"White Bodies" by Jane Robbins, 2017
Even though the book has some of the elements that have put me off this genre – present tense, the prologue, etc. I somewhat enjoyed it because of the quality of the writing and characterization. It’s not an angst-filled tale of woe despite the subject matter – in fact, there’s a reasonable amount of humor in it and even a nice, rather under-stated little romance in the background. In that sense, though the storyline is very contemporary, it feels more like an old-style psychological thriller than the modern misery-fest domestic thriller.
In White Bodies, we meet twins Callie and Tilda Farrow. It is clear from the start that they are nothing alike – Callie being more introverted and Tilda craving the spotlight. Behind closed doors, Callie has an obsession with her sister and her sister’s life; constantly doing weird things to get her fill of Tilda – literally – and documenting it all in a journal she has kept since she was young. Through the story, we learn a lot about their odd relationship and the history behind it.
Then Callie meets Tilda’s new boyfriend, Felix, and things turn dark. Callie suspects that Felix is manipulative and harmful to her sister and wants her to leave him, though Tilda claims there is nothing wrong with the way she is being treated. Callie joins an online forum about controlling men and forms friendships with others in the group who are able to give her advice and reassurance. When Felix is found dead, Callie thinks something is suspicious and it turns out nothing is as it seems.
My rating ★★☆☆☆ (2 out of 5 stars) - It was ok.
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