Just Like the Other Girls

Douglas (Last Seen Alive) creates an appealing character in Una, a young woman working to improve her life and attain her dreams. Grand Georgian townhouses line the streets of affluent Clifton. Una, who recently lost her mother, is seeking a better job and is astounded when wealthy Elspeth McKenzie offers her a generous wage to serve as her live-in caregiver. Elspeth, business owner and widow, has a commanding presence which regularly conflicts with that of her adopted adult daughter, Kathryn, whose cold manner is hardly welcoming. When Una learns that two other recent caregivers have died, it seems like an unimaginable coincidence, until she discovers they both looked just like her. This rather boring job in a lovely setting is not so appealing now that there is a chilling suggestion of danger. As Una seeks to learn more, a literal and metaphorical menacing fog obscures the half-lies, past secrets, and especially the truth while a stunning unsettling twist in the middle changes the thie novel’s entire trajectory.