Surprising

The Other Emily

Dean Koontz — 2021

An Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller. Number one New York Times bestselling master of suspense Dean Koontz takes readers on a twisting journey of lost love, impossible second chances, and terrifying promises. A decade ago, Emily Carlino vanished after her car broke down on a California highway. She was presumed to be one of serial killer Ronny Lee Jessup's victims whose remains were never found. Writer David Thorne still hasn't recovered from losing the love of his life, or from the guilt of not being there to save her. Since then, he's sought closure any way he can. He even visits regularly with Jessup in prison, desperate for answers about Emily's final hours so he may finally lay her body to rest. Then David meets Maddison Sutton, beguiling, playful, and keenly aware of all David has lost. But what really takes his breath away is that everything about Maddison, down to her kisses, is just like Emily. As the fantastic becomes credible, David's obsession grows, Maddison's mysterious past deepens--and terror escalates. Is she Emily? Or an irresistible dead ringer? Either way, the ultimate question is the same: What game is she playing? Whatever the risk in finding out, David's willing to take it for this precious second chance. It's been ten years since he's felt this inspired, this hopeful, this much in love...and he's afraid.

Reviews

Fellowes Cynthia@cynstarlight

Mar 14, 2022

Dean Koontz is a very talented and beautiful writer. I haven't read any of his books in years and while reading THE OTHER EMILY the main thing that struck me was how poetic and mesmerizing his writing is. However, I wasn't that engrossed by the plot and it was a bit convoluted to me. I enjoyed it for the poetic unfolding more than for enjoying the story itself. There were times when I the storyline was very tangled up in my eyes and I had to glide through it without completely understanding it.

Amanda Autumn Berrey@booksofautumn

Feb 25, 2022

Two stars A brief synopsis: Ten years after Emily is killed by a vicious serial killer David is still drowning in guilt. For the full decade David has been spending $500 every month to visit her murderer in prison to hopefully locate Emily’s remains and lay her to rest. One day in an odd twist of events David runs into Madison. Madison is gorgeous but her presence is extremely off putting because she looks, sounds, and acts just like Emily. David immediately is drawn in and sets off a series of events that can only be described as unnatural My review: This book just simply didn’t do it for me. There were so many sections that I liked a lot, but the body of work over all fell flat. I didn’t like the twist, though I didn’t see it coming either. There are a couple reasons why I didn’t love this novel. For one, there was far too much repetition. And for another, too much time was spent trying to describe the scenery. I loved the idea of Ed and his MO. He was a really good character. Madison fascinated me. But David was super annoying. I just wish the rest of the book was different