A review by bookish_boy_mom
When She Was Me by Marlee Bush

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is more of a slow burn thriller and I would even say it leans a bit into the horror genre. There were definitely times when I was reading at night and got totally creeped out!

Cassie and Lenora are identical twins living in a cabin in the woods of a campground. They are living an isolated life trying to put “that night” from their past behind them. All is fine, or so it seems, until their landlord neighbor dies. A new owner comes in, a teenage girl is found dead, and things get creepy! Told from dual POV and timelines, this one will keep you guessing until the very end. 

This was a good one! The character development was more full and detailed than you would usually expect in a thriller novel, which did slow down the pace of the book. This didn’t take away from MY enjoyment of the book, but if you are looking for a fast paced thriller from start to finish, this isn’t what you get here. The woodsy setting, among other things, made this one super eerie. Every character has you wondering if they really are who they say they are, and if they might be capable of murder. And the end… I don’t want to say too much, but it was a shocking conclusion for sure.

A really well done, thoughtful, twisty debut novel. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for future work by this author!

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 @𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, @𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘴.