Spoliler Discussion -The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne (Group Read February 2016)

[Bill]

This is my interpretation of what 'really' happened @ the end of The Ice Twins. Of course you mustn't read it till you've finished.

The surviving twin is indeed Kirsten tho’ @ various points in the book Kirsten is possessed by her dead sister Lydia. Lydia is also able to manifest herself, @ least to Sarah, & maybe @ times to other children, separately from Kirsten, & that is what she does during the storm & she was lying in bed with Sarah & went out on the mud flats with Sarah where Sarah perished, leaving her coat & some of her hair in Sarah’s dead hand. I found this ending very appropriate & moving because Lydia was Sarah’s favourite twin & so Lydia would come back for her mother, who now will have joined her in death, as well as expiating the adultery & unintended responsibility for Lydia’s death.

So that’s my take. As you can see, I read the book as a ghost story. As a reader I have no problem with ghosts & don’t have much in “real life.” (Recently I was visiting a hospice patient who was apparently seeing somebody right in front of him whom I couldn’t see - happens all the time.) However, I think readers who cannot abide the paranormal still ought to find The Ice Twins an enjoyable book & simply classify Sarah as delusional & Kirsten identifying as Lydia out of grief & guilt. In either case, the book seems to me a brilliant study in grief @ a high level of acuity & its effect on family relationships.

[Clare]

Bill wrote: "This is my interpretation of what 'really' happened @ the end of The Ice Twins. Of course you mustn't read it till you've finished.

The surviving twin is indeed Kirsten tho’ @ various points in th..."
This is completely off topic. They say before person dies a relative or loved one will come to collect the person to take them 'the other side'.

[Bill]

Sorry but what did I say that's off? My point is that paranormal experiences occur for many of us.

[Clare]

I read my comment back and I understand why you may have thought it was a criticism.

I meant my comment was 'off topic' mentioning spirits in a book club chain.

The problems with conversing in written word, so easily misunderstood.
Apologies Bill

[Bill]

So you're very on topic - Sarah indeed had a 'relative' take her to the other side. Fits the story perfectly. Tx.

[Bill]

David wrote: "Right I've read a quarter of there book and I don't if it's just me but when I read about the balcony incident where one twin was killed my first thought was the other twin did it. I may well be wr..."

That is certainly one possibility. Loved how we are offered so many plausible explanations to ponder.

[Clare]

The Ice Twins was excellent, thank you for making it this months book club selection.

At the end of book Angus explained he was the cause of Kirstys identity issue. When Kirsty confessed that she pushed Lydia, Angus tried to peruade her that Lydia was still there in Kirsty and not really dead.. This was a admiral attempt to comfort Kirsty, but she was to young to appreciate 'the soul' and how you never truly die.

I think Sarah actually suffered from psychosis, when Kirsty told Sarah she was Lydia, it bought back memories of what happened the night Lydia died.

I think Sarah comitted suicide because she could not live with what she had done. By this time she was delusional and thought she was taking Kirsty to be with her sister.

[Bill]

So glad you enjoyed it & thank you for sharing your take on what happens @ the end.

[Clare]

I agree Sarah did not deserve Angus's loyality. Angus was starting to hate Sarah though,which probably explains why he was hitting the bottle.

[Mary]

David wrote: "Just at the bit where Angus tells his mate his secret that Kirstie thought Mum didn't love her the same and wanted to kill Lydia etc.etc.

I read it and I know she is keeping back from him but I ju..."

I don't for sure know what a prat is...but it is the perfect sounding word for Angus.

[Mary]

Well, I really enjoyed this book, although a bit tedious at times. Bill, I do believe in the paranormal but for me this was a book about grief and the mental problems that come with it. Everyone, including the live twin (my guess is Krista) handled it poorly. The child especially did not get the love and time and patience that she deserved and so she of course shared her feelings with the dead twin, pretending as long as she was able that the other was still alive, at least in the times she absolutely needed it.

Sarah,as well was a guilty, grieving , unhappy, jealous woman. Some of that list was before the fall as well but the fall was the impetus to drive her to the edge. To move into isolation no matter the reason was just plain nuts. Everyone sunk a little farther when they moved. Especially when they saw the shape the house was in. Damp, strange drawings on the walls, rats milling about, no phone. She would have to be mental to agree to stay there and selfish to put her daughter in the same "home".

For Angus, it was not as important--he gave them a rubber raft and left whenever he wanted. I could see no love for his daughter in his actions when she needed strength from someone she had loved and that she believed loved her. I disagree with you Clare, I saw no loyalty towards Sarah from Angus...he was gone more than he was there and when he was on the island had a bottle of something or other in his hand and anger on his face.


The ending was a disappointment...it sped up and then was just over... Why would Sarah have died on the mudflats when her husband did not. How did the child return safely? I don't believe Krista harmed or murdered her mother on the mudflats. She had not shown physical anger except towards herself before. Suicide? Perhaps although I saw no foreshadowing of that. How was there suddenly enough money to move off the island unless maybe there was an Insurance policy on Sarah. Why couldn't all this restoration work have been before Sarah died...not a word about it. I am glad there was a happy ending although it had to turn into a fantasy tale to get there.

After my criticisms, I did enjoy reading this book. Thanks to whoever nominated it.

[Joni]

i've uploaded my review also on Goodreads.
though i liked it - i have to agree with Mary that it is tedious at times.
the twist was good, but i felt there weren't enough clues, so impossible to deduct that conclusion alone - which makes it a bit less good in my opinion.
The books that u re-read and think - AHHH How did i miss this clue are the best, this was gripping but unsophisticated (though i gave it a 4 stars review, thinking back maybe 3 would have been enough)

[Bill]

Mary wrote: "Well, I really enjoyed this book, although a bit tedious at times. Bill, I do believe in the paranormal but for me this was a book about grief and the mental problems that come with it. Everyone, i..."It is such a privilege to be the moderator for this book & it's delightful how strong reactions have been. I don't think Kirsty was out on the mudflat with Sarah, that was Lydia - whether 'really' a ghost or a hallucination. Quite agree that Angus didn't deserve to live or Sarah to die. But I believe that as a tragic character, Sarah very much needed to die to expiate her own feelings of guilt as a parent & as a spouse & to join Lydia in death.

[Bill]

JoniDee wrote: "the twist was good, but i felt there weren't enough clues, so impossible to de..." Personally, I find generic boundaries very arbitrary & am happy with spooky stuff in a mystery story. But detective & ghost stories have different rules. Having already read Ice Twins & decided it was basically a ghost story, I was a little surprised @ its choice by this group. But as I hugely enjoyed it, I'm glad we did. But for a mystery, we expect enough clues for a fair chance to suss it out, whilst in a ghost story, incidents that defy natural laws are routine. So that's why I read Ice Twins as a ghost story.

[Barb]

Just finished reading this book. Loved it because I couldn't put it down but am still not sure how I feel about the ending. I guess I didn't really want to be left hanging at the end wondering what really happened. It's one of those stories where you could come up with several theories. I sense somehow that the Gaelic words at the end mean something or the author wouldn't have bothered putting them there but would need to go back and re-read some parts to see if I can make a connection. My first thought was Kirsten was the one who really survived but sometimes Lydia "spoke through her" and Lydia was always saying how Kirsten said bad things and blamed Sarah for the twin who died. I don't think a ghost could leave an actual pink parka and strands of blond hair which were found with Sarah when they found her body. I think when Angus saw the 2 figures it was Kirsten and Sarah and I think just as Kirsten pushed Lydia off of her to save herself - she did the same with her mother (who may have fallen into the water) Maybe her mother tried to grab at her....and in doing so pulled her coat off and got some strands of blond hair. The question is would she have had time enough to get back to the cabin before her father got there. I also question whether, if this is what "happened"...if it was deliberate on Kirsten's part or just her saving herself from someone who was "falling" again.