Reviews

Review Excerpts

People Magazine [3 stars] – September 3, 2009
“What is life but a story we don’t know the meaning of yet?” The question posed in its first pages captures the spirit of this strangely suspenseful novel about a pair of preternaturally close and curiously damaged fraternal twins. Lila, a quiet English prof, is left catatonic when Billy commits suicide. Her only hope of recovery lies in unraveling the long-discarded memories of her bleak, eerie childhood. Tucker (The Song Reader) is a riveting storyteller whose book brims with a cathartic intelligence about the dark side of families and how we survive.
— Joanna Powell

Booklist – August 1, 2009
“A captivating plot… will surely hook new fans. A masterfully told story that delves deep into the human psyche and examines the frailty of the human mind after a tragedy and the powerful, lifelong impact of childhood memories.”

Library Journal – June 15, 2009
“Compulsively readable… Nothing is as it appears in this suspenseful, well-crafted look at truth and betrayal. Tucker reveals a deeply scarred, mentally ill, abusive family at the crux of a haunting, harrowing story…”

Publishers Weekly – June 1, 2009
“Engrossing and suspenseful, Tucker’s remarkable novel unveils the motives behind the curious behavior and superfluous lies of unusually close-knit fraternal twins….A satisfying, imminently readable novel.”