Review: Terrific Debut Novel!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 14, 2013
This is the best book in the Thriller genre that I've read in a few years, and I must say I read LOTS of Thriller books. I never expected to love the book the way I did, and after reading page 1 of this Manuscript I went on and on and just couldn't stop. I'm a slow reader in general, but with DOUBLES I just wanted to keep reading faster and faster as I really wished to find out what would happen next.DOUBLES is a Thriller with elements of Horror, featuring a twenty-one-year-old Cameron kidnapped by a ruthless maniac, Sam Atwood. Cameron's got a twin sister, Amy, who had been previously kidnapped by the same maniac, but who managed to escape him. Now that he's got Cameron, Sam wants to have the twin, Amy, as well.Writing a book with multiple Points Of View is always a tricky thing because it's really hard to write one convincing POV, let alone a few, but I must say Melissa Simonson made the most of it. There's Cameron's POV that is given in the first person, and there are the others that are third-person narratives. I didn't feel uncomfortable or confused about them. Each is recognizable, believable, relatable, which shows the author's ability to create unique yet believable characters. Of all the POVs, I enjoyed Cameron's and Sam Atwood's POV the most, although the others were well-written as well.Another point I'd love to mention is Melissa Simonson's manner of writing. I've been immensely impressed by it. It is very visual, and I could clearly picture each scene in the book. The short chapters kept the pace fast throughout the book, which eventually made it into a highly engrossing book. It's also remarkable how masterfully the author triggered my imagination to run wild. Let's just take this scene that impressed me a great deal:"We'd both needed a stiff drink, or several, when the man had disassembled Julia's body the way my brother used to snap the limbs off my Barbie dolls when I was little. He didn't do it in front of us, but we could hear him sawing through her bones, his frustrated grunts, and the sound of her blood spraying like the stream of a hose, ricocheting off the door of the basement."Although Cameron didn't see Sam performing this ceremony, she could picture what he was doing, and so could I through her descriptions. It was amazing! The images just kept racing through my mind. It's not easy to accomplish, but Melissa Simonson managed it!When I started DOUBLES, it reminded me of Nicci French's LAND OF THE LIVING. If you read French's book and loved it, I think you should try out DOUBLES because you'll enjoy it so much more. It's without a doubt a 5-star book!I can't wait to read the next book by this author!