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The Indecipherables
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Expected 19 Jan 27“Who do you think you are? Part Twilight Zone, part Mulholland Drive, Anne Hellman’s debut is a tantalizing detour into the uncanny.” —Stewart O’Nan, author of A Prayer for the Dying
A pair of identical twins reconnect on a road trip where they realize they’re being stalked—by themselves—in this unsettling, imaginative tribute to Hitchcock’s Psycho and Vertigo
Meet Ava and Brin, identical twins on a road trip down the Pacific Coast Highway, from San Francisco to Joshua Tree, in honor of their late mother. This is more than a pilgrimage—it’s a reunion after a year-long rift, after Ava almost died of a mysterious illness. From their first night on the road, the sisters encounter strangers who insist they’ve met them before—a waitress who is certain she served them a few days ago, a mechanic who shows Ava and Brin a picture of themselves driving a different car from earlier that day.
Ava and Brin realize that another pair of twins, seemingly identical to them in name and appearance, are stalking them. The cat-and-mouse game between the four identical women quickly devolves into something sinister and supernatural as the lines between them begin to blur. Doppelgängers, prophetic hallucinations, an unwavering fog—what do these shadow twins want? And what are Ava and Brin hiding?
The Indecipherables is a fever dream of a debut novel, a journey into the weird and uncanny, and an exploration of what horrors arise when we keep secrets from those we love—and from ourselves.
A pair of identical twins reconnect on a road trip where they realize they’re being stalked—by themselves—in this unsettling, imaginative tribute to Hitchcock’s Psycho and Vertigo
Meet Ava and Brin, identical twins on a road trip down the Pacific Coast Highway, from San Francisco to Joshua Tree, in honor of their late mother. This is more than a pilgrimage—it’s a reunion after a year-long rift, after Ava almost died of a mysterious illness. From their first night on the road, the sisters encounter strangers who insist they’ve met them before—a waitress who is certain she served them a few days ago, a mechanic who shows Ava and Brin a picture of themselves driving a different car from earlier that day.
Ava and Brin realize that another pair of twins, seemingly identical to them in name and appearance, are stalking them. The cat-and-mouse game between the four identical women quickly devolves into something sinister and supernatural as the lines between them begin to blur. Doppelgängers, prophetic hallucinations, an unwavering fog—what do these shadow twins want? And what are Ava and Brin hiding?
The Indecipherables is a fever dream of a debut novel, a journey into the weird and uncanny, and an exploration of what horrors arise when we keep secrets from those we love—and from ourselves.
272 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication January 19, 2027
About the author
Anne Hellman
6 books4 followersAnne Hellman is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor. She is the author most recently of Design Brooklyn: Renovation, Restoration, Innovation, Industry (Stewart, Tabori, & Chang, 2013) and founder of the blog Design Brooklyn, with photographer Michel Arnaud. Anne has also co-authored LogoLounge 8 and LogoLounge 7 (Rockport Publishers) and Designers on Design: Joël Desgrippes and Marc Gobé on the Emotional Brand Experience (Rockport, 2007).
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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May 7, 2026I received this book through NetGalley.
The Indecipherables had an interesting premise, but it just wasn’t for me. The twin dynamic and identity themes are clearly central to the story, and I can see how readers who are twins or who enjoy slower, introspective psychological fiction may connect with it more deeply.
For me, though, I struggled to feel pulled in. The story had an eerie, reflective quality, but the pacing and overall distance kept me from fully connecting with the characters or the reading experience.
Overall, I can respect what the book was exploring more than I can say it worked for me personally. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy literary psychological stories, identity themes, twin dynamics, and a more atmospheric, introspective pace.
The Indecipherables had an interesting premise, but it just wasn’t for me. The twin dynamic and identity themes are clearly central to the story, and I can see how readers who are twins or who enjoy slower, introspective psychological fiction may connect with it more deeply.
For me, though, I struggled to feel pulled in. The story had an eerie, reflective quality, but the pacing and overall distance kept me from fully connecting with the characters or the reading experience.
Overall, I can respect what the book was exploring more than I can say it worked for me personally. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy literary psychological stories, identity themes, twin dynamics, and a more atmospheric, introspective pace.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
There is something deeply unnerving about a road trip novel where the landscape itself feels like it is watching you, and The Indecipherables absolutely nails that creeping dread. The Pacific Coast Highway has never felt so haunted. Fog curls around every page, memories distort, faces repeat themselves, and by the time the story fully slips into the uncanny, I felt like I was trapped in the backseat with Ava and Brin wondering if reality had quietly changed shape while nobody was looking.
This scratched a very specific itch for me. It has that hypnotic identity horror of Mulholland Drive mixed with the paranoid doubling and psychological spirals of Vertigo and Psycho, but it still feels entirely its own. The doppelgänger element is terrifying not because it is loud, but because it is disorienting. Every interaction feels slightly off-center, like the world is reflecting back a version of the twins that maybe should not exist.
I loved how grief and secrecy sit underneath all the strange horror. Ava and Brin’s relationship carries the entire novel. Their tension feels raw and lived in, and the emotional distance between them becomes just as unsettling as the supernatural pieces. The book constantly asks whether we can ever truly know the people closest to us, or even ourselves, and it does it through eerie roadside encounters, fractured memories, and mounting existential dread.
Anne Hellman writes like she is casting a spell. The prose feels dreamy and slippery without losing momentum, and there were moments where I genuinely felt untethered in the best way. The deeper the novel goes, the more it becomes less about solving a mystery and more about surrendering to the feeling of being lost inside it.
If you love strange literary horror, identity crises, uncanny doubles, lonely highways, and stories that feel like they are dissolving at the edges while you read them, this one is going to get under your skin.
This scratched a very specific itch for me. It has that hypnotic identity horror of Mulholland Drive mixed with the paranoid doubling and psychological spirals of Vertigo and Psycho, but it still feels entirely its own. The doppelgänger element is terrifying not because it is loud, but because it is disorienting. Every interaction feels slightly off-center, like the world is reflecting back a version of the twins that maybe should not exist.
I loved how grief and secrecy sit underneath all the strange horror. Ava and Brin’s relationship carries the entire novel. Their tension feels raw and lived in, and the emotional distance between them becomes just as unsettling as the supernatural pieces. The book constantly asks whether we can ever truly know the people closest to us, or even ourselves, and it does it through eerie roadside encounters, fractured memories, and mounting existential dread.
Anne Hellman writes like she is casting a spell. The prose feels dreamy and slippery without losing momentum, and there were moments where I genuinely felt untethered in the best way. The deeper the novel goes, the more it becomes less about solving a mystery and more about surrendering to the feeling of being lost inside it.
If you love strange literary horror, identity crises, uncanny doubles, lonely highways, and stories that feel like they are dissolving at the edges while you read them, this one is going to get under your skin.
May 8, 2026
Two names swirl in my mind as I read this. And I don’t utter them lightly, they are Shirley Jackson and Joan didion. Two seemingly different writers who, at the same time, had a surgical way of cutting through all the B.S. of American culture down to the nerve of oddness that runs through our strange country.
There’s a timeless quality to this novel that I deeply enjoyed. But that’s not to say that it’s old-fashioned, seriously iPhones, AI, and AirBnB run rampant through the story. But somewhere inside its pages there are whispers of wood nymphs , fairies, maybe even a fetch.
When you get down to the heart of the novel, it’s truly about identity. How well can we possibly know ourselves, and can you ever truly know another person? I find it fascinating that the subjects of the story are identical twins, who incidentally are being stalked by another set of identical twins. Its opening quote is from vertigo, and I do think that that is a very good starting image for this particular story.
I was enchanted by the way this writer is able to turn something as mundane as a scarf into an object of fear, persecution, perhaps even of guilt.
I cannot wait to see what she has next upper sleeve.
"I tell myself stories all day long, and I have managed to weave a fairy tale of infinite complexity around the inanimate objects in my house…"
-Shirley Jackson
"I have already lost touch with a couple of people I used to be..."
-Joan Didion
There’s a timeless quality to this novel that I deeply enjoyed. But that’s not to say that it’s old-fashioned, seriously iPhones, AI, and AirBnB run rampant through the story. But somewhere inside its pages there are whispers of wood nymphs , fairies, maybe even a fetch.
When you get down to the heart of the novel, it’s truly about identity. How well can we possibly know ourselves, and can you ever truly know another person? I find it fascinating that the subjects of the story are identical twins, who incidentally are being stalked by another set of identical twins. Its opening quote is from vertigo, and I do think that that is a very good starting image for this particular story.
I was enchanted by the way this writer is able to turn something as mundane as a scarf into an object of fear, persecution, perhaps even of guilt.
I cannot wait to see what she has next upper sleeve.
"I tell myself stories all day long, and I have managed to weave a fairy tale of infinite complexity around the inanimate objects in my house…"
-Shirley Jackson
"I have already lost touch with a couple of people I used to be..."
-Joan Didion
May 17, 2026
I love twin stuff. My mom was a twin. My husband is a twin. I was supposed to be a twin (boring story there that I like to make much more interesting to explain why I’m like this). Twin dynamics are just fascinating. So a horror book that hinges on twin dynamics, yeah. I’m in.
The pacing in this is a little rough sometimes. At times it really grabs you and at times it’s a little bit of a struggle bus to get through. Again, I love the twin thing. But we get it. They are twins. The hammer over the head about it isn’t really needed.
Finding out about “mindspeak” almost halfway through the book is a long way to add that detail. Taking the same amount of time to start explaining what is going on is a long journey, too. The book is disjointed and uncomfortable in a way that sometimes feels intentional in that horror way, and sometimes is just way too slow. I don’t mind a slow burn but several times it feels like this ember has just plain gone out. It feels like 1/4 of it could be edited out and it would be of great benefit.
Still we push on because I really hate AI, I like creepy stories,the whole twin thing, and, well, I still want to know what happens.
The book does get into it and does get interesting, I promise. I’m glad, ultimately, that I stuck with it and if you, like me, have that little bit of interest that just keeps going here, you will be too. It just takes quiiiiite a while to get there.
The pacing in this is a little rough sometimes. At times it really grabs you and at times it’s a little bit of a struggle bus to get through. Again, I love the twin thing. But we get it. They are twins. The hammer over the head about it isn’t really needed.
Finding out about “mindspeak” almost halfway through the book is a long way to add that detail. Taking the same amount of time to start explaining what is going on is a long journey, too. The book is disjointed and uncomfortable in a way that sometimes feels intentional in that horror way, and sometimes is just way too slow. I don’t mind a slow burn but several times it feels like this ember has just plain gone out. It feels like 1/4 of it could be edited out and it would be of great benefit.
Still we push on because I really hate AI, I like creepy stories,the whole twin thing, and, well, I still want to know what happens.
The book does get into it and does get interesting, I promise. I’m glad, ultimately, that I stuck with it and if you, like me, have that little bit of interest that just keeps going here, you will be too. It just takes quiiiiite a while to get there.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Twins being stalked by other versions of themselves?! Yes please. That concept alone had me hitting "Request Now" with a quickness; I'm pretty sure I started within 24 hours of getting my NetGalley approval.
Ava and Brin are identical twins. They definitely share that twin bond. When they take off for an adventure in memory of their late mother, they run into more than they bargained for... and by that, I mean other versions of themselves.
The story was twisty and eerie, but it also took you on a journey about your individual self. Sometimes I did get a bit confused with "Our Ana" and "Other Ana" etc. But, overall, I enoyed it.
3.5 Stars Rounded to 4
Publication Date : 1.19.2027
Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Ava and Brin are identical twins. They definitely share that twin bond. When they take off for an adventure in memory of their late mother, they run into more than they bargained for... and by that, I mean other versions of themselves.
The story was twisty and eerie, but it also took you on a journey about your individual self. Sometimes I did get a bit confused with "Our Ana" and "Other Ana" etc. But, overall, I enoyed it.
3.5 Stars Rounded to 4
Publication Date : 1.19.2027
Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The concept of this book was 100% for me. Unfortunately, nothing else was.
The academic writing style kept me at arm’s length and I never felt settled into the environment or connected with any of the characters. Consequently, I never really cared what happened to them. I almost DNF-ed several times, always after a scene that arguably should have been interesting. Every time Hellman managed to build even an inkling of intrigue it was followed up by something inane.
I can’t buy into horror when the characters experiencing it only seem capable of reacting by thinking “that’s impossible” and then…calmly continuing on.
The academic writing style kept me at arm’s length and I never felt settled into the environment or connected with any of the characters. Consequently, I never really cared what happened to them. I almost DNF-ed several times, always after a scene that arguably should have been interesting. Every time Hellman managed to build even an inkling of intrigue it was followed up by something inane.
I can’t buy into horror when the characters experiencing it only seem capable of reacting by thinking “that’s impossible” and then…calmly continuing on.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Indecipherables is a weird and twisty novel that does seem like something out of The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror. Twins Ava and Brin are on a roadtrip, but another pair of the twins are also on the same roadtrip. They meet. Only one pair is left. I'm still not quite sure how everything happened, but it was an interesting read. I didn't completely vibe with the writing/narration style, but it was a trippy, unique story. I'd definitely give it a 3.75, so I'm rounding up to four.
Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!
Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!
May 9, 2026
This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
This book was not what I was expecting. I loved how the twins were trying to reconnect. The other twins were very odd and eerily similar to our original twins. It did get a bit confusing with the twins being referred to as the other ones.
This book had me hooked wondering, which set of twins would be victorious. I am shocked how it ended I can’t believe it. I would definitely recommend this book!
This book was not what I was expecting. I loved how the twins were trying to reconnect. The other twins were very odd and eerily similar to our original twins. It did get a bit confusing with the twins being referred to as the other ones.
This book had me hooked wondering, which set of twins would be victorious. I am shocked how it ended I can’t believe it. I would definitely recommend this book!
May 11, 2026
This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
In short, this book felt like a Black Mirror episode. It was a very interesting read, I don’t think I’ve read anything like it before. I give it 3 stars because I am not a big fan of books with a lot of inner monologue and this book is full of it, being about twins, which is understandable. Anyone who enjoys that though would probably love it!
In short, this book felt like a Black Mirror episode. It was a very interesting read, I don’t think I’ve read anything like it before. I give it 3 stars because I am not a big fan of books with a lot of inner monologue and this book is full of it, being about twins, which is understandable. Anyone who enjoys that though would probably love it!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was very intrigued by the premise of this story: a set of twins being tracked by themselves... a set up for something really cosmic and interesting.
However, I really couldn't connect with either of the women. They were hollow an emotionless, not really showing much surprise or care when something strange happens. I found myself a little bored at times, and the writing style is strangely juvenile.
I liked the idea of this story, but it must just be one of those that's not for me sadly.
However, I really couldn't connect with either of the women. They were hollow an emotionless, not really showing much surprise or care when something strange happens. I found myself a little bored at times, and the writing style is strangely juvenile.
I liked the idea of this story, but it must just be one of those that's not for me sadly.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
An atmospheric and eerie slow burn. The uncanny sameness of twins has long been exploited for horror, but this feels fresh. The writing style is spare and creeping, and in some ways you know what's coming as you read, yet the author still manages a surprise or two. I love when a writer really goes for it, and the style really sells this story.
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May 13, 2026received an advanced copy from netgallery - review to come
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
2.5 stars rounded up- rtc but what did i just read???
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May 17, 2026I recieved an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
My review will be posted after the book is published!
My review will be posted after the book is published!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews