Beautiful Lies by Jessica Warman

Beautiful Lies by Jessica Warman
Release Date – August 7, 2012
Publisher Website –  Walker Childrens
Publisher Social Media -  Twitter
Pages -  422 pages
My Rating- 3/5
**obtained from publisher via BEA for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Rachel and Alice are an extremely rare kind of identical twins-so identical that even their aunt and uncle, whom they've lived with since their parents passed away, can't tell them apart. But the sisters are connected in a way that goes well beyond their surfaces: when one experiences pain, the other exhibits the exact same signs of distress. So when one twin mysteriously disappears, the other immediately knows something is wrong-especially when she starts experiencing serious physical traumas, despite the fact that nobody has touched her. As the search commences to find her sister, the twin left behind must rely on their intense bond to uncover the truth. But is there anyone around her she can trust, when everyone could be a suspect? And ultimately, can she even trust herself? Master storyteller Jessica Warman will keep readers guessing when everything they see-and everything they are told-suddenly becomes unreliable in this page-turning literary thriller.

What if your world was unravelling and you could not trust anyone, not even yourself? When Alice’s sister goes missing she quickly finds everything around her slipping away and her sanity might be next. Filled with twists and turns this murder mystery is a quick, enjoyable read.

The characters of Alice and Rachel are the most developed characters in the novel. The secondary characters remain background characters and are not as fleshed out.  This novel relies on plot twists rather than the characters to propel the story forward. This writing technique works as the mystery is quite captivating, but the end result is a lack of investment in the characters.

This novel is one mind trick after another. It’s filled with things that will make you second guess the characters and the plot itself. The connection to mental illness, and the character second guessing everything, makes for an intriguing premise and will leave the reader with much to ponder.  It’s hard to discuss as so much is left to interpretation. How much of the events actually happened? How much is truly due to the special connection the twins share and how much is mental illness? Nothing is concrete and that makes this mystery even more engaging.

Rachel and Alice’s relationship. While each twin kept secrets from the other their bond is undeniable. The death of their parents served to strengthen that bond. They know each other better than anyone else. They appear to be the classic good twin/naughty twin stereotype. However, the revelation that they both can slip into being the other effortlessly shows they have more in common than seen at first glance.

The murderer and his motivations were believable and there are enough viable suspects to make it a compelling mystery. The reveal is creepy, and shudder inducing and one of my favourite parts of the novel.

A compelling murder mystery combined with an unreliable narrator make for a creepy, twisty read. It ended up being just an ok read for me as I would have loved to go deeper into the characters and the murder mystery itself.