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 two 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?

A page-turning work of suspense that announces a stunning new voice in fiction, White Bodies will change the way you think about obsession, love, and the violence we inflict on one another—and ourselves.

Book Type:

Psychological Thriller

Review: White Bodies

A sister’s worry for her starlet twin becomes obsessive, her own sanity teetering on the edge of madness. WHITE BODIES is a gradually building psychological thriller that’s explores the bond between sisters, the obsessive quality of love, and the lengths some will go to get what they want—be it truth, stardom or perfection. It’s a modern-day mash-up of Hitchcock’s Strangers on the Train and Single White Female, addictive in its disturbing exploration of deeply seated infatuation.

When British actress Tilda falls in love with wealthy financier Felix, Callie—Tilda’s unassuming, ordinary twin—should be thrilled. But upon meeting Felix, she can’t help but see how his need for control and perfection have changed Tilda. Felix’s footprint is heavy and ubiquitous; his obsession for perfection apparent in every detail. Callie has always been a keen observer, and she sees past the perfect façade. She’s worried and she won’t stop until her twin sister is safe, until she knows the truth behind what lies beneath.

Callie leaps into research and finds a community in a website all about domineering men. Meanwhile, Tilda is shrinking before her eyes, physically and emotionally, despite her assurances that she is blissfully happy at Felix’s side.

As Callie becomes entrenched in every detail about their lives, Tilda pushes her away, only to bring her back into the fold, sparking new fears about Felix and an urgency for what must be done.

But even her safe space online spirals out of control. Then Felix is found dead and Callie is sure he was murdered—or was he?

And Callie, ever obsessive, loyal and curious to a fault, can’t let it go. What she discovers is more disturbing than she originally foresaw, and what she does as a result, perhaps one the most disturbing things of all.

Robins’ narrative unwinds slowly (sometimes a tad too slow), but the ratcheting obsessiveness kept me reading… it was so unsettling, so dramatic at times, it was like a bad wreck from which you can’t look away.

The most fascinating aspect of the novel was Tilda and Callie’s relationship, the continual push and pull—every aspect of it was gold. Their differences were well punctuated in the narrative… Tilda’s narcissistic obsession with stardom and Callie’s awkward, ever-watching place in the shadows. The manipulations, the idiosyncrasies, the secrets, and of course, the lengths they’ll go to for each other, it was all so chilling and compelling.

If you’re in the mood for a book that’s deliciously disturbing and twisted, WHITE BODIES is perfect for you. While I read the actual novel, I think this is also a great pick for audio listening.

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