Original Twin is a fast paced and twisty read! May and June are vastly different twins with well written characteristics. June disappeared one year ago and May is certain she is still alive. She follows a strange series of clues left by June, constantly putting herself in dangerous situations. She also discovers their mother, now deceased, also disappeared for a few weeks on the same date as June, when she was 19 as well. There are many unusual family members and a very involved detective. Readers will enjoy the surprises in this book, and wow, that ending! With thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC. My opinions are my own. susanh_bookreviews

This book sounded good on paper: twin sisters (May and June) and the latter goes missing, May then discovering June disappeared on the exact same date their own (now dead) mother went missing when she was younger - a secret kept from the twins.

The book opens a year to the day since June went missing, with a funeral of sorts... despite the lack of a body. It doesn't make sense to May and she believes her sister is still alive. While at home she discovers a newspaper article in June's room referencing their mother (Diana's) disappearance almost two decades earlier.

It perplexed me somewhat that May didn't immediately get the whole truth from her father, grandmother or aunt, but she gleans some information and then discovers her sister has left her a trail of breadcrumbs to follow and realises June was also looking into their mother's background and assumes her disappearance is related to that. And given the family knew June went missing while looking into Diana's story, I couldn't believe they still didn't divulge what they knew, to prevent May coming to harm when following in June's footsteps.

May feels guilty a year has passed and she's now only just coming across these clues and again this was something that just didn't sit well with me - that they'd remained in place for so long and coincidentally appeared when needed.

The story unfolds through May in the present and Diana in the past, but there are also letters June has written to their mother after Diana's death, as part of therapy and in those she's documenting her investigation.

This had a lot of potential but ultimately missed the mark for me. Some of the dialogue was a bit off, (though in June's case it may have been an attempt to reflect her personality) and - when we learn what happens in both cases - it doesn't seem feasible, particularly in relation to June's disappearance.

I made a note on my e-reader that emphasis often seemed to be on the wrong things. Important elements were underdone: such as the aftermath of Diana's reappearance and May's realisation about the nature of her relationship with June and how she's misremembered so much; and detail included that felt unnecessary.

Perhaps it was an issue with pacing as the conclusion felt rushed and incomplete.

Having said all of that, I read it in a sitting and liked that I ended this book wondering 'what comes next?'.

2.5-3 stars

ORIGINAL TWIN kept me absolutely hooked from the first page! A suspenseful and eerie rollercoaster of a read that I simply could not put down. I devoured this in less than 48 hours (staying up late the second night because I just HAD to know what happened next!) And that ending?!? Did not see that coming at all. What a brilliant, heart-pounding debut!

I might be biased, but this was a great read with a ton of twists and turns that keep you guessing right up until the end. Would highly recommend this debut thriller and author.

I saw this book on a Goodreads list for upcoming thrillers in 2024, and when I went to request it on Netgalley, saw that it was already available for any Netgalley member to read early and review, so I jumped at the chance. I love the concept of family mysteries, and a twin sister getting wrapped up in one, leading to her disappearance occurring on the exact same date as the disappearance of their mother. Such a unique concept in a sea of thrillers that all usually have the same plot, more or less.

I don’t know why but I really struggled to get into this one. Not sure why, because the synopsis is so interesting. But while I generally will finish a book in one or two sittings, this one took me FOREVER. I just couldn’t get into it. Nothing about it was particularly bad, the writing was good, plotting was good, I had no complaints. I guess as I continued on, I just simply couldn’t have the motivation or desire to read this. I just didn’t find it particularly gripping, at least not gripping enough for me to be motivated to keep picking it up.

The book got better by the 60% mark and I was able to slog through the rest, but it was mainly a sense of obligation to finish it. The ending was just ok, and I didn’t personally think this thriller was gripping enough for me. The writing was pretty good though, I think with a better story and more gripping plot, this author could write some pretty solid thrillers in the future. This one just wasn’t interesting enough for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised by how good this book was! I was immediately hooked as the book dove right into the plot which I liked, there was no waiting for the build up. This book is a classic, “I think I figured out”, followed by “nevermind, that’s a curveball”. There were some instances were I had an inkling for what was to unravel but then other things occurred that kept be seconding guessing myself. Also that end?? Are we kidding? I did not see that coming at all! One of my favorite aspects was how the author showed the twins each viewed themselves in their own eyes in the world and how each point of views is completely different. If you’re looking for a book that has is a fast paced easy read to get you out of a slump, this is it. I will recommend this book to all my friends as I would love to see their reactions as the book unfolds.

Don’t trust anyone here because everyone is hiding something. This was so lucky for me to get an ARc for this because I’m pretty sure this is gonna be the big hit thriller of this coming season. So take a look my fellow book lovers!

Wow. This book was just twisty and amazing. Every single character seemed suspicious in a way, even the narrators. I think those who have read Gone Girl and House of Hollow would really enjoy this book. I enjoyed the simple chapters and the letter-style writing. It was a very quick and easy read but also very mysterious, tense, and thought-provoking! Would love to read more from this author.

Mindblowing novel. Very intriguing and thrilling. A bit sad, however the story was amazing and captivating.

I would definitely recommend this novel.

The story started off strong but then I found myself losing interest. Some parts just didn't make sense. It was almost like the two characters were mixed up during parts of the story.

I will say the ending was surprising though.

I was given an ARC of Original Twin by Netgalley for my honest review.

A terrifically tense & twisty read! I was lucky to get an ARC of this book, and devoured it in pretty much one heart-pounding sitting. The story has everything I love – a mysterious small town, clever cryptic clues that you can puzzle out along with the characters, flashes of knife-sharp humour, and even...references to The Secret Seven! Paula deftly blends surprising characters and twists with both sweetness and terror, and each chapter keeps you guessing right up until the MIND-EXPLODING end. Original Twin is 100% one of my fav thrillers of the year!

Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had creepy suspense, Action, intrigue, mystery, murder, revenge, a sort of who done it, great plot twist, and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle!! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I was immediately drawn in by the premise of this book - the main character, May, finds a new clue in the search for her twin sister, June, who has been missing for a year. With each new revelation, things get more and more complicated. I loved the wild plot and all the twists and turns throughout - the author did a good job of misdirecting me, or at least making me second guess myself.

While I was hooked by the story, the writing could have used more editing. Every page was full of sentence fragments, distracting from the flow of the story. Some of the dialogue also made me cringe - people just don’t talk like that.

The ending had a few great twists - some of which I had guessed, and some that I hadn’t! Overall a satisfying read with a creative premise and (mostly) wrapped up neatly at the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

A brilliant debut full of twists, turns, and intrigue!

ORIGINAL TWIN follows two very different twin sisters: May is quiet and reserved, June is spirited and outgoing. June has also been missing for a year, and is presumed dead. May has always believed that June is still alive, and on the day her family holds a funeral for her sister, she discovers an old newspaper article that shows their late mother disappeared too... on the same date. When she was 19 years old. Exactly like June.

Following a series of clues left behind by her sister, May dives headlong into investigating both her mother's mysterious disappearance in the past and her sister's in the present, but what she finds threatens to turn everything she thought she knew about her mum, sister, and herself, completely upside down.

I really loved this thriller! I loved the clues that were left in the story and how the reader puzzled along June's cryptic messages alongside May. May was a relatable character to follow along and I liked the splicing of her mother, Diana's POV, and June's letters to her mother alongside May's POV. The side characters were enjoyable, especially in the case of Sam, the detective, and the twin's grandmother, Pat, even if I didn't entirely trust everyone in the story at times - a testament to the author's strength of sowing intrigue and distrust among the cast of characters!

My favourite part of the book was ultimately the twists and ORIGINAL TWIN handled them really well. I didn't get twist fatigue at all, the twists were really well-paced out, and although I had an inkling of a couple of them, that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story at all because I was invested in the story and the characters' lives and I knew I was in good hands with the author. As we got toward the end, the twists intensified and I was really shocked by a couple of them - the final one absolutely took me OUT because I hadn't anticipated it AT ALL.

Overall, I had a brilliant time with this debut. Full of unexpected twists and turns, would recommend it to everyone who loves a thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance eArc.

Original Twin is a mystery thriller about twins; May and June. June vanished and left a series of clues for May indicating her whereabouts. Another odd thing is that their mother also disappeared years ago on the same day June did, only that her mom disappeared for three weeks.

Unexpected twists and turns.

Overall, it’s a great story and I’m glad I had the chance to read it! In my opinion, it seemed to start off a bit slow and the writing, while good, wasn’t my favorite.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC.
This debut novel is so good! Very difficult to put down.
It centers around twin sisters May and June. June has been missing for a year and presumed dead.
But May refuses to believe her twin is dead and goes on a wild trip, determined to find her, as more questions than answers crop up.
I liked and empathized with May, wanted to smack her Aunt and loved Sam, the detective. But the best part was the ending; wow, quite shocking, it made my head spin! Excellent read!

Curveball after curveball, you think hey I got this and slam theres another curveball. A twin sister convinced that her sibling isn't dead but missing, kidnapped just like their mom was missing years back, starts tracing clues left behind by her sister. What she finds out are more suspects and more questions than answers.
This was a thriller and very interesting book. Definitely recommended read.

My thanks to Netgalley for providing me an advance copy of the book for my unbiased review.

Original Twin by P. Gleeson, published by Thomas & Mercer is a thriller of its finest.
Twins May and June are very different from each other. At age 19. May is the quiet one while June is loud and outgoing - and missing.
May is waiting for her, only after one year she learns the secret that their mother vanished too at age 19 at the same date and June was investigating. Now May is following her footsteps and takes the reader along the ride.
A book that had me right from the start, twisty with unexpected turns that had me guessing til the last page, just like I love my thrillers. I recommend the book, 5 stars.

May is a twin. Her twin, June, has vanished. On the same date their mother disappeared. Except their Mother, Diana, only disappeared for three weeks.

June has left clues as to where she is, and May isn't quite sure she is on the right track.
She is afraid of finding out that her sister is really dead.

The beginning of this book seemed to drag out. Most of the revelations came in the last bit of the book. Told from the POV of May and Diana, and June's letters to her mother.

The final twist is good, I have to say. But it was just a slow book in my opinion.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

This is an incredibly smart thriller that was instantly gripping! After May's twin sister June—the perfect, pretty twin—has been missing for one year, her family hosts a funeral to finally put June to rest. Except May thinks her twin sister could still be alive. After going through June's belongings, May finds a clue that her sister left behind—the first of many clues. As May begins to dive head-first into the mystery, she discovers that June's disappearance may be related to something sinister that happened to their late mother years ago, before the twins were born. I trusted absolutely no one in this novel. I read this in one sitting and all of the plot lines came together so perfectly. This was such a creative mystery and it had so much humor and heart, too (along with plenty of heart-racing sequences!). Paula Gleeson is such a talented writer! I cannot wait to inhale her next thriller.