This is the story of identical twins - 22 year old KT (Katie, older by 3 minutes) and Molly Raven from London. But while they might look identical, their personalities are quite different. KT is confident, outgoing, a bit of a risk taker who excels at pretty much everything. Molly is much more reserved, quieter, a bit paranoid actually and assesses the risks of every activity before doing anything. Nevertheless they are very close and talk every day. Until ….

Until KT announces she is taking up a sponsorship to undertake her Masters degree in New York. Molly is naturally gutted but they continue to stay in close contact and Molly learns about KT’s exciting new life. All this time Molly continues to live her small life in England.

About a year/18 months later the Raven parents fly to New York to visit with KT for a week. Then Molly gets the phone call. Her sister is dead! How can this be? She must drop everything and hasten to New York.

And that’s when things get murky and more complicated. While the parents arrange the funeral Molly goes into research mode to dissect every aspect of her sister’s life. Because she isn’t just dead, she has been murdered. There are a few suspects to choose from and Molly goes full on stalker to get close to them. Might she want to punish them for any perceived harm they caused her sister?

And this where it really gets weird! I can’t say any more without giving spoilers and it’s too delicious to ruin it for future readers. I will say though that what you think is happening may be quite different to what is actually happening. The ending is quite shocking really but I did take off half a star because for a lot of the second half of the book I was not sure who was doing what to whom. And I’m not sure that the logic hung together 100%.

Nevertheless it was an enthralling story. Will Dean is a gifted story teller who brought his characters to life and the plotting and pacing were very good. This is very different to his previous book, The Last Thing To Burn and I will be very keen to see what he comes up with next. Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

3.5 rounded up.

Yes! He's done it again! A completely different book to the others written by this excellent author and it's a cracking read.

Molly is a twin, living in London who suffers from severe anxiety and who lives her life in terror of an accident or other dreadful end. On receiving a call from her parents, who are visiting her twin sister in New York, Molly learns that her sister has been murdered, so, she must join her parents in New York.

What follows is very difficult to describe as I would wish you to discover every detail for yourself; but, it's a riveting read that takes you into the world of Molly and all of her insecurities, as well as the other characters in her sister, Katie's life and the setting of New York is excellent.

It's got murder, mystery, relationships and with twists and turns throughout. I loved it and highly recommend it for pure escapism and thrills.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview another amazing read. Congratulations Will.

This one was great fun, something different from the norm. Would have been a five star review from me but I didnt care for the ending.

The story of two identical twins - Molly and Katie Raven. Both in their early 20s, we get the story told from Mollys perspective. Although identical they have very different personalities. Where Katie is outgoing and carefree, Molly is an introvert and obsessed with risk aversion to the point of being a hermit.

Despite this they both have a very close relationship and contact each other numerous times a day. But this relationship has been broken as Katie decides to move to New York on a scholarship. While her parents are out visiting Katie on a holiday to New York they call Molly to tell her that she has to come over quickly, that they have found Katie dead in her apartment.

When the police get involved they soon treat it as a homicide and this is where all hell breaks loose in this mad story of sibling love and rivalry.

I enjoyed this one hugely. Great characters and a really original story that kept you guessing right to the end. Speaking of the ending its probably the only part of the book that I didnt enjoy.

This felt a lot shorter than the 370 odd pages that it is, always a good sign.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

Wow! What a fantastic book! This is thriller fiction and so much more. Straight away the story pulled me in and I was intrigued to read into the night. When I hit the WTF moment I was just gobsmacked even though it confirmed my thoughts. I reread the previous few paragraphs just to make sure I’d read it correctly.

It didn’t stop there. It had graphic scenes which certainly pleased me, I love a dark book and this really delivered.

There was a lot going on and I had trouble keeping up with some parts but despite that it added to the intense storyline which I loved.

The characters were excellent and well formed. Straight away I found Molly annoying. But part way through the book when her attitude changed and she became a stronger character and the storyline improved and the intense pace increased.

The setting of New York was really well described and was atmospheric. I’ve never been but could feel the accuracy of the city and could see, imagine and experience the various stores, hotels and outdoor spaces described.

The only reason I dropped a star was purely because I guessed where the story was heading and feel I missed out on the element of surprise when the plot was revealed. But still a very firm four stars!

Wow and then because it's about twins - WOW again!
I love Will Dean's writing. For a shy man from the Midlands (I'm guessing near Nottingham because why would you mention it linked to a story in New York!? and now living with a gorgeous huge dog Bernie off grid in Sweden this author drags you in slowly then leaves you kicking and screaming from shocks and twists in every plot.
I am a huge fan of his wonderful crime series featuring Tuva Moodyson and wondered how a stand alone might compare. Need not have worried!
From the get go we are straight into a dramatic tale. Poor Molly. Rise aversive. Quite annoying really. And now twin sister to dead Katie found murdered in New York where she is living a completely opposite life of fun, cash funded student travels and hunky boyfriend.
There are as usual some great characters- with great names. Each one seems the perfect suspect. Professor Eugene Groot - the slime ball lecturer who cheats on his wife. Bogart DeLuca the Private Investigator sent from a time of 60s novels and Frank Sinatra smoky bars. Jimmy (originally from Afghanistan) at the smoothie bar who knows everyone and everything in the neighbourhood....and of course Bagby in the basement with his dodgy internet.
You need your wits about you reading this novel. And when one big twist occurs and you think-right I can settle into what might conclude. Beware. We are on the Will Dean rollercoaster once again!
Totally believable interpretation of the mindset of twin girls - how intrinsically their lives entwined for better and worse. Feel sorry for anyone? Mum and Dad perhaps? Well no after all if you sired these girls would you not realise what was happening right under your nose?
Liked the contrast between London and across the Atlantic.New York has never seemed so scary.......or perhaps even so special.

A superb thriller with jaw dropping, "made you gasp" twists.

Molly's identical twin has been murdered in New York. As she travels from the UK to find out what happened and faces her own anxieties in doing so, she tries to help the police catch the culprit.

Highly recommend. An easy read, I flew through this book. Best thriller I've read in a while.

Will Deans book The Last Thing to Burn was my top read of 2021 and even to this day I still think about this brilliant book. So when I got approved to read First Born I was beyond excited. First Born is a completely twisty and gripping psychological thriller which is based mainly in New York. From the first chapter this book had me completely gripped. There was plenty of gasp out loud moment and one in particular rendered me speechless for a bit. Often with these type of psychological thrillers I guess what is going to happen before it does but I honestly have to say I had no clue until the actual moment in the book when certain things were revealed. While I don’t think First Born was as good a read for me as The Last thing to Burn it was still a superb read. I highly recommend this book for fans of psychological thrillers.

I’m not entirely sure how Will does it? This book is so different to his Tuva series but still awesome, just in a completely different way. I was utterly compelled to keep reading and reading and reading. Expect to lose sleep but it’s worth it! Also I’ve never been to New York but it almost felt like I could smell the traffic and hear the street noise. How do you write that from a cabin in the woods???

Molly is annoying. My first and strongest reaction is to the main character of First Born. Told in first-person present tense from Molly's perspective, we spend the first few chapters in a claustrophobic spiral of anxiety and extreme paranoia that effectively builds tension at a rapid pace- a classic Will Dean atmosphere.

Twin sister Katie, the only member of the Raven family that appears to have had a spine, is dead. Now Molly must overcome her fear of all things- from exploding phone chargers to tap water- and join her parents in New York. What happened to Katie? How did she really make it in New York?

Having visited NYC previously I thought Dean's descriptions were perfect. You can easily picture every scene, every store, every lamdmark. For me this served to add stability to what originated as a slow burning, logical story of a grieving family.

Until the mid plot reveal. BANG.
I have never been so blindsided! People will always say they saw it coming, I had NO idea.

The plot is a little outrageous, the stereotypes are clear and not everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow, but it doesn't need to be- the real focus of First Born is the twins themselves, their relationship and their views of one another.

I found this title to be a little less dark than Will Dean's previous work. There wasn't the squicky feeling in the stomach I'd come to expect from his writing but I was quite happy about that. Dean has successfully created an insidious thriller from the perspective of women without the recognised male- author faux pas. I enjoyed this book and would recommend.

This is a really enjoyable read. I loved the main character Molly, she was really entertaining, and kept me engaged in the story right to the end. This type of book is what I call proper escapism, all you need to do is sit back and enjoy the ride, yes you know some of the story is perhaps unrealistic, but you don’t really care because the writing and twists are just so good. Another cracking book from Will Dean.

This book had me hooked from the very first chapter as I followed the shocking story of Molly, whose identical twin sister KT is found murdered in her apartment in New York. Molly sets out to find out who killed her sister and the twists and turns in this book completely blew my mind! From the first big shocker, I just couldn’t put it down and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. You won’t be disappointed!

I have been a fan of Will Dean's books right since I picked up the very first Tuva novel after Granite Noir. I eagerly await his next book and I haven't found one that disappoints yet. Having read First Born over just a couple of evenings, it's safe to say, I still haven't. This is the story of Katie and Molly, identical twins living two very, very different lives on either side of the Atlantic. When Molly receives a call from her parents telling her that Katie has died, she makes the journey to New York, not just to support her parents and bring her sister home, but to try and understand exactly what has happened. What follows is an emotional, often tense, and ultimately surprising voyage of discovery and one which kept my attention absolutely glued to the page.

Now it would be very easy, at several points in this story, to get a little cocksure, and to be certain that you know what is happening or, at the very least, what has happened. I'd bet you a pound to a penny that you really don't. Will Dean has crafted a very clever, twisted and dark novel which is so full of misdirection that you could be setting off for what you think is Harlem only to find yourself in Coney Island. There are many unexpected twists and turns in this book, one which in some cases I did predict, but many others that left me with a very satisfied smile on my face as I got to grips with the levels of Mr Dean's subterfuge. Not only is there a real mystery at the heart of the book - what happened to Katie - but there is a whole lot of threat, tension and shocks in store that will keep the author's fans thoroughly satisfied. There is also an emotional edge as he explores the impact that the loss of Katie has on her friends, her parents, but ultimately on the other half of her - sister Molly.

Character is key in this novel and in the two sisters it is clear that we have two very diverse personalities. Whilst the little we know about Katie shows her has being adventurous and daring, setting one her own to study in New York, Molly is the polar opposite. Nervous and cautious to the point of almost paranoia, she is someone driven by ritual. Some of her behaviour seems extreme, but is in keeping with her personality and adds a kind of unpredictability about the whole story. It also adds an intensity to her investigations and her interactions with some of the more questionable characters we meet throughout the course of the book. I liked her, in a fashion, I could feel her emotion, but I wasn't always entirely convinced by her. Little quirks of character that kept me on edge perhaps.

This is a book which is really in two halves. The first part if very much given over to the initial aftermath of Katie's death and learning more about the family unit as a whole. It also sets up some very key plot twists which keep the story just taught enough to stop us on high alert, But it is from the midway point that there is a real step change. A key revelation which marks out the two halves of the book as being as diverse as Katie and Molly themselves. There is also a change of pace and a few explosive scenes which really do lead us towards a dramatic and, it's fair to say, wholly unexpected conclusion. They do say it's the quiet ones you should watch. Again, just as I thought I had a got this whole book sussed, Will Dean pulls the rug out from under us and hits us square in the face with another blinding twist.

You do get a great sense of people in place from this book, but it's certainly a very different tone from his other books, in a really good way. It examines the familial relationships, particularly in the case of twins, in a way that isn't always about sugar coated psychic links and sisterly intuition. Compelling, sometimes emotional, full of twists and surprises, it's bound to be another fan favourite and definitely a recommended read.

Twins Molly and Katie are identical, but only on the outside. Their personalities couldn’t be any more different. Molly is happy living a highly structured, safe, life in London. Katie is spontaneous and always craving new experiences, which is why she moves to New York, splitting the twins up for the first time. When Molly gets a phone call from her parents who are visiting Katie in New York, telling her that her twin has been murdered, she travels to New York and inserts herself into the lives of Katie’s friends and boyfriend.

I love everything Will Dean does, these stand-alone novels and his Tuva Moodyson series.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The twist(s) in First Born were both what I thought they were going to be (well if you will have twins in a thriller…) and also not really what I expected, but I’m not 100% convinced it all tied up neatly when remembering every aspect. The thriller follows Molly and Katie/KT (a question I had - what the point of the slightly different name that only her sister uses?) as Molly, a very anxious young woman from London, introduces herself into the investigation of her identical twin’s death in New York. I found parts a little too much, but I was gripped enough to read right through to the end.

You know that feeling when you discover an author and you realise they’re what’s been missing from you life? For me, that’s Will Dean.

This is my first book by him, but if any of the advanced reviews are to go, it definitely won’t be my last.

I love stories about twins; I think because I’m not one, it fascinated me to think what it means and how it would feel to have someone so physically and emotionally connected to you. Even more so to be identical twins. To have someone who, for all intents and purposes, is the same as you, but completely different.

This is definitely an exploration of character. Yes there’s a plot - a humdinger of a plot at that - but for me, it’s very character driven. They are all so well-rounded and multi-layered, it is really impressive creation. What I didn’t realise was how much of a murder mystery it would become. It really draws you in so you’re part of the investigation.

It is enjoyable right from the off, but whilst the first half is more of a slow burn, building up the context, the second half comes with a bang and is all guns blazing. I don’t know what I was expecting from this, but it far exceeded any expectations I did have.

The twists and turns I did not see coming. A number of outcomes enter your head, but none of them ever came close to the actual truth.

Will Dean is a fabulous writer, a one-of-a-kind mind that produces just spectacular narratives and characters. It has very quickly worked its way on to my favourite books list. This needs to be turned into a film or a TV series as soon as possible please.

This was a dark, tense thriller. I found it well written and initially intriguing. It had interesting characters but lost a little interest part way through.

I found it fairly slow, not that much happens in the first half and while there are some twists later on I didn't especially care about the characters and just got implausible and silly towards the end. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

First born was the first book I’ve read from Will Dean but I will definitely look out for more from him, First Born was good and what seems like a typical thriller had a few surprises within its pages, The book does dwells a lot about being a twin and how it must be one of two halves, especially when one twin is vivacious and fun and one is quiet and withdrawn but when Mollys quiet life is torn apart from her identical twin Katie’s (KT) murder she has to get brave and fly half way about he world to find out what happened.
The book grabbed me from the first page but it did wane a bit in the middle but I think that was because I was a bit tired of the repetitive script about being a twin but on the whole it’s a thrilling read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an advance copy if this brilliant book by Will Dean. It’s due out next month and I held out as long as I could before reading it! And it was certainly worth the wait. I’m always happy with a book set in New York but this was hugely gripping and twisty! Totally addictive and very well written, I read it in 2 days and absolutely loved it. I can’t recommend this highly enough for fans of psychological thrillers!

I love Will Dean’s books, and I couldn’t wait to get started on First Born, and it is another utterly gripping read. There is a devastating opening when Molly learns of the death of her twin sister, Katie, who has been living in America for the past few months and studying over there. Molly gets the very next flight to New York to join her parents. But things take a dark turn for Molly and her family when the police reveal they believe Katie has been murdered.

Molly was a very perplexing character. Although she and Katie are identical twins their personalities are very different. Katie seemed to be someone who was very outgoing and who loved taking a risk, Molly on the other hand is much more reserved. She didn’t strike me as a particularly warm character as well as I was reading.
I thought Will Dean captured the American setting really well. I’ve only been to New York once but I could visualise the streets as I was reading it. Katie’s friends are also really interesting characters. I got the sense that I couldn’t quite trust them as I was reading this book and I felt that they might be hiding something, especially her friend, Violet. I wanted to find out more about them, and what their friendship with Katie was really like, and what sort of a person Katie was.

There’s a twist which comes around halfway through in this book that I thought was done really well, and it propelled the action forward. I raced through to get to the ending to see just how things would pan out, and it’s really hard not to talk anymore about what happens at this point, without giving parts of the plot away.
Will Dean creates a very dark atmosphere throughout this novel and it deepens and darkens with every page. There is a real sense of danger which he writes very well, I felt that the person, whoever had killed Katie was close by and that Molly was in danger.

First Born is a very twisty read and I really liked how Will Dean revealed the truth. There were definitely some mind blowing moments. You do not want to miss this book. I highly recommend it.