The Good Twin by Marti Green – Non Spoiler Review

ARC provided by Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review

Book: The Good Twin

Author: Marti Green

Pages: 272

Genre: Mystery/thriller

Publication Date: May 15, 2018

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

My rating: ★★★1/2

Goodreads Synopsis:

Mallory Holcolm is an unfulfilled waitress and aspiring artist living in a Queens boardinghouse when she learns something astonishing about her past: she has an identical twin sister named Charly she never knew existed.

Charly is a Princeton graduate, a respected gallery owner, and an heiress married to her handsome college sweetheart, Ben. Charly got everything she ever wanted. Everything Mallory wanted, too. And now it might be easier than Mallory ever imagined. Because Ben has reasons of his own for wanting to help her.

It begins with his startling proposal. All Mallory has to do is say yes.

But as their devious plan falls into place, piece by piece, Mallory learns more about her sister and herself than she ever meant to—a discovery that comes with an unexpected twist. A chilling deception is about to become a dangerous double cross. And it’s going to change the rules of Ben and Mallory’s game to the very end.

Since thrillers are so hard to review without spoilers, I will try my best to make this as informative as possible!

I am a sucker for thrillers where the characters conspire up something crazy. I am all about lies, deception, and plot twists. I definitely got that out of The Good Twin, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

As the synopsis says, The Good Twin follows a set of twins who were separated at birth. While Mallory grew up poor, Charly grew up surrounded by wealth and everything she could ever want. But once Charly’s husband, Ben, learns Charly has a twin, he approaches Mallory with a clever proposal that may benefit them both.

The Good Twin is a page-turner, and I flew through it. I will admit the writing is a bit basic, though. I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. Just don’t expect the writing to be elaborate or lyrical. Which, for a thriller, is just fine with me. Another thing that stood out to me was that the characters were a bit one-dimensional. From the get-go, Ben is made out to be the villain — a role he most certainly fits, and quite frankly, I found zero sympathy for him. Mallory is grey area, whom I’m sure will end up being a 50/50 split between whether or not you love or hate her. There were also a few times when a character would give their reasoning for their “bad” decision, and I’d be like, “REALLY!?” So, while that may be a bit unrealistic, you have to remember that some of these people are morally grey, which makes for a great thriller.

The schemes, deception, and the different layers to the plot completely make up for the one-dimensional characters. I mean, I genuinely loved how much was unfolding in front of my eyes with each turn of the page. I thought the beginning started out a little shaky, but once things picked up, I was 100% invested. I would definitely pick up another Marti Green book. I think The Good Twin would be perfect for fans of Ruth Ware, Paula Hawkins, and Gillian Flynn.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review! I enjoyed The Good Twin so much!

The Good Twin releases May 15, 2018.

xx,

Amy