Book description

There are three sides to every story: Yours. Mine. And the truth…

Max and Alissa have a fairy tale life—newlywed, madly in love and enviously rich. Then Max is brutally stabbed to death at their home and Alissa, miraculously, escapes with her life. But why was she spared?

The hunt for the killer begins, uncovering a number of leads—was Max’s incredible wealth the motive? Had his shady business practices finally caught up with him? Or was it a stalker with a dangerous obsession?

Devoted friends rally around gentle, sweet Alissa as she is left to mourn the loss of her husband and pick up her life. But not everyone is who they seem…Deep-rooted jealousies, secrets and twisted love lie just beneath the surface, and not all fairy tales have a happy ending.

Earlier this year I read Untouchable by Sibel Hodge, and it’s a book that sits very comfortable on my top reads of 2016 pile, so I have been eagerly anticipating the authors latest book. The first thing I have to say about Duplicity is very different to her last book, it’s no where near as gritty or as dark, and call me warped if you like but these are the books I seem to really enjoy. Don’t get me wrong Duplicity is an engaging and intriguing read, it’s just feels very different to the authors previous book.

Max and Alissa have the perfect life that is until the day Max is stabbed to death, as the hunt for the killer begins Sibel Hodge takes the reader on a journey where jealousy, obsession and secrets all merge to make for a suspense fuelled read. If I’m honest the first half of this book I found to be a slow burner, I like a book to grab me by the throats and not let go until the very last page. It’s only as I hit the second half of Duplicity that the plot picks up the pace and takes an unexpected twist, and flipping heck I never seen it coming! Don’t you just love it when a book does that? and from then on in I was hooked.

The author has created well developed characters I found Alissa to be the most intriguing, she is one complex character, but I can’t say too much about her for fear of giving away spoilers. DS Carter is another character who adds substance to the plot, this is a man struggling to cope with his own grief, as well as being forced to work alongside acting DI Richard Wilmott, their relationship is one based on distrust and dislike and the dynamics between the two add authenticity to their characters. As Carter investigates the case, disregarding orders from Wilmott the friction between the pair is obvious, but Carter is like a dog with a bone and is prepared to put his job at risk to find the killer. The chapters that are narrated by an unknown voice give you an insight into a very disturbed individual, and these were the chapters I found to be the darkest and most chilling.

As suspicion falls on numerous characters, I thought I was one step ahead, but I couldn’t have been more wrong in fact It turned out I was always one step behind, and this is down to the authors incredible way of misleading the reader at every turn. Yes I had an issue with the first half of the novel, but come the second half Sibel Hodge more than redeems herself, and I found myself totally engrossed in Duplicity and every red herring the author threw at me. I think Duplicity proves that the very talented Sibel Hodge is able to write not only an original novel, but one that is very different to her previous books and yet still maintain detail, plot and suspense. If you enjoy a thriller with mystery a plenty then I would highly recommend you get yourself a copy of Duplicity.

4.5 out of 5

Paperback: 314 pages

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (December 27, 2016)

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