Hello everyone,
It is my turn on the blog tour for Nicola Martin’s debut novel Dead Ringer. Thank you very much to Anne Cater for my place on the tour, and to Contraband for sending me an advanced copy.
Pages: 451
Published: 27th February 2020
Genre: Domestic/psychological Thriller
Content warnings: Drugs, strong sexual references, self-harm
Get ready to meet the other you.
Just upload your photo to get started. Using the latest facial recognition software, plus your votes, MeetYourDouble will find your doppelganger.
START NOW.
The idea is simple, vain, exciting. Tap the app, upload a picture, find your #deadringer – and if you like, set up a meeting in real life.
When Ella and Jemima connect, the resemblance is uncanny, but their lives are polar opposites. One is stagnating in her Northern hometown, while the other, an aspiring actress living in a multi-million-pound mansion, is a Chelsea socialite who knows she’s skating on thin ice.
Other than their looks, their only similarity is the desire to escape. Is it possible to hide in your double’s skin? And at what cost?
The first thing that drew me to this book and indeed enticed me the most, was the concept. Imagine there being an app that can use facial recognition technology to match you with and allow you to meet your double – that would be both intriguing and a tiny bit sinister at the same time. It is a fantastic idea, and one which creates endless possibilities for a thriller.
It was this concept that had me consumed in the book from the beginning, where two very different characters from deeply contrasting backgrounds are brought together. It was then the thing that kept me reading even when I was becoming increasingly disenchanted with the story and the directions it was taking.
The Meet Your Double app brings together two young women; Ella and Jemima. They look practically identical, but in reality they could hardly be any different. Ella is an unemployed university dropout from Cumbria who suffers from anxiety and is dissatisfied with her life, while Jemima is an outgoing, upper class would-be actress from London who hardly has a care in the world.
Ella travels to London to visit Jem, where she spends the weekend and tags along to a raucous party, developing a crush on Jem’s boyfriend Katsu in the process. There, the two discover their contrasting personalities and Jem treats Ella as nothing more than a curiosity. They do not get along and Ella returns to Cumbria, but the events that follow bring them together again, with fateful consequences.
The two characters and their respective lives are juxtaposed almost constantly throughout the book, and the fact that Jem is everything that Ella is not formed a major part of the plot. The only similarity they shared apart from their appearance was that they were both quite unlikable.
On this occasion, I did not necessarily mind that they were unlikable as the premise was intriguing enough. However, I did not like Ella’s character development. At the beginning I thought she was a character I could connect with, but as the book went on I struggled to comprehend a lot of her actions, especially those towards the end which did not ring true for me. Also, I never really understood her feelings towards Katsu.
On the plus side, her mental health storyline is effectively written and does leave an impact. The same can be said about Jem, whose own vulnerabilities are brought to the surface behind her brash exterior. Nevertheless, it was still impossible to like Jem for a number of reasons, such as her reckless attitude and seemingly incurable snobbery.
As a character, Jem was vividly drawn and well realised. Her speech and personality provided an injection of humour and she did make me laugh on a few occasions. My main problem with the way she was written is that it reinforced too many stereotypes about the upper classes, their lifestyle and attitudes. Jem was given some depth, but I still question if she was completely believable.
The book is written entirely in the first person from the point of view of both characters, but mostly Ella. The differences in tone are evident, and everything down to the settings and the language both characters use to tell the story reflects the contrast between the two women. But on the whole, the concept and the themes explored were more powerful than the storytelling.
The biggest issue I had with this book is that it is simply too long. The plot felt drawn out at times, and at 450 pages, my attention sadly began to drift some way before the end. If it had been a bit shorter, then I probably would have enjoyed this read a lot more.
When you finally get there, the ending is actually quite fascinating as it is left open to interpretation. Again, this is not something that I usually prefer, but here it felt fitting in some way. If only it did not require Ella to do things that were out of keeping with her character, it would have been a great conclusion.
Overall, this was an interesting story based around a clever idea, yet it did not always succeed in terms of execution. The two main characters completely drive the book and there is some excellent writing here and there, but the drawn out nature of the plot and the direction it takes meant my relationship with the book was a bit love/hate.
A writer and a graphic designer, Nicola Martin studied Literature at the University of East Anglia and the University of California, Berkeley. She now lives and works in my own hometown of Bristol.
Dead Ringer is her debut novel, but Martin has had short stories published in magazines, and placed in Nationwide competitions. She also writes blog posts for her website.
With a concept that I enjoyed and a regular sense of intrigue, there were some very good aspects within Dead Ringer, but for me it also had its fair share of low points.
Dead Ringer is available to buy now!
*I received a free advanced copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Stephen Reads Books 