Received from HarperCollins in exchange for a review.

This book is written from the points of view of both Angus and Sarah - mainly Sarah - and when the book starts we find the two of them in London a year after one of their daughters has died in a freakish accident. Neither of them have really come to terms with it or have dealt with the fallout particularly well. Angus has lost his job due to his drinking (and punching his boss), and Sarah's part time work does little to contribute to the bills. When Angus inherits a cottege on a distant Scottish island (Thunder Island/Torran), where he spent many a summer when he was younger. The cottage is in a state of disrepair, having not being lived in or maintained for a few years, and despite it coming into winter, Angus, Sarah and Kirstie decide to move. It is during the planning of this that Kirstie drops a bombshell - she's not Kirstie, she's Lydia. They got it wrong.

Because the twins were identical (and not mirror images of each other) there is no real way of telling which girl actually died. It is down to the personality of the remaining child to show who died and who didnt - and "Kirsty" is becoming more and more like Lydia.

They move to Torran, and find the island is isolated from the mainland via a causeway, that means that depending on the tide there is several hours a day where they are completely cut off. The house is in disrepair - damaged through squatters as well as general lack of maintenance on an island subject to adverse weather. The house is of course used as an analogy for the wedding, initially getting better and almost liveable (despite the lack of heating and an abundance of rats) but there comes a point that no matter how much they cover up the cracks, the cracks are still there.

Angus continues to drink, Sarah tries to get her daughter (almost exclusively called "Lydia" now) to settle into a new school, but it soon becomes apparent that she is being ostracised by the other children, who fear her as much as anything. Lydia's behaviour is also erratic, maintaining that Kirstie still comes to visit and the two of them are still playing and talking.

Due to the isolation of the island, there is virtually no mobile signal and the land line is dubious at best, so there's another way that Sarah is feeling isolated, especially when Angus gets freelance work on the mainland and he spends several days a week away. Sarah hasnt made friends with the other school mothers and the lack of phone signal makes it difficult for her to maintain friendship with her London friend - especially when she finds out that Isobel and Angus have had a one night stand a few months after the accident. There are

With everything that is going on, Sarah's animosity towards Angus develops quickly to the point where she demands a divorce and she levels some accusations towards Angus. This makes Angus retaliate and forces him to reveal something he'd hoped he'd never have to - the accident and the following months are not like Sarah remembers, and Sarah is not as lilly white in the whole situation as she seems to believe. The first big storm of the winter brings everything to a head as the storm rages outside.....

The premise was good, execution was decent, but I was not entirely convinced about Sarah's condition (though a very brief lookup indicates that it's a known issue so that'll teach me). The external force of nature was a decent reflection to the inner turmoil of the marriage and the deteriation of Sarah's health.

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It's just about a 4 star read. It started off really interestingly but as the book progressed I began to lose interest and the ending wasn't entirely satisfying. But I would read more books by this author. ( )

This is one of the creepiest books I have ever read. (That's a good thing.) The setting is perfect and the author does a great job of switching between Sarah and Angus' perspectives (which are almost diametrically opposed). ( )

This is a truly intense psychological thriller; I was enthralled with the story from the beginning to the end and giving this book five stars was a very easy decision.

Angus and Sarah are trying really hard to pull their lives together and then having Kirstie claim that she is Lydia, that the daughter they thought had died was alive and vice-versa that is really making their life a hell in their new home and putting their already fragile marriage to the test.

What really happened the day their daughter died? They can't tell their daughter apart and the twins were wearing the same kind of clothing on the day one of them died.

This is a real page-turner, never a dull moment, and the ending of the book, well I was afraid that S.K. Tremayne wouldn't be able to write a satisfying ending, but he did. This is without one of the best thrillers I have ever read and I recommended it strongly to anyone that likes psychological thrillers.

On a side note: S.K. Tremayne was a woman, but it's Tom Knox, and he usually writes archaeological and religious thrillers. So, while I wait for S.K. Tremayne to publish a new book can I read Tom Knox's books and I love archaeological thrillers so it's a win-win.

I received this copy from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review! ( )

This was an ok book. The end was twisty and there were some plot twists in the middle as well. I would have liked to seen more of an in-depth character development, but the lack of it probably added to the twists. ( )