What a wild, twisty, bread crumb-following thriller!

May's family decides to have a funeral for her twin sister June who has been missing for a year, hoping to find closure. While May scans through June's room, she finds a hidden newspaper article that lets her know her mother also went missing when she was 19, on the exact same day in September that June went missing years later. May becomes convinced her sister left her clues to discovering the truth about their mom, and follows a trail of bread crumbs that reveal multiple shocking secrets about her family.

It's best to go into this book as blindly as possible, because every clue that's revealed changes the context of everything you know about May's family. I thoroughly enjoyed the way all the pieces of information came together, and the voices of the three women at the heart of this story!

Oh my god what an addicting book. I read this in one day! I couldn’t stop flipping the pages to see what happened.
Told in multiple POVs we get a look into each of the characters. But who is telling the truth?
Twins, May and June, couldn’t be any more different. May is quiet and June is outgoing and dramatic.
On the exact day their mother went missing as a teen, June goes missing as well. Are they connected? A year after June’s disappearance, May is determined to get the truth with the clues June left behind. Everyone thinks June is dead but May is determined to find her alive.
You guys need to add this one to your list if you’re a thriller fan. That ending shook me.

4.5! May cannot believe her father is having a funeral for her missing twin sister June. She has only been missing a year, and May knows she is out there - somewhere! They are twins after all, wouldn't she know if something had happened to June. Something more than just her missing? May has decided that she is going to find June, she knows she is the only one who can and when she realizes that June may have left hints in the form of a game they used to play, that maybe it won't be as hard as she thinks. But when the past about her mother comes to light, May feels herself not getting anywhere. How did her sister go missing the same day her mother had decades ago, and why had she not known about this? What secrets is her family all hiding and is the one who took mom, back for some sort of sick revenge, by now taking a daughter? This thriller was an edge of your seat the whole read! Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the complementary ebook. Thriller Book Lovers the Pulse is excited to get the jump on this read coming out June 1st!

I just finished reading this book and I loved it. It centers around twin sisters May and June and their mother Diana. May and June are as different as can be and when June goes missing, May is determined to find her. This stories told from Diana’s view in the past and May and June and I love multiple POV books. This book kept me guessing who was good and who was bad right up until the end. A great book!

Skillfully written thriller with lots of twists. I loved the way the clues came out like a treasure hunt, and the character of Pat was perfectly weird and appealing. If you like twists and family drama, Original Twin is the book for you!

A twisty crossover thriller that will have readers guessing right up until the end. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Mary Kubica, and Megan Abbott.

This was great! Great characters and great plot twists!

Title- Original Twin
Rating-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller. I really liked how the author had the different view points between the twins and their mother and some of the narrative being letters written in the past. This book seriously had me on my toes, I couldn’t put this book down. I read it in less than 24 hours.

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 will she find?

Add this one to your tbr besties as this one doesn’t come out on kindle unlimited/for purchase until June 1, 2024✨

Original Twin is described as a "twisty crossover thriller" and honestly that couldn't be a better description. The complex characters, strong plot, multiple timelines and narrators, red herrings, and intentional misinformation had my head spinning and kept me questioning everything.

The characters were really well developed and kept surprising me. With June missing and May trying to unravel the mystery surrounding not only her lost twin but also her deceased mother from 20 years prior, I felt like I was right alongside her discovering her family's secrets. The parallels between June and Diana added an element to the story that was unexpected and exciting. For both June and Diana, I couldn't decide whether they had been taken or faked their abductions. Gleeson kept me on the edge of my seat not knowing who I could trust or what to believe.

I really liked the format of the novel with the multiple narrators and timelines. Each narrator gave me breadcrumbs that helped me find pieces of the puzzle but I was never really able to fit them all together. How everything ties together in the end was wild and totally unique and I think my jaw is still hanging!

All in all, this was super entertaining, thrilling, and totally bingeworthy. I highly recommend. Thank you to Thriller Book Lovers - The Pulse and Thomas & Mercer for the copy.

I love a sisters book, especially twin sisters, and this one has a twist. No spoilers here, but I loved it. Original Twin is a page-turner, one that, once you start, you've just got to know. If this is just Paula Gleeson's debut, I can't wait to see what she's got up here sleeve next!

Twin sisters, as different as night and day. May is quiet and reserved, while June is the life of any party. Well, she was at least until a year ago when she disappeared. While everyone else has accepted that June must be dead, May is determined to find her sister. June has left clues behind that lead May to discover a lot about not only June, but also their deceased mother Diana.
May uncovers a web of secrets and lies that stretch all the way back to before her mother had the twins. I did not guess how it would end. There was a lot to unpack here, and the author did a great job peeling back the layers that defined this family. As for that ending! I screamed what at my Kindle.
My first read by Paula Gleason and it was well worth my time.

This was an enjoyable read from debut author Paula Gleeson. The intricate plot kept me guessing until the end, and the dynamic between the sisters added depth to the story.

I did struggle, however, with most of the story being written in third-person and didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable, making them hard to root for. That said, this was plot-driven enough that I didn’t necessarily need to connect with the characters to enjoy the story. All said, I think this one will be a hit with thriller readers, so overall 3 solid stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC.

This is great read, I really enjoyed it! Family secrets and sibling rivalry propelled me through a suspenseful mystery, and I couldn’t stop reading! I loved the mysterious atmosphere and the main character, and how twisty the tale was told. I was hooked from page one. Brilliant!

Loved the clues and trails that June left for May to find her. Liked the letters in the book. The twist at the end was great. Overall a great book

Thank you @thrillerbookloverspromotions @amazonpublishing #partner for the gifted copy of this ebook!

Twin sisters, May and June, are a bit like opposites attract. May is the quiet , subdued, more of an introvert while June is outgoing, stunning, spirited and lively sister. And June is…missing. Not willing to let it go and go on not knowing what became of her sister May starts to investigate. As she digs she comes across a newspaper article learning her mother also vanished on the same date at the same age as June. She knows deep in her gut that detail is not a coincidence. But how are they tied together? As May starts to uncover details she learns that June was investigating her families secrets too and her mother’s vanishing all those years ago. In a race against time, May retraces Junes footsteps to find out what exactly is going on!

Thoughts: A book about twin sisters and one being missing…sign me up! Loved this race against time debut thriller! What’s not to love about a small town mystery where past and present puzzle collide together leaving a wake of family drama?! I enjoyed the three points of view in this one and the drama as it unfolded. I thought it was intriguing and easily unputdownable as we watched May try and desperately find her sister. It felt a bit like a treasure hunt to which I love in books! I certainly didn’t see that ending coming. The perfect heart pounding end to a thrilling book!

𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔, 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕?

As someone who has struggled with sibling rivalry for most of my life, this book had an interesting premise. Fraternal twin sisters May and June don't seem to have anything in common. The oldest, May, is introverted and plain while June is striking, charismatic, and missing.

June has been missing for a year when My finds an old newspaper article documenting a shocking occurrence. Their mother went missing on the same date as June's disappearance when she was nineteen years old. Where was she? Who took her?

Wholly unsatisfied with the thought of burying an empty coffin, May resolves to find her sister, and the clues June has left behind are puzzling. How does her mother's disappearance intersect with her sister's? As May is essentially working two cold cases, she questions people who knew her mother and her sister, and she runs into many false leads and dead ends. But could there be something sinister waiting for her at the end of the trail of breadcrumbs?

I loved the three points of view, one from each sister and one from their long-dead mother Diana. Who is telling the truth? Which one is unreliable? The plot moved along at a brisk pace that was filled with red herrings and is a great choice for a binge read. Thank you to Thriller Book Lover Promotions for the early read. This title will publish May 28, 2024, from Thomas and Mercer Publishing.

I've always been fascinated by twins and love any thrillers involving twins. The book is told by May, her sister, June, and their mother, Diana. June disappeared and left her sister May some riddles and clues to find her. I found this book a little more on the cozy side compared to some other thrillers but it was still a page turner. I finished in two days because I wanted to know what happened. The very last chapter ended in a great unexpected way! I’ll definitely check out more books in the future by this author.

Read if you like
✨books about twins and sister relationships
✨treasure hunts and riddles
✨small town settings
✨family drama and secrets

Thank you Thriller Book Lovers Promotions and Amazon Publishing for an early copy. Make sure to check out ORIGINAL TWIN when it comes out June 1, 2024!

After reading Original Twin, I was so surprised that this was the author’s debut novel! This was so incredibly well written, kept me guessing the whole time, had me thinking I figured it out (I didn’t lol) and the ending threw me.

Told in multiple POV’s, Original Twin tells the story of fraternal twins May and June, the mysterious disappearance of their late mother before they were born, the recent disappearance of June and the trail of lies and secrets May follows to try and find her.

Buckle your seatbelt friends because you’re bound to get whiplash from this one 😂

Thank you to the author, publisher, Netgalley and Thriller Book Lover Promotions for the ARC of this upcoming thriller!

They say the twin bond is unbreakable and something most of us will never understand

What an amazing debut by Gleeson. This fast paced and page turning thriller will have you questioning what you think you know! Told by multiple point of views and dual timelines. Everyone is a suspect and you don’t know who to trust! I thought I had this one figured out but Gleeson threw in more twists than a roller coaster ride! This one needs to be on your radar NOW!

Original Twin is a Masterclass on how to write nuanced, flawed characters sensitively and lovingly. Full of twists and turns that left me reeling, you’ll think you know what’s happening, but you won’t. I devoured this in two days.

Fraternal twins, May and June were different from the start. May was quiet and obedient and NOT dramatic. June was exactly the opposite. On the exact day their mother went missing at the age of 19 for 3 weeks, June goes missing too. Coincidence? I think not. June had been trying to uncover the truth about her mothers disappearance all those years ago. Now, a year after her sister’s disappearance, May is following an invisible thread and a string of clues that June left behind because she is not ready to give up and say that her sister is dead.
May, has to ask a lot of hard questions and get a lot of hard answers to uncover all of the secrets her family has been hiding. This debut novel by Paula Gleason is nothing short of unpredictable. Be that reader, get out your murder board and follow the trail with May! You will not regret it