First Born: Fast-paced and full of twists and turns, this is edge-of-your-seat reading

(Hardback)

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ONE TWIN LIED. ONE TWIN DIED.

'Dean handles his plot with skill ... Molly is an intriguing protagonist and Dean has plenty of surprises for the unwary reader' OBSERVER

'The talented Mr Ripley would have enjoyed every moment of its tortuous plot. There is no higher praise' DAILY MAIL

Molly lives a quiet, contained life in London. Naturally risk averse, she gains comfort from security and structure. Every day the same.

Her identical twin Katie is her exact opposite: gregarious and spontaneous. They used to be inseparable, until Katie moved to New York a year ago. Molly still speaks to her daily without fail.

But when Molly learns that Katie has died suddenly in New York, she is thrown into unfamiliar territory. Katie is part of her DNA. As terrifying as it is, she must go there and find out what happened. As she tracks her twin's last movements, cracks begin to emerge. Nothing is what it seems. And a web of deceit is closing around her.

Delivering the same intensity of pace and storytelling that made THE LAST THING TO BURN a word-of-mouth sensation, FIRST BORN will surprise, shock and enthral.

'Highly accomplished, dark and dazzling. First Born twists and deceives, and cements Will Dean's status as a truly rare talent. Pure brilliance' CHRIS WHITAKER

'Powerful ... Dean takes on issues of personal identity and familial responsibility' FINANCIAL TIMES

'Tiptoes into Highsmith territory here. Pacy, exhilarating and jaw-dropping, it's a meditation on identity and loneliness as well as a bloody good page-turner. New York buffets the characters about its ruthless streets, just as the reader is propelled from one twist to the next' ERIN KELLY

'A superb page-turner' STEVE CAVANAGH

'Will Dean writes a mean thriller, with a keen ear for what scares us. The streets of New York shine off the page, and the action rarely lets up. Highly recommended' SARAH HILARY

'Will Dean manages to accomplish the rare blend of excellent writing and intriguing, ingenious plotting' LIZ NUGENT

'Taut, suspenseful, chilling and surprising' GILLY MACMILLAN

'Equal parts murder mystery and psychological thriller, Will Dean dazzles with FIRST BORN. A tense, taut plot that blows through unexpected twists and turns, you won't be able to look away until the final, shattering page' JULIE CLARK

'Great pace, great twists, a perfect psychological thriller' B.A. PARIS

'A clever and sophisticated construction...A jolly good read' SHOTS

'Rather special' Sunday Times Crime Club *Star pick*

'The story

Reviews

Will Dean writes a mean thriller, with a keen ear for what scares us. The streets of New York shine off the page, and the action rarely lets up. Highly recommended * Sarah Hilary *
This thriller promises to be unforgettable * The Sun, Books for 2022 preview *
Original, imaginative, thrilling! * Marian Keyes *
This taut, twisted thriller kept me guessing until the very last page. Clever, compelling and utterly thrilling * Lisa Jewell *
Tiptoes into Highsmith territory here. Pacy, exhilarating and jaw-dropping, it's a meditation on identity and loneliness as well as a bloody good pageturner. New York buffets the characters about its ruthless streets, just as the reader is propelled from one twist to the next * Erin Kelly *
Will Dean manages to accomplish the rare blend of excellent writing and intriguing, ingenious plotting * Liz Nugent *
Taut, suspenseful, chilling and surprising * Gilly Macmillan *
Equal parts murder mystery and psychological thriller, Will Dean dazzles with FIRST BORN. A tense, taut plot that blows through unexpected twists and turns, you won't be able to look away until the final, shattering page * Julie Clark *
Great pace, great twists, a perfect psychological thriller * B.A. Paris *
A clever and sophisticated construction . . . A jolly good read * SHOTS *
Rather special short, sharp shocker * Sunday Times Crime Club, Star Pick *
one of the most twisty-turny and, ultimately, satisfying stories of the year * On Magazine *
Powerful . . . Dean takes on issues of personal identity and familial responsibility * The Financial Times *
Dean has plenty of surprises for the unwary reader * The Observer *
The storyline is truly original, with one of those brilliant endings only a great thriller writer can dream up * The Press Association *
Spine-chilling * Irish Independent *
The talented Mr Ripley would have enjoyed every moment of its tortuous plot. There is no higher praise * Daily Mail *

Author Bio

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands and had lived in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying Law at the LSE and working in London, he settled in rural Sweden where he built a house in a boggy clearing at the centre of a vast elk forest, and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes. His debut novel, Dark Pines, was selected for Zoe Ball's Book Club, shortlisted for the Guardian Not the Booker prize and named a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year. Red Snow was published in January 2019 and won Best Independent Voice at the Amazon Publishing Readers' Awards, 2019. Black River was shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Award in 2021. The Last Thing to Burn was released to widespread acclaim in January 2021.