A Perfect Likeness is an unputdownable psychological thriller that will have you turning the pages all night to reveal the secret of Isobel and Veronica’s connected lives. What readers are saying about A Perfect Likeness: “I literally read it in one day. Renee Kira has written one hell of a whodunnit. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” – Goodreads Review“A real page turner with a great twist. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” – Goodreads Review… twist. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” – Goodreads Review
“Amazingly fast-paced with adventure and emotion. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” – Goodreads Review.
“I really love to pick a book by a new to me author, start reading it and realize in the first couple of sentences: It’s gonna be a good one. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” -Goodreads Review.
“Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” -Goodreads Review.”
Isobel finds the body of a woman on a deserted beach. A woman that looks just like her.
After a long absence, Isobel returns home to the small coastal town where she grew up. But things are far from quiet.
A well-known local woman is dead. And she had plenty of enemies.
Isobel never met Veronica, but the strange likeness she shares with the murdered woman won’t leave her thoughts. And then she finds out they have the same birthday. The same friends. And even an ex-boyfriend in common.
She wants to know the truth. And so do the police, calling in the people closest to Isobel for questioning, one-by-one.
Isobel keeps asking questions, trying to find out who Veronica was and understand the secret of their connected lives. And then she finds a truth that raises the stakes: Veronica was looking for her too.
more
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. For much of the book I thought it was a good solid read but not great. I wasn’t a big fan of most of the characters at first but towards the end I really started to see them differently and feel strongly for them. I wasn’t expecting to dislike Veronica so much in the end but I really grew to love Isobel, Maya, and Liam. Poor Heather probably needed psychiatric help even before her daughter was murdered. I am so glad things worked out well for little Max in the end and even though he’s been through a lot he is well loved. Overall I would say it did turn into a pretty great read but it does start out pretty slow. It takes a bit to really connect with the characters and become immersed in the story.
This is an honest review. I would have given this book five stars but for the following two issues:
1- Most people that do not edit or beta read probably would not pick up on the spelling and punctuation errors.
2- The initial slow pace of the book. I loved the excerpt. I was not prepared to have a slower start. It took time to sort out the characters and determine who was whom.
I don’t want to provide any spoilers. Instead, I will tell you this is a psychological thriller unlike others I have read in this v. This is to the author’s credit; I will be reading others she has written.
The characters are complex, and by taking the time in the beginning, the author fully developed the characters. Renee did a wonderful job getting us invested in the characters. It was as if we had relationships with the main characters.
Once the pace increased, I was fully invested in how their lives intersected with each other. I began fearing for the characters and rooting for certain developments.
At this point, I could not read fast enough and the book took off like a rocket. As Isobel, one of the main characters, said, “I feel like all the pieces of a puzzle are in front of me, but I have no way to put them together.” Thus, I was rapidly trying to determine the questions the main characters presented.
Some books provide you nuggets that I call life lessons. The author states in the book one nugget that I will take with me. “But if I’ve learned anything, it’s that things are rarely normal. If you wait for the right timing, it will never happen.”
I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy this genre and want to become submerged ðr4rr Australia with characters that seem larger than life.
I received an advance review copy for free. I am leaving an honest review voluntarily.*******
This is a psychological thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. I thought the book was going in different direction. I kept waiting for the clues to come but they never did. I was totally off course.
The story begins with Isobel jogging along the water’s edge until she spots a body. She approaches the body and turns it over knowing she shouldn’t disturb it. Isobel is surprised to see a woman she thinks look like her. Isobel and Veronica, the dead woman, have friends in common but she has never met or heard of Veronica. The story will take many twists and turns before the end and it was totally unexpected from my point of view.
The story was slow to start and I had to go back and check the relationship point of view I was reading. The characters are complex and well developed. Once the story picked up, I was hooked.
“I feel like all the pieces of a puzzle are in front of me, but I have no way to put them together.” I felt the same way.
I received an ARC from Book Sirens for an unbiased review.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Isobel Franco stumbles upon a body on the beach during her morning run. The woman has red hair, just like she does, but other than that she does not note a strong resemblance. What she does notice is that the woman did not die naturally. She has the distinctive marks of strangulation around her neck.
Isobel is not familiar with the woman, identified as Veronica Hayes, although they both grew up in the small Australian coast town. Soon, however, she discovers they are connected through a mutual friend and an ex-boyfriend. As all three of these main characters try to figure out what happened to Veronica, the town simmers with secrets. Why did Veronica spend so much time on the old abandoned hospital? Why did she cut her son’s father out of his life? Who could have been angry enough with her to strangle the life out of her?
I wish I could say the book makes these question compelling, and answers them with suspense and careful plotting. While the book isn’t terrible, it never quite makes the mystery of Veronica’s death and the secrets of her life so engrossing you can’t put it down. The author tries to bring a romance, a family drama, a possible lesbian relationship, and a murder mystery together between the pages, and none of the individual elements emerges as the clear winner. It is an interesting book, and it certainly wasn’t unfinishable. But it was too many things at once to get a clear sense of either the victim or the suspects or the reason for her death. Other suspects are hinted at, but never quite materialize as convincing possibilities.
There were also some serious formatting and editing issues. At one point, the book’s pages became a jumble, and I had to close my reading app and reopen the book to reset it. I don’t know if this was the fault of my reader or the book itself, but it was distracting and I’ve never had that happen with any ARC before. There were many instances of the wrong words being used, such as “bare” for “bear”, or “to” for “do.” Some of the sentences don’t make sense because extra words are left in. And there are contradictions, such as Isobel mentioning she talks all day at work, when it is made clear she isn’t working at present. In another, the murderer remains standing at the door in one sentence, and in the next she “comes closer.” This is impossible because the author clearly states she hasn’t moved.
In spite of these problems, it is a good story. The writing is mostly clean, the action believable, and the ending is a surprise, if not a shock. I enjoyed reading it, even it was confusing at times. If it is cleaned up and edited it could be an excellent mystery.
After the first few pages, I knew this was a book I wasn’t going to be able to put down, until I got to The End. If you like absolutely unpredictable, twisted suspense as much as I do, you can’t go wrong with this book!
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.
While the story was interesting, the blurb made it more interesting than it really was. This is my first book by Renee Kira. I wasn’t disappointed; however, I wasn’t impressed either. There were a lot of sidebar storylines going on at the same time. The plot was different. The storyline flowed a little choppy and slow. The ending was shocking and one I never saw coming. Lots of characters involved as well as the different storylines. I will definitely give this author another try in the near future.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.
When Isobel moves back home she believes it’s for the best. But then she discovers the dead body of a young woman that eerily resembles her on the beach. After that Isobel starts to uncover secrets from the past that someone wants left in the past as she reestablishes old relationships. Good read
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.Thank