected findings abound in the novel. All of the characters' internal dramas lead to an ending that is both predictable and surprising.

I have attempted this book a couple of times, but it is unfortunately a DNF.

I will purchase a hard copy and try reading this as sometimes I find I get into a book in a hardcopy

This is a neat psychological thriller that I found to be extremely compelling. Paula Hickman notices that her ex-boyfriend, Anthony who has moved in across the street, has a wife, Hannah, who is identical to her. Nobody but Paula can see the resemblance, or only in a very vague sense. Paula suffers from depression and a murder takes place but Paula doesn't know who the killer is, or even if it could have been her.

The Identical Opposite was certainly a cracking read! It is a clever rollercoaster of twists with the epitome of unreliable narrators and in fact, all of the characters were well-drawn. Chockablock with surprises and shocking revelations, this domestic drama leads to an ending that manages to be two things; the expected and unexpected. Clay Savage is a great, new-to-me author and I'll be checking out his other work.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Ocean Park Press via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Paula Hickman, chronically depressed, lives with her professor husband, Alan, in a large house. When Anthony Mills, her former boyfriend, who she hasn’t met in twenty-five years, moves into the house opposite with his wife Hannah, Paula is shocked to see that she looks exactly like her.
But no one else seems to think so. They see a vague resemblance, but nothing like what Paula believes and insists is true.
Then Hannah is found murdered on the very night that Paula is found to have attempted to slash her own wrists. Did Paula give in to jealousy and kill Hannah? The jealousy that might have led her to kill her roommate, Emily Jenkins, because she dared express an interest in Anthony. That case was deemed a suicide, but was it Paula’s doing?
The trouble is that Paula’s own memories of that night are fuzzy, and she has no idea what she might have done. She doesn’t think so, but she can’t remember anything. And it doesn’t help that her journal offers glimpses into her worst self.
How can she prove the truth when she has no idea what the truth is? And is Paula the only one to have invented a persona to hide her true self?



Written in the third person omniscient PoV of Paula, a most unreliable narrator. The narrative takes us on a flashback, where we meet Allyson Clements, her boyfriend, Anthony, his younger brother Darius, and Paula’s roommate, a girl called Emily Jenkins, who dies after falling off the terrace of a building.

The book introduces us to the ravages of mental illness. Paula knowingly creates personas of herself to keep herself sane. As she tells us, To be self-invented is to be human.

It also talks about depression and the toll it takes on individuals without making it sound pitiable and pathetic.


The style of the writing is gripping and engaging. The characters are well etched. I liked Jacob Russo for his paternal solicitude towards Paula. At 81, the man lets neither age nor infirmity stand in the way of his support of Paula.

I also liked Paula, and understood the demons that tore at her heart after all that she had been through. The lawyer, Lincoln Childress, also made an impression, not only with his overall persona and dedication to the case, but also with the single anecdote relating to his personal life that makes him less of a caricature, more relatable to us.

I found myself on edge, racing through the pages in my haste to figure out what happens next. The action is plentiful and well described, and the pace just right. The conflict resolution was handled well, albeit a little too swiftly. Bonus points for the completely apt image on the cover.

There were a few mistakes though. In Chapter 31, a character, Valerie, says, Viola, when she needs to say Voila. In Chapter 1, Paula plays a game of Truth or Lie with Alan, twice in the space of a few paragraphs. Then in Chapter 13, Alan reflects that Truth or Lie was a game they played very often. It seems odd that a game that two main characters played that often is mentioned twice in the first chapter, and then forgotten. A serious continuity issue there.

Another time a character is said to have wretched, instead of retched.

The book was about the personas we create to suit our needs and how everybody does it. We learn in the book, Perceptions are often a poor reflection of reality. This is the message at the heart of this book, one that is reiterated constantly.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ocean Park Press for my copy of The Identical Opposite by Clay Savage in exchange for an honest review. It published July 15, 2020.
There is the perfect book for everyone, and I'm sure this book is perfect for many, however, it just wasn't my cup of tea. I never really connected with the characters, it felt disjointed, and I spent much of the time confused. Also the need for so much gruesome detail and profanity was a bit of a turn-off for me.
But if you're into a harder thriller with nothing held back, you'll be drawn to this one.
Trigger warning: Suicide, self-harm, attempted suicide, murder, mental health issues.

An interesting psychological thriller, a bit like Girl on the Train, where you're not sure about the main character.

This book centers around a woman named Paula and her husband Alan. Your typical white and wealthy couple, living a seemingly perfect existence. However, maybe they aren't perfect for each other anymore. Once a mysterious ex-boyfriend of Laura's moves in across the street with a new wife and child, things start to shift. What if our past can come back to haunt us? What if the cracks in our inner foundations start to crumble?

Let me just start out by saying that this book was a wild ride. While I was reading it, I felt as though I was being pushed and pulled along on a bumpy rollercoaster ride. Something about the speed in which this book moved was just, bingeable. I found myself not wanting to put this book down.

However, the trope/plot twist (of which there were many) didn't quite hit the nail on the head for me. It ultimately came off as sort of cheesy and unrealistic in the end. Still a solid read for me and I am so glad I read it! I would recommend this to any of my fellow thriller friends.

I wasn't wild about this long and harrowing ride through psychosis and gaslighting. I suppose the moral is, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you."

I did finish reading it just out of curiosity to find out what was actually happening, but I didn't really like any of the characters or feel invested in what happened to any of them.

Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Identical Opposite by Clay Savage. This book was a rollercoaster ride of whodunit questions from start to finish that kept me guessing right up until *almost* the very end! Fans of The Silent Patient would not be disappointed in this one.

A very well written novel addressing mental illness in the specific case of the main character, Paula.
Paula is afflicted with childhood trauma, blackouts, mental illness, and suffers from major depression as well; a major focus in the book. It was very well-written and well-researched. The plot is a clever ride of twists and with an unreliable narrator, it's easy to believe something and then find out reality is completely different. The book is filled with surprises and shocking revelations. The domestic drama of all the characters lead to an end that is both expected and unexpected at the same time.

I had a lot of fun reading this novel, and trying (and failing) to guess what direction the book was going in. It was amazing how well-thought out all the plotlines were, and how shocking everything was when things started falling into place. I felt it dragged on in some places, but the book was un-put-downable and I finished it in a day. It was a really good read and I'm glad that it ended the way it did. This book helps put many things in perspective, and it was refreshing because of how un-guessable the twists were! The ending is also a little bit open-ended, but also final in its resolution. I really enjoyed this book and I'm glad I got to read it!

*Thank you to the publisher; Ocean Park Press, the author; Clay Savage, and Netgalley for my free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Oh my but this was a twisty and fun read! Savage has done a remarkable job creating a world and cast of characters that feed off of each other perfectly. The psychological drama, the "is she or isn't she??" aspects of the "psychosis", the mysterious relationships between characters - all were established in clouds of secrecy and red herring-ness and they proceeded to develop apace... The writing was crisp and the style worked very well for the tale. I did find the ending to be a bit tidy, considering the gloriously messy majority of the book. It didn't detract from my enjoyment, although it did surprise me. I would definitely read Clay Savage again!

I really enjoyed this book!! Is Paula an unreliable narrarator or is something more terrifying at play here? Does her neighbor look just like her? Andy why is her ex living right across the street? I was pleasantly surprised with this story. It kept me interested from beginning to end! I'll definitely be looking for more from Clay Savage! Highly recommend!!

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher and Author for an ARC of this book.

i really enjoyed the mystery, the characters were great and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters.

WOW....this was one creepy read, and I LOVE creepy reads. Perfect read for fall. I can't recommend this one enough if you want a intense psychological thriller. It kept me glued to my seat...EXCELLENT book!

Enjoyed this book,liked the style of writing,kept me really engaged and wanting to see what happened next.
A few twists and turns, sometimes I thought I knew what was coming,but I was wrong!Very clever.I would
definitely read more by this author.

I have mixed feelings about this book, it was slow to start then got interesting and then got overly dramatic which lost me. It had a satisfying ending but also it could've been a bit more drawn out the very ending to make it have more of a good guys win resolution

Well I have never read anything by this author before but this was such a cool thriller. I loved the twists and turns and the authors writing style. Loved the story line, very intriguing and page turning till the end! Thank you netgalley, the author and publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable read with well developed characters. The issue of mental health was covered sensitively but also with authenticity. The story was good and had a few twists dropped in.

I have not come across the writing of Clay Savage before but was intrigued by the book description. This is a very good psychological thriller that keeps you guessing throughout. I didn't really know what to expect from this book having not having heard anything of the author or book but the experience was all positive with me really enjoying it.

Paula Hickman's ex partner moves in across the street but his new partner is identical to her, liking looking in a mirror. Paula's sanity is pushed to the limits and is unable to rely on her own perception of events. So when a murder strikes Santa Monica, nobody is certain, not even Paula, if she is the killer.

A very good novel that makes fascinating reading and a little different from others I have read lately.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Ocean Park Press for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is a neat psychological thriller that deserves much more love on Goodreads! The book starts with the intriguing premise of an "identical opposite." Paula notices one day that her ex-boyfriend, who has moved in across the street, has a wife who is identical to her. Not just someone who looks similar, but someone who is IDENTICAL, like looking in the mirror. Worse yet, nobody else can see the resemblance. Paula has suffered from depression for awhile but knows she is not going crazy. What is the explanation?

From this cool premise comes a series of twists and turns and double-crosses that are very well plotted and executed. And of course, there is murder. I liked Paula a great deal from the beginning, even when it seemed impossible that she could be seeing what she thought she was seeing. The book does a great job unraveling the mystery and presenting a thrilling and fun adventure with all the psychological fun I was looking for in this type of book.

Clay Savage is a great writer and I'll be checking out some of his other work! 4 psycho-but-not-really-psycho stars for this smart psychological thriller. Thanks to NetGalley, Clay Savage and Ocean Park Press for the advance copy!