Kate Kessler | DEAD RINGER

Plot (via Goodreads):

Eighteen years ago, FBI Agent Rachel Ward's mirror twin, Hannah, was taken by the Gemini killer, a serial killer who delights in sending photos of his victims to their twins. Rachel assumes her sister has been dead for years, but she's never stopped hunting the monster who took her. Now, another twin has been taken, and when the case reopens, Rachel is assigned as an agent. But her relentless hunt for the killer may drive her to her breaking point.

Review:

There's something common that I see a lot with thrillers and that is the whole person-becomes-detective due to something awful that happened to them or a loved one in the past and then a current case is connected to their past and we all know how it goes from there. While this is something I see a lot, I will say a lot of authors really shine when it comes to this kind of plot and Kate Kessler is by far the best example of someone who took this cookie-cutter plot that a lot of authors have done and turned it into something extraordinary and riveting.

At first glance, I was kind of in a reading rut and wanted to read something that had been sitting on my shelf for a while and this one just really grabbed me from the terrorizing first page. Something about a realistic newspaper article that kind of gives the reader a look into what we are dealing with for a plot instead of relying on the rest of the novel really gives the author the capability to just dive right into the story and not have to worry about boring the reader with too much information before the action really begins. Kessler wastes no time throwing the reader head-first into the plot and within the first chapter, I was completely immersed. Yeah, I love a good police procedural and serial killer thriller and this is honestly one of my favorites. I literally couldn't put it down and devoured it in one sitting on a Saturday night with takeout and what else would make for a perfect weekend?

The plot to this one was really creepy and reminded me of a real-life case that I had read about where a man did kidnap a woman, only to terrorize her sibling. To me, that was the most heartbreaking and terrifying thing for a madman to do and Kessler took those feelings and kicked it up a notch with this fictional tale. The characters delivered this story wonderfully and kept me really wanting to know what was going to happen next all while enjoying every minute of the story. This is definitely one of those tales that you want to really enjoy and sink your teeth into every page because when it's over, it'll leave you completely breathless. I really enjoyed all of the small twists and turns and the red herrings with this one and the last chapters really flew by at a rapid pace. This is definitely one I recommend checkout ASAP.

Rating: 5/5