THE massive success of her debut novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife, has put the pressure on Audrey Niffenegger to come up with the goods again.

Her Fearful Symmetry – a ghost story that took seven years to write, centres on Julia and Valentina, identical twins from Chicago who spookily dress alike and hold hands in public. They inherit a flat overlooking London’s Highgate Cemetery from their aunt Elspeth, their mother’s twin who they never met and who was estranged from her sister.

The condition to the inheritance is that they live in the flat for a year.

Their neighbours are a weird lot and there’s a ghostly surprise too, but while this tale may be a little too off-the-wall for some, it is beautifully written and the characters really come to life on the page as Niffenegger explores familiar themes of love, loss and identity.

Hannah Stephenson