The Ice Twins by S.K. Trremayne

A year after one of their identical twin daughters, Lydia, dies in an accident, Angus and Sarah Moorcraft move to the tiny Scottish island Angus inherited from his grandmother, hoping to put together the pieces of their shattered lives.

But when their surviving daughter, Kirstie, claims they have mistaken her identity—that she, in fact, is Lydia—their world comes crashing down once again.

As winter encroaches, Angus is forced to travel away from the island for work, Sarah is feeling isolated, and Kirstie (or is it Lydia?) is growing more disturbed. When a violent storm leaves Sarah and her daughter stranded, Sarah finds herself tortured by the past—what really happened on that fateful day one of her daughters died?

Although slightly predictable, The Ice Twins was written in such a captivating style that it is worth reading if just for that. There is such tension in the writing which increases slowly, chapter by chapter, until the reader is completely spooked as well as engrossed in the story. It is a novel that is hard to put down once you start. 

The characters are all my favorite type: unreliable. Nothing they say can really be taken as the truth, which makes for exciting reading. None of them are very likeable, not even the children in the story, but they are definitely fascinating to read about. The setting, too, is almost another character. Because of this the novel has a distinctive Gothic feel to it, with an isolated island which blocks all communication with the mainland when the tide rises, and with mudflats that threaten the characters’ lives again and again. 

If you are looking for a way to spend a few hours deliciously entertained and even frightened, then this novel is one I certainly recommend.