After all, isn’t that why we love unrealistic horror movies, because we can watch but still feel detached from it all?

Her novels have sold over 10 million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into twenty-nine languages. None of this is true is an enthralling psychological thriller that captivates you from the very first page until the gripping conclusion. Alix Summers, a popular podcaster, is out celebrating her forty-fifth birthday when she meets her birthday twin Josie Fair.Alix, whose husband, Nathan, is a binge drinker and frequently fails to come home, and Walter whose age gap has become even more noticeable to his much younger wife.

So the impetus for using birthday twins as an opening into the novel definitely did not spring from my own experience. I adored the unreliable characters, their dark secrets, the fateful collision of their two different worlds in the same corner of London. One thing leads to another, and Josie convinces Alix they should make a podcast about Josie’s life, sharing her truth and making some big changes. For the rest, it boils down to the reader’s ability and/or willingness to ignore certain aspects of the story.Oh boy, does the plot ever become intense with examples of dysfunction on a level that beggars belief. I didn't like the fact that one of them is the typical needy/oppressed housewife who envies and wants another's life, there are so many books like that out there. The softly spoken, fifty-something babysitter left half an hour ago and the house is tidy, the dishwasher hums, the cat is pawing its way meaningfully across the long sofa toward Alix, already purring before Alix’s hand has even found her fur. Josie tells Alix that she is on the brink of making some very drastic changes and she'd like Alix to document the process. The plot twists, turns and barrels it’s way at a fast pace to a good ending which isn’t neatly sewn up but which feels real as, let’s face it, life frequently isn’t tied up in a pretty bow.