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The Look-Alike

Review

The Look-Alike

Sienna Scott is the spitting image of her mother. She’s blessed with her mom’s stunning beauty. Still, Sienna desperately hopes the similarities are only skin deep because Viv Scott suffers from paranoid delusions. Everyone assures Sienna that her mother’s affliction has not been handed down. But doubts have always nagged at her.

At age 19, when she stumbled --- literally --- on a classmate dressed in identical clothing as she made her way home from a study group one night, those doubts burst into full-blown fear. Madison Robie lay dead in a bloody patch of snow. Was that supposed to be her, Sienna? She couldn’t stop herself from wondering. In fact, the ensuing anxiety threatened to derail her mental health so much that she was shipped off to London to live with her grandmother.

"Erica Spindler’s THE LOOK-ALIKE is such a quick read that you won’t need to set aside much time for it. Once you open the book, the pages will turn themselves."

Now, 10 years later, Sienna has returned home to Tranquility Bluffs. The care of her mother fell on her brother Brad’s shoulders after their father died. She believes it’s time for her to step up and help out. Brad seems happy, yet wary, to have his sister back from London. Sadly, he tells her, Viv’s mental health has not improved at all. What could make matters worse is that the police have reopened the investigation into Madison’s murder. Brad believes that might trigger one of Viv’s meltdowns. Sienna assures him she will handle it. Everything will work out. But the old doubt rears its ugly head: Was Sienna the intended victim?

Soon, odd things begin to happen. For one, a handsome, single man has moved into the house across the street. Where did he come from? Turning up at this time seems awfully coincidental. And what about those strange phone calls? Sienna doesn’t want to alarm her mom, so she doesn’t mention them. Besides, she believes there’s nothing really sinister about the calls. Right? Oh, and something feels off about Brad. Her brother isn’t as enthusiastic as she’d thought he would be when she mentioned moving in permanently. And the guy everyone believed killed Madison --- her boyfriend --- has become the town drunk. Is something going on in Tranquility Bluffs, or is Sienna losing her mind, like she always feared? Perhaps she should give up this idea and go back to London. Only, it might be too late.

Luckily, the Tranquility Bluffs police chief has been a longtime family friend. He sympathizes with Sienna and Brad when it comes to Viv. However, Sienna secretly worries that he doesn’t trust her own mental stability. Maybe no one in town does. For now, she believes that if Madison’s killer is caught, then all the hard questions will be answered. But as she goes about the business of settling in, she hears rumors --- rumors about that night. She has formed some interesting theories and would like to share her suspicions, but will anyone else believe her? Ultimately, Sienna decides to confide in the handsome new neighbor, despite her police friend and her brother warning her about him. After all, what does she really know about him? Could he have had a motive to murder Madison?

If Sienna can prove once and for all that she wasn’t the killer’s target, maybe she can finally find peace and help ease her mother’s troubled mind. To do that, though, will test not only her sanity but also just about every relationship she cares about. That is, if she survives.

Erica Spindler’s THE LOOK-ALIKE is such a quick read that you won’t need to set aside much time for it. Once you open the book, the pages will turn themselves.

Reviewed by Kate Ayers on January 31, 2020

The Look-Alike
by Erica Spindler