Title: Original Twin
Author: Paula Gleeson
Pub Date: June 1, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5 Stars)

May and June are twin sisters who are very different from each other. May is quiet and withdrawn, while June is outgoing, pretty and loves attention. One day, a newspaper article is discovered that reveals that their now deceased mother also vanished for a brief time nineteen years ago. Thinking this can’t be a coincidence, May becomes determined to look into her mother’s disappearance and follow clues that June seems to have left for her to help her find out what happened to June and how her disappearance is connected to her mother’s all those years ago.

This is definitely one that thriller lovers won’t want to miss! It’s full of twists and keeps you guessing…I thought I had it all figured out many times but it still ended up shocking me in the end! There are so many questions to be answered ….What happened to June? What happened to their mom all those years ago? How is it all connected and who killed their mother? This is a quick read that you can easily finish in a day because you won’t want to stop turning the pages until the very end! If this is a debut, I can’t wait to see what Paula Gleeson comes up with next!

This book is getting a lot of buzz around @thrillerbookloversthepulse, it’s definitely one that you’re definitely not going to want to miss out on this summer!

This one was absolutely unputdownable with all of the drama and the 3 POV’s worked so well.

There’s twists and turns, complex family dynamics, and plenty of suspects, a small town setting…𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗔𝗦𝗞 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗜𝗡 𝗔 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥?!🤌🏼

Trust me, you’re going to want to pick up this bingeable, addictive, fast paced, popcorn thriller when it hits shelves!🔥

o I have a bone to pick with my @thrillerbookloversthepulse squad… STOP RECOMMENDING SO MANY AWESOME BOOKS 😂 Seriously… I want a vacation just to curl up and read all these awesome thrillers, like Original Twin.

Original Twin (a debut!) delivers on its promise of a psychological* thriller and digs right into the characters minds, motivations and the idea of nature vs. nurture.

I like how the story was told through multiple timelines, POVs (May, June, Diana) and letters (my personal fave). Diana, the Roman goddess of the moon, hunting and fertility among other things, was perfectly named.

Original Twins lives in the grey area where good and bad have lost their meaning and this makes for lots of suspects and red herrings. I pieced together some of the twists along the way, but I’m the kind of girlie who loves being right so this didn’t impact my enjoyment of the book.

HOWEVER… the ending took me totally by surprise and it was chef’s kiss perfect.

I can’t wait to see what Paula Gleeson does next!

Thank you Thomas & Mercer @amazonpublishing and @netgalley for the gifted e-arc to read and review🩷

Another fantastic thriller centred around one of my favourite topics - twins! May and June are opposites in every way. But when June goes missing, on the same day their mother previously vanished, May starts finding clues of June's investigations into the past. Can she follow all the clues and what will she find?

Told through multiple POVs, I absolutely zoomed through this book. It is definitely one that you will find hard to stop in the middle because you just need to know what will happen next ALL THE TIME! With so many twists and turns, buckle yourself in for a wild ride!

*** SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS ***

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*** LOTS OF SPOILERS ***

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This book will forever stay in my mind. Mostly because of how incomplete it feels. It was a page turner for sure. But there are a lot of inconsistencies. Detectives aren’t normally that frivolous with their case files. Also, after over a year no one is going to notice that June is just living and eating and breathing and sleeping in a wardrobe in Pat’s house?! lol.

The main thing though: is this supposed to be a series or a standalone? Why is June’s dad (Sharon’s brother) now Sue’s boyfriend? Is he there to harm her or the twins? Does he know? Does May know? Does June know? Does Sue know?

The book mentions that May feels like he is so familiar and that when he reaches for his glass he has a missing thumb. His name is also Ant, short for Anthony. { Chapter 46 }

In Diana’s chapters, she mentions that she never killed Anthony but she did smash his thumb when he was pinned under the car. { Diana chapter in between Chapter 46 & 47 }

So is the book just gonna leave us with him not being confronted? He’s just hanging out with the family with Sue. He was the bad guy right?! Sharon’s brother, that came into her room when Diana was in a towel and took advantage of her and is now June’s dad?!

There was also zero emotion. I expected more emotion from May when she found out Sam was her dad. He was actually my favorite character. I also expected more emotion when May saw June. Like maybe a gasp or a hug or an OMG or somethinggg. But nope. They just hopped in the car and went and got a milkshake. How would you feel if your sister went missing and everyone around you was planning her funeral with an empty casket? And then you thought she was alive and you finally found her. I’d be shedding a tear or something.

I feel like this book has so much potential to be an amazing thriller but it just needs fixed up a bit.

One year ago, May's twin sister June disappeared without a trace. No one knows where she went or what happened to her. When May returned home for her sister's funeral, she found an old newspaper article hidden in her sister's room about their mother also mysteriously disappearing at the age of nineteen, too. It's the same as June. May soon discovers that her sister June was looking into their mother's disappearance, and she begins to pick up and follow the trail of where her sister left off. The more May uncovers, the more questions she has. What will she find at the end of her sister's trail?


If family drama and secrets are your thing, make sure to add this thriller to your tbr. When May discovers the clues left behind by her missing sister June that eerily link her sister's disappearance to their mother's, May begins to follow the clues to hunt down answers to their mother's unknown past and hopefully find her missing sister. As May's piecing together her sister's clues, we're getting more clues from snippets of their mom past from flashbacks from their mom, Diana's, perspective, and also in letters that June has written to their dead mother from information she had already dug up before she went missing. Be prepared, dear reader, because there's so much information thrown at you that you won't know what to think, who to believe, or what is true. Then, when the truth finally comes out, it's one bombshell after another. There was never a dull moment in this story, and the ending was absolutely shocking! Beware, though, this is one where information is subtly dropped and not blatantly thrown in your face, so pay close attention when reading, or you'll miss some very good details that are sure to be shocking!

𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝑰𝑺 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 ......

Special thanks to @paulagleesonauthor
@thrillerbookloversthepulse @amazonpublishing and @netgalley for this #gifted eARC.

MY REVIEW:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I can NOT believe this is a debut. It reads so smoothly. Each chapter leaves me wanting more. Stayed up WAY too late, needing all the answers = WHAT HAPPENED TO JUNE?!?!?.

I read this in 2 sitting. I'm definitely rooting for May, but also have a few of her family members you'll love to hate by the end. Although the chapters aren't super short, they read like they are. There is a sort of "mixed media" and multiple povs/dual timelines, which makes for so much suspense that you're clawing to find out what happens.
I did guess a few of the "answers" by the ending, but I still had some "holy sh*t" moments, too.

I highly recommend this debut for anyone who loves a great twisty family thriller/suspense.

PUB DATE:
June 1, 2024

QOTD ❓️⁉️❓️ What is a debut you've read recently that you can't believe is a debut?!

✨️
SYNOPSIS:
Twin sisters May and June couldn’t be more different. May is quiet, self-conscious, withdrawn; June is boisterous, beautiful, magnetic…and missing.

It’s been a year since June disappeared, a year of May waiting for her to turn up with an explanation of where she’s been and why she left. But with the discovery of an old newspaper article comes a secret: their mother once vanished, too, on the same date when she was nineteen years old.

Just like June.

This was no coincidence. June was investigating this buried family mystery, and she left May a series of clues to pick up where she left off. Now, if May wants to find June, she’ll have to retrace her footsteps through their mother’s past.

The more answers she digs up, the more questions May has. And the biggest one of all: When her sister’s trail of breadcrumbs runs out, what or who will she find?
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#mysteryandthrills #thrillerbooklovers #thrillerbookloversthepulse #thepulse #thrilleraddict #thrillersandsuspense #bookaddict #booklover #bookbuzz #tbrpile #upcomingdebut #debutthriller #upcomingthriller

I finished this in under 2 days!!! The fastest I've ever gone through a book. Amazing plot and characters. If you only read one book a month make sure it's this one.

What a brilliant banger of a book! With twist and turns aplenty, complicated family dynamics, and a cast of fully-realised (and not always so loveable) characters, ORIGINAL TWIN is a total page-turner. I particularly relished the atmospheric setting, multiple points of view, and the creative format, and Gleeson's narrative voice strikes the perfect tone for this mystery.

Thanks to the author and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This debut thriller focuses on twin sisters May and June.

June is missing. She has been for a year.
With the discovery of an old newspaper article comes a secret: Their mother once vanished, too, on the same date when she was nineteen years old. Just like June.

Is this a coincidence?

Well, you'll have to read it to find out ⭐️

💥 You may enjoy this if you like twisty thrillers, dual POV and timelines, mysterious family dynamics, shifty characters and intrigue.

This is one of the most suspenseful stories I've read in a while. At the onset, we know that June is missing, and her twin sister May is desperately clinging to hope that she's still alive. As May searches for her sister, we get a dual timeline perspective from May and June's mother Diana, and the mystery deepens. The author does a fabulous job of dangling breadcrumbs and clues for both May and the reader to follow throughout the book to a very interesting ending. The narrators for the audiobook are also fabulous and held my attention. I highly recommend this one for fans of family drama and psychological suspense.

Huge thank you to @thrillerbookloverspulse for my ALC of Original Twin by @Paula Gleeson | author ✍️📚 This book had my attention from the start! I listened to it in one day, as I couldn’t stop until I knew what happened! I really enjoyed the three POVs and multiple timelines and how they all pieced together to answer the million questions running through my head! The ending had me 🤯🤯🤯 Truly shocking and I loved the way June left little hints to what happened to her and their mother! I don’t want to give anything away, I will just say this is a spectacular debut that I highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my e-ARC of Original Twin!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
👯‍♀️ are a twin
🤫 if your mother hid things from you
🕵🏻‍♀️ want to play detective alongside May
🌪️ are looking for a plot with twist after twist

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Twin sisters May and June couldn’t be more different. May is quiet, self-conscious, withdrawn; June is boisterous, beautiful, magnetic…and missing.

It’s been a year since June disappeared, a year of May waiting for her to turn up with an explanation of where she’s been and why she left. But with the discovery of an old newspaper article comes a secret: their mother once vanished, too, on the same date when she was nineteen years old.

Just like June.

This was no coincidence. June was investigating this buried family mystery, and she left May a series of clues to pick up where she left off. Now, if May wants to find June, she’ll have to retrace her footsteps through their mother’s past.

The more answers she digs up, the more questions May has. And the biggest one of all: When her sister’s trail of breadcrumbs runs out, what or who will she find?

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was such a wild ride the whole way through. The ending kept hitting me with twist after twist after twist! I had my suspicions about a few things since the beginning that turned out to be true, but most of it I honestly didn’t see coming. Almost everyone in this story is an unreliable narrator. The story is mainly told from May’s POV but we get tiny glimpses from a few other characters as well, mainly Diana and June. I loved how the story wrapped up, and I’m excited to read more from this author in the future!

I feel like I just got off of a carnival ride that lost control and derailed, and I love it! Just when I thought I had something figured out, I learned very quickly that I was completely wrong. There are so many twists and wtf moments around every corner that I’m going to be thinking about this book for a while, especially that shocking last chapter 😳

★ 5 Stars ★
I'm thrilled that #ThrillerBookLoversThePulse put this 5-star debut thriller on my radar! Yes, you heard me right. This magnificent novel that thriller lovers are RAVING about is a DEBUT. Trust me - you will want this one in your hands/book bag when it comes out on JUNE 1! SAVE THE DATE so you can run off to your favorite reading spot!

This gripping thriller had me hooked from start to finish. The author masterfully crafted a series of unexpected twists that kept me on the edge of my seat and even revealed a fascinating fact that I had to look up myself - and it turned out to be true!

Despite the title suggesting that the book is about twins, it delves into various themes, including family dynamics, friendships, and other meaningful relationships, the difficult choices we make in our youth, and the secrets that can come back to haunt us. The unique narration style includes multiple points of view, letters, and police evidence that make the story even more compelling.

The audiobook version of this debut novel is particularly excellent, with highly talented narrators who kept me hooked until the end.

Thanks to Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse/Brilliance Audio/Thomas Mercer for providing advanced copies of this book through NetGalley. As always, all opinions are my own and left voluntarily.

I’m so excited to be posting this review. Over at The Pulse ORIGINAL TWIN has been making a lot of buzz! When I saw the COVER for this book, I was instantly intrigued! Then I read the blurb and I was honestly sold! For starters fun fact…. I have a twin obsession. Then the premise of the book was extremely intriguing. I couldn’t wait to see if the author was able to follow through on what the blurb promises which is that the thriller will have readers guessing until the end.

It DID! This was so good! It was one of those books that left me feeling completely satisfied and that can be hard to come by.

This story had multiple timelines as well as multiple POV’s with the perspectives of the twins May and June and that of their mother. Prior to her death the twins mother once disappeared and now all these years later June has vanished on the same exact day. In trying to find out what the connection is and where her sister is, May uncovers family secrets her family has been hiding.

The writing in this book was phenomenal with the timelines weaving seamlessly together. ORIGINAL TWIN is a debut thriller that reads like it was wrote by a veteran thriller author.

This was easily 5 stars! Paula Gleason is now an auto-buy author for me!

Thank you to @amazonpublishing and @thrillerbookloversthepulse for my complimentary copy!

This is an immersive psychological thriller about twin sisters, May and June, their mother, Diana, who went missing as a young woman but then reappeared, claiming she had been abducted, and the subsequent disappearance of June on the same date as her mother years later. How are these disappearances related? Was June on the verge of unearthing details of Dianna’s abduction? What secrets will May uncover when she goes looking for June?

I read this one in a day trying to unravel the many twists, clues, secrets and red herrings as the story unfolded from the twins’ and the mother’s perspectives. Throw in family/sister drama, complicated mother-daughter relationships and a surprise twist at the end, and this one is an impressive debut by @paulagleesonauthor Recommend for thriller readers who love twists and turns, family secrets and deceit!!

Thanks to Thomas and Mercer and @amazonpublishing for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

I will post on my social media on May 9 as my turn on the Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse tour. I will also post on Amazon on pub day.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Thomas&Mercer for the book #OriginalTwin by #PaulaGleeson. This book is amazing! I was totally enthralled and could not put it down. A story about one twin disappearing and year ago and the other twin on a search for her. There are so many surprises and a big plot twist at the end. Highly recommend.

✨️ The team at @thrillerbookloversthepulse are reviewing Original Twin and it is fire !! 🔥 It's definitely one you'll want to grab right on release day 😍

Original Twin was an intensely fast paced, bingeable, addictive, bingeable one sitting thriller. It was truly AMAZING. I cannot comprehend that this is a debut, it did not read like a debut at all. It was perfectly woven, detailed, balanced, fleshed out, intricately and meticulously constructed. I couldn't have guessed the outcome of any of it ! 

The different POV’s betweens the twins, the mother, the letters, the past and present were just the icing on the cake to keep me so hooked through it all. So many time I thought I had guessed it right, boy was I wrong. This is how you do a thriller 👏👏👏 The way the author steers you one way to completely and utterly shock you in the end, trust me, my mouth fell open at that ending, I could've never expected that 🤯

Gleeson is definitely an author to watch, she will definitely be an auto buy author for me. Fabulous job for this wonderfully amazing thriller. 

✨️ Thank you to @thrillerbookloversthepulse, @brilliancepublishing & @paulagleeson for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was a little hesitant to read this at first since books centered around missing persons are not my favorite. I find them to be too predictable.

THIS BOOK. THIS ENDING. I'm deceased. It was GREAT.

Original Twin is dark, mysterious, emotional, and it had me in a chokehold from start to finish. I questioned everyone and everything. Although there were things I figured out prior to the reveal (it's a superpower I never asked for), this was so well written and so entertaining that I didn't even mind. It's fast paced, and the author doesn't waste time getting to the good stuff. I'm not even going to talk about the ending because I refuse to say anything that could potentially ruin it. All I will say, my jaw is still on the floor and will stay there for a minute. It was absolutely perfect. 10/10. I look forward to reading many more books from Paula Gleeson!