If I Had Two Lives by A.B. Whelan

I'm giving If I Had Two Lives 4 out of 5 pages. I was given a copy of this through NetGalley for an honest review.  

What would you do if you found out your parents were keeping something from you? What if your career has a FBI agent hinged on finding out the truth? What if you had to solve a string of serial killings, hunt down your personal truth and find time to kiss the ass of your boyfriend of many years? 

These are all the dilemmas facing new FBI agent and seasoned detective Vicky Collins. Vicky, a strong, yet very naiive individual, lives with her less than supportive boyfriend Doug, a real estate mogul and social media influencer. Vicky, an experienved detective, is offered the job of a lifetime as an agent with the FBI. Vicky jumps at the opportunity, despite Doug's hesitance. 

Her first stint as an agent is to hunt a serial killer murdering women in a fashion similar to other serial killers, giving him the pseudoynm CopyCat Killer. While Vicky is excited to have her hands in the case, she is informed by her boss, she lied on her FBI application. When questioned further, it is revealed that Vicky's family life is not at all what it has appeared to be. Vicky is placed on leave and uses this opportunity to uncover the deeply hidden secrets of her family. As Vicky becomes closer to the truth, another body is found murdered and Vicky is brought back onto the force to help investigate. On the back burner is her relationship with Doug, which to Vicky's despair winds up causing her even more hurt and will eventually lead Vicky to all the answers she was seeking and more. 

This book had it all- mystery, secrets, intrigue, foregiveness, twists, and turns. It was well written and the characters were well developed. A.B. Whelan made you love them or hate them. I felt like I could relate some of the characters to those I knew in real life. The plot and sub plots were interwoven beautifully to lead me wanting more and not feel as I though I was getting lost from one or the other. The secrets were laid out nicely and everything was tied up neatly at the end- no cliffhangers for the reader. The relationships between the characters were well thought out and relatable as well. 

There wasn't much I disliked about this book other than two things in particular. Vicky and Doug's relationship at the end of the book (I will leave details out to not spoil anything) made me so very mad. I think this was just from a personal standpoint but Vicky didn't deserve how Doug treated her and Doug, sure as hell, didn't deserve Vicky. I wanted to be that best friend to pull her aside and say not to choose the route she did. The second thing I disliked was how once all the pieces fell into place, the person being sought was someone so very close to Vicky. It was really difficult for me to comprehend that after Vicky obtained a picture of this person much younger, through criminal history, that she was not able to put two and two together seeing the face many years after the fact! It seemd a little too unreasonable for me. However, it was a welcoming twist, especially as earlier on in the book, the reader is misdirected to think something else. 

All in all, I would recommend this book. The misdirection and mystery provided by the author makes it the type of book you don't want to put down until you figure out Vicky's family secret or who the infamous Copycat serial killer is.