Liv’s sister has been by her side ever since she can remember. Molly is a comfort when Liv is upset, but she can be really annoying too, especially now they are older. Molly has caused a bit of upset along the way, as no one else knows she is there. Molly is Liv’s twin who died just before she was born.

Living with their Mum, Liv and Molly keep their secret from her. Liv had to go to therapy for a while when she was younger. Admitting her imaginary friend was actually her dead twin didn’t go down very well. Now she tries to keep Molly’s presence secret. It’s been hard though. Kids at school think Liv is a bit weird, so she doesn’t have many friends. Her best friend is a boy called Bowie, and Molly thinks he’s pretty nice.

Liv struggles to keep Bowie in the friend zone, especially with Molly pushing her constantly to kiss him. This causes some confusion to Bowie and makes things even more difficult for Liv. She wishes Molly would just let her live her life. Liv still visits Molly’s grave every birthday however, and this is where she meets Echo.

He’s tall, dressed in black with black eyeliner completing his ‘goth’ look. He’s quiet but intense and drawn towards Liv as she speaks to her dead twin. He is on a mission to find answers to his mother’s death and quickly feels that Liv can help him with that. She finds Echo intriguing and someone she doesn’t have to share with Molly as her twin doesn’t like Echo at all.

Echo and Liv spend hours together. Liv is half wary, half fascinated in Echo. Against Molly’s warnings she soon agrees to help him in his mission to learn why his mother died. Echo believes the only way she can help him is if they make each other scared. Really scared. Scared enough to open a doorway to the other side.

Molly’s warnings soon come true as Echo isn’t who Liv thinks he is. It’s only when she nearly dies that she takes Molly’s warnings seriously, but it’s almost too late. Both Molly and Echo’s words were true and the world beyond opens for Liv. Only she can help a lost loved one and in the process help Echo at the same time.

Told in mainly two viewpoints, this ghostly thriller is a compelling read. It begins with a 16 year old girl with a huge secret – which is always great to pull in a reader. Liv’s dead twin sister has been with her since birth. Their opposite personalities make great reading as they drive the plot and confuse other characters.

I enjoyed the authentic tension between ‘bad boy’ Echo and Liv and her confusion about her feelings for her best friend, the lovely Bowie. The ghost story theme is gripping as Echo and Liv push boundaries between life and death, and just when I think I know where the story is going, it morphs into an even more heart pounding serial killer thriller!

Surprising. Great read.

Author – Teri Terry

Age – 13+

(2023, Hachette, Ghosts, Twin, Goth, Friend zone, Friendship, Independence, Secrets, Psychic, Spirits, Other side, Thriller, Serial Killer, Mothers, Mystery, Abduction, Loyalty, Graveyard, Fears, Scared, Risks, Car Crash, Crime, Murder, Grief, Loss)