A twisted and suspicion-filled narrative about love, narcissism, possession and obsession.
‘White Bodies’ is a dark narrative, filled with suspense and situations that leaves the reader wondering just who is the threat. A story of twin sisters, starkly contrasting in appearance and character: one, Tilda, a light bright and outgoing actress; the other, Callie, a more intense, avid reader with a wild imagination. The plot traverses romantic relationships and mysterious deaths as Callie gets to grips with her worries, her secrets and her sister. A great read while curled up by the fire.
This a best in class, brooding thriller culminating in a real ‘wow, didn’t see that coming’ finale. Highly recommended.
Callie and Tilda are twins. The story switches to and fro between their current lives and parts of their childhood and it is evident that Tilda has the looks, the stand out personality and attracts everyone she meets. Callie is the quiet one, preferring to observe than directly participate.
In adulthood Tilda seeks to realise her love of attention by going into acting and, it would appear, she has gained fame from her role in ‘Rebecca.’ When she meets Felix, Callie grows increasingly concerned that her sister is in an abusive relationship and seeks to protect her by trying to convince her to leave him and, when she fails, by trying to prove his guilt.
And then she e-meets Scarlet on an online forum for people touched by abusive relationships. And then the story turns from sibling relationships to one of page turning thriller – a modern day ‘Strangers on the Train.’
One of the most moody and engaging stories I have read in recent times. With every page turned my sense of how is this going to end was ever more heightened. My only confidence was that it would end with a shocking final twist – and I was not disappointed.
I read ‘White Bodies’ in one sitting - devouring and occasionally remembering to breathe!!!
Meet Callie and Tilda, twin sisters, one works in a bookshop, the other is an actress and happily married to Felix. Rich, charming and controlling, Felix loves Tilda and she loves him. Callie loves Tilda and not in a healthy way. When she thinks that Tilda is in danger, she decides to do everything in her power to save her. If that means looking in the internet, for answers, so be it, but the internet can be a VERY DANGEROUS place to play, especially if where you are looking has people that have read and seen the same movies. Movies such as ‘Strangers on a Train’. That's when things start to change, to take a very dark turn.
This is a clever and exciting psychological thriller about the nature of love and control within close relationships.
I was lucky to receive a copy of ‘White Bodies’ by Jane Robins which I adored. I found it really hard to put this book down and until I had finished it, I found it very difficult to focus on anything else. I read a lot of crime/thriller type books and I can honestly say that Ms Robins’ debut promises much for the future – I hope that she continues to publish novels because I would love to read more from her. In a world where thrillers come ten a penny, this is an intelligent and stand out read. If you like books that explore damaging relationships then this will definitely appeal to you. The characters of Callie, Tilda and Felix are well drawn – I was completely fooled by the book and the twist was thus that much more effective. I also liked the fact that Ms Robins pays tribute to the great Patricia Highsmith who wrote ‘Strangers on a Train’ by utilising the concept of swapping murders to create the perfect crime. This is so much more than just a great story well told, I have not read a book that I loved this much since reading ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillian Flynn. Thank you so much to Lovereading, HQ publishers and Jane Robins for a diverting, entertaining and sinister read. Highly recommended!
A tale of control, relationships and obsession.
Psychological thriller. A tale of twins, Callie & Tilda but they are quite different, not identical. Callie loves Tilda. The book is dark and a bit creepy and even odd at times. Well written though and it's not too long. The characters were interesting and well portrayed. Callie is obsessed with Tilda who is successful and charismatic, Callie has the less exciting life working in a book shop. She thrives on attention from Tilda and it all starts to go wrong when Tilda meets and falls in love with a new man who is very controlling. Tilda loves Felix. The relationship between the sisters subsequently deteriorates in light of the new relationship. Callie is suspicious of Felix, is she right to be? He seems dangerous. She befriends people on the internet who are also being controlled and gets drawn into a chatroom. Callie wants to save Tilda and seems intent on getting her away from Felix which also becomes an obsession. I enjoyed this book and it was a great debut novel for Jane Robins. Well written with a good story that keeps you guessing and there are twists in the tale. Fans of Strangers on a Train would enjoy this story of control, relationships and obsession. Looking forward to the next one.
I just couldn't get into this book.
‘White Bodies’ by Jane Robins tries to be a dark and uncomfortable thriller about twins.
The pace is too slow and I wasn't interested in, or cared about the characters.
I did finish it but I found it a slog.
‘White Bodies’ played with my mind, resulting in an addictive read. The writing is chilling, sharp and very readable. I reckon this will be a book that readers will either love or hate. I enjoyed it!
How well do you know the people you love? Do you really know what they're thinking? Is everything you see on the surface real?
This is a story about twin sisters who are as different as they can possibly be. Callie has always been obsessed with Tilda, recording everything about her sister's life in a secret dossier. When Tilda meets Felix, Callie becomes worried that he's too controlling and is determined to set her sister free.
The writing is chilling, sharp and very readable, although Callie seemed very young for her age (mid-20s) and the sisters' behaviour felt more like that of teenagers than adults in places. I suspect that this was a consequence of their strange sibling relationship. Some of Callie's childhood behaviour is shocking and even disgusting, so readers be warned that you may cringe in places.
The book does cover some dark themes, in particular centred around family relationships, mental health, manipulation, obsessive behaviour and domestic abuse. Yet it also has a fun element to it as well. The plot is very, very twisty. I did predict a few things, I admit. Yet I found it hard to tear myself away from the story of Callie and Tilda and Felix who comes between them.
I reckon ‘White Bodies’ will divide opinion - a book that readers will love or hate. I personally found it to be highly entertaining.
A chilling story in places as we see Callie obsess about her twin sister and the drama this brings to her mind and her own relationships.
Welcome to the world of twins. Tilda & Callie have always been close but Callie adores everything about Tilda to the point of doing everything she can to be her. As Tilda has starts a long term relationship that leads to marriage, Callie starts getting concerned about Felix. The story takes you through the world of dominating partners and the terrors that brings. However you do not know who is telling the truth and what the truth is. There is a good twist at the end that makes you think how well do you know people.