REVIEW: WHITE BODIES, BY JANE ROBINS

 

This chilling psychological suspense novel—think Strangers on a Train for the modern age—explores the dark side of love and the unbreakable ties that bind twin sisters together.

Felix and Tilda seem like the perfect couple: young and in love, a financier and a beautiful, up-and-coming starlet. But behind their flawless façade, not everything is as it seems.

Callie, Tilda’s unassuming twin, has watched her sister visibly shrink under Felix’s domineering love. She has looked on silently as Tilda stopped working, nearly stopped eating, and turned into a neat freak, with mugs wrapped in Saran Wrap and suspicious syringes hidden in the bathroom trash. She knows about Felix’s uncontrollable rages, and has seen the bruises on the white skin of her sister’s arms.

Worried about the psychological hold that Felix seems to have over Tilda, Callie joins an Internet support group for victims of abuse and their friends. However, things spiral out of control and she starts to doubt her own judgment when one of her new acquaintances is killed by an abusive man. And then suddenly Felix dies—or was he murdered?

My Thoughts: Nothing is as it seems in White Bodies. Domestic abuse is the primary theme, but the lines between victims and abusers is not all that clear. The story unfolds from Callie’s first person POV.

You might think you have it figured out, and then you realize that more is afoot. Why is Tilda clinging to Felix and refusing to acknowledge his abuse? Why is she shutting out her twin and everyone else, refusing to work?

Callie’s tendency to watch and to obsess over her twin sister’s life might be a red flag. When Tilda isolates herself and shows up with bruises, it all seems very clear. Until it isn’t.

An Internet group called Controlling Men reels Callie in, and she soon finds herself “bossed around” by one of the members. Should she be worried? A strange so-called “deal” is made, and then Callie finds herself in a very disturbing place.

I could not stop turning the pages, wondering what was going on and hoping to find the answers, which were totally unexpected. 4.5 stars.***