What can I say,. This was my first Will Dean and I have to say I think this was one twist too many for me. What I will say is the first part of the book was pacey, I was drawn into the story from the start but from the halfway point it started to fall apart. There is no doubt that this has some shocking (some might say unbelievable) moments so I can see why so many have enjoyed it but this one wasn't for me. I do have The Last Thing To Burn sitting on my bookcase so I will give that one a try. Fingers crossed I enjoy that one more!

Fast-paced & very readable.
With some jaw dropping twists!
But with very twist I found the new trajectory of the story harder & harder to believe.

I really loved this book, it had me gripped from the beginning. The characters were just brilliantly portrayed and had me rooting for them.

Tense and suspenseful, It kept me guessing until the stunning climactic reveal.

Another great book and I can't wait to read more.

I loved this gripping thriller - it had me guessing up to the last page.

Molly and Katie are twins. Katie is the adventurer, and has moved to New York to go to university.
Molly lives an extremely structured life, and finds it hard to deviate from her routine. However, when Molly gets a call telling her that Katie has died suddenly, she must fight her fears, fly to New York and stay in a hostel (all very difficult things for her to do).

There are so many twists and turns in this novel, that I didn’t know what was coming and couldn’t even begin to guess. I couldn’t decide if I even liked the main character Molly or not - she’s not a likeable person, which is probably why her sister moved to another continent. But I like not liking a character - and there was so much to dislike! Molly is manipulative and she’s determined to find the person that she believes killed her twin.

The suspense in this was set to maximum - it’s well worth a read!

Firstborn by Will Dean

Living in the forest must seriously affect your imaginative life! Will Dean has again come up with an outstanding feat of guiding his readers up a blind alley and leading them through a roller coaster of a read!
Molly's twin has been murdered and she travels to New York in an attempt to discover what happened and who might have been responsible for Katie's death. So we think we know what's happening -but then everything changes!
Molly is an interesting character- not totally likeable, unconventional, crazy but intriguing and when the twist happens we are totally taken by surprise.
I love Will Dean's writing and this one does not disappoint. Be prepared for a wild ride though

I've wanted to read First Born since it was first published nearly a year ago and I can honestly say now I have no idea why I waited so long! It's difficult to say too much about this novel without spoilers. I'll try my best but it is a story you need to experience for yourself.

The protagonist of First Born is Molly, whose twin, Katie, is discovered dead in her apartment in New York. As Molly tries to find out what happened to Katie, we learn a lot more about both their characters. There are times when neither of them seem particularly likeable, but they are compelling and the dynamic between them is absolutely fascinating. I could not help but keep reading on to find out the answers.

I have no idea how Will Dean has managed to pull this novel off, but the plotting is absolutely next level. Although First Born is completely compelling from the first page, it does take some time for the fireworks to come. However, when they do, it's mind blowing and the novel becomes a dark, tense, thrilling ride that will stay with me for a while to come.

I was excited to read this as I loved The Last Thing To Burn by this author. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this one as much. I found the plot a bit unrealistic and although there was a great twist towards the end I found it a bit unbelievable. It was also a bit too much of a slow burner for me. Thank you to the publishers for the ecopy.

My thanks to the Publishers via NetGalley for a copy of this in return for an honest review. I gave this a 4 stars or 8/10 when I read it.

Oh to be an identical twin and the things that you will be able to get up to, when you can both impersonate each other at things that the other doesn't want to be involved in. In First Born, Katie and Molly are identical twins, but they are polar opposites in nature. Molly is living in London and Katie has moved to New York. When Molly learns that Katie has passed away suddenly, her life is turned upside down. No longer is she one half of the same coin, she is now the full coin as she is all alone in life. Molly decides that she has to travel to New York to find out what has happened to her twin, as she has a feeling that all is not as it seems.

Will Dean has a way of drawing the reader into his books. This was a page turner of a novel that has you wondering what is happening as the pages disappear before your eyes. It certainly had me guessing where it was taking me as I experienced life in New York among its pages with the characters.

I look forward to the next read from this Author as he clearly has a talent at drawing you in.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for what was a slow starter but when it got going wow! I have read a book by Will before and would highly recommend his books, his style of writing and just story telling. A wowser of a story!

This was an intriguing read, about how twins can be so close and yet be so different too. The novel really highlights their differences, although I did not expect the change in pace part way through! Definitely a thought provoking read.

Molly and Katie Raven are identical twins. Their tight sibling relationship suffers when Katie moves from England to New York. And then Katie is murdered in her flat. Molly, already full of anxieties about life’s potential hazards, must become the unlikely sleuth to find her twin’s killer.

This book is very different to Dean’s “The Last Thing To Burn”, book that stays with me until today for sheer narrative intensity.
This one is more of a standard whodunnit, but with the characters expertly outlined. Or so I thought…
And just when you’re lulled into that scenario *blam* - whaat? Hang on! Whaat? And your carefully constructed plot expectation implodes.

I absolutely loved The last thing to burn so I had high hopes for this one. While the previous book was gritty and realistic, this one felt a little unbelievable at times and I wasn’t sure if that was down to me or the protagonist Molly and her paranoid, delusional personality. I found her actions bizarre and her reasoning even more so.

This was a book that felt split in two, very much like the twins thinking about it now. The first half being Molly was risk averse and at times monotonous in the obsessive behaviour. While the second could have been Katie, wild, crazy and felt like a completely different book.

The whodunnit factor was definitely what kept me reading and I suspected everyone including the parents who were in a different country. Or were they?

Identical twin stories have always fascinated me, especially mirror twins and that is unfortunately what spoilt this book for me. I felt it was no different to the books I had read before, except the ending which was comically nuts and completely lost me I’m afraid.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

I saw some really good reviews for this and after reading Last Thing to Burn by the same author I requested from Netgalley.

Twins Molly and Katie couldn't be more different. Quiet, introverted Molly lives in London meticulously planning her security and safety. Katie is out going, high spirited and living her best life in New York. When Molly receives a phone call to say Katie has been found dead it takes all her strength and courage to go to New York to find out what happened. After all Katie is her identical twin and you can't get any closer than that. After Molly arrives the secrets and lies start to be exposed but who exactly can be trusted. Lots of twists that I had to go back and check I hadn't missed something.

I did enjoy this but I found some parts really confusing and the ending didn't really add up to much. I felt a lot of things hadn't been explained and found myself with lots of questions.

I was blown away by The Last Thing To Burn and very excited to read First Born. Will Dean does not disappoint. There seems to be a spate of psychological thrillers to play with the Twin narrative, and as with Sundial and Her Perfect Twin First Born has plenty of twists and turns which make this an exhilarating read, I would recommend!

I rarely pick up thrillers now due to the fact they they all seem a bit “samey” and a lot of the time very far fetched however this had me gripped .

I’d say it’s part murder mystery and part psych thriller , there’s depth to the characters and you will be drawn in to Mollys world from the onset . There’s plenty of twists along the way which make it a page turner and I don’t want to say much about the plot to avoid spoilers ..

What I loved perhaps more than the actual plot was the setting! I live anything set in NYC and Dean brings the city to life in this book , the landmarks, streets and even the food make it so much more realistic . This would be great as a tv mini series !

Without doubt Dean is utterly brilliant and he pulls all the strings to make this book featuring twins work. We are pulled along, intrigued (if not dismayed) by one twin, Molly's neuroses ..but it all gets very complicated as she goes to NYC at her parent's request to support them when her twin Katie is found dead. She gets closely involved in the police investigation .. but then, for me, as Molly becomes more and more unreliable as narrator, a bit far fetched .. Dean just about manages the final twists and turns .. but barely! Good fun .. and I am a great fan of his series featuring Tulva . . This just about does it ...

“I am half a person. The darkest half”

As a twin myself (although not identical), I always find intriguing to read stories about twins, as they usually make me realize how well adjusted we are and how boring our lives are compared to fictional twins (not murderous tendencies here…YET) 😅

Molly and Katie (KT) are identical twins but complete opposites. KT is outgoing, always willing to take risks, while Molly is an introvert, a bit neurotic and not willing to go out of her comfort zone. She’s always evaluating the ways in which one could die and ready in case of any eventuality. When Molly receives a phone call from her parents while visiting her sister in NYC, informing her that KT has been murdered, she find the strength to travel over there to find out what happened to her. After all, no one knew KT as well as she did.

The book could be divided in two clear halves. First one is more of a character study on Molly. Although it has a slower pace, I enjoyed it the most. Molly can come as a bit abrasive and all her inner monologue can be a bit too much sometimes, making the reader uncomfortable. At the same time I found so interesting to see how she discovered NYC for the first time while dealing with her neuroses and all the dangers there. Then, the first twist came along and I was like…what? Wait a minute, what did just happen?

The second half was like a rollercoaster and, in my opinion, it took a step too far into implausibility. Was it entertaining? For sure it was, but you had to suspend disbelief too much for my taste. The actual ending left me with several questions and the moment I finished it I had to write to my friend Kim to ask if I had missed something. After some discussion I don’t think they could really be answered. I know this all sounds a bit cryptic, but it’s the only way to talk about this without spoilers.

After a really good first half I literally devoured, the second one went a bit OTT. Will Dean can really weave an intriguing story so I’m excited to finally get to my copy of The Last To Burn (after more than a year sitting on my shelf).

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastic book from one of my favourite authors! I can guarantee I'm in for a gripping read when I pick up one of his books. First Born is packed full of twists and shocks; the first one arrives about half way through and I think my jaw literally dropped. I think another of the reveals was on my mind so it wasn't such a huge shock when it happened. Still - a fantastic read!!

Ooh this one will get you going.

Molly is the surviving twin following her sister’s murder in New York. She is obsessional in her planning, in the event of any threat of risk of harm and leads an insular life as a result. She considers herself bland and uninteresting, compared to her twin, Katie who is fun loving and popular.
So, when she travels from London to meet her parents in NY, she starts researching & contacting possible friends and contacts that could be responsible for her death.
She is no nonsense, serious and amusingly quirky. The story is told from her perspective and is engrossing from the start. But Molly’s views are skewed and therefore she isn’t a reliable narrator… It cleverly builds up a few potential perpetrators before adding an almost imperceptibly landed but massive twist. The twist keeps twisting and deepening, so that for a while, you’re not sure what you think.
Fast paced, immersive and mesmerising, with a great backdrop of NY – a satisfying, yet tragic whodunnit.

I really enjoyed this book, I found the storyline had a great twist near the end, the characters were interesting, and the story flowed well.