Paul Artisan, a New York Privet eye, is the kind of detective you don’t want watching you. If you are an adulterer or are committing insurance fraud, Paul will find out. Working for $500 a case Paul will take it, that is when it is offered to him. On average he gets one to two cases a week.
One day Paul’s world was turned upside down when Cliff Widmore walks into Paul’s office. Cliff is the son of wealthy, Donald Trump like, Arthur Widmore. Paul is given $25,000 to find Cliff’s missing, identical, mirror image, twin brother, Zander. It is not the first time Zander has vanished but there is something different about it. Cliff wants Paul’s help due to the fact that Paul is not really known. Paul accepts the case for the search for Zander.
This case will have Cliff involved in a world he is not use to: murder, suspicious behavior, and travels around the world aren’t the things Paul is use to when he usually takes a case. It will take all his knowledge and help form his friend Manny Weissman amongst others to solve this case. Can Paul do it? Will he be killed in the process of solving the case? Where is Zander? Theses questions and more will be answered if you read, Bad Twin, by Gary Troup.
For the most part the above is the premise of Bad Twin. Bad Twin was released during the first half of 2006 and is published by Hyperion. This 258-page novel is the first detective novel that I have read. I found it to be a very easy read. For the most part I found it to be a fun story with mystery, action, and some humor.
As much fun as the story was I do have a few gripes about the book. For starters I found the writing be a bit amateurish. One example is that the author spelled out a lot while the story progressed. The way this was done was through the character Manny Weissman. Manny never left New York City. Paul would either meet with him on evening walks or would call Manny. Paul would explain what has been happening with the case and many would respond with an actually literary reference. Manny would refer to the Bible, Greek mythology, Dante’s Inferno, as well as many other literary references. If you are familiar with any of Manny’s references then the story was summed up until that point. To me it took away of trying to solve the mystery. I am one of those people who like to solve the mystery before the detective does in the story (books, movies, and television), therefore, I was annoyed by the references.
Another thing I found to be annoying about the book was a conversation Paul had and how it played out later in the story. Paul got into a conversation about sex and how it is called different things when based on differences amongst different types of relationships. For example, if the people having sex just met or were only dating it was called fornicating or it was know as the most famous four letter ‘f” word. If those fornicating are married it called making love. Gary Troup seemed to forget this later on in the story because he was all over the place when it came to Paul and intimacy.
A final thing I found annoying is the Star Trek style ending. For those who don’t or never watched Star Trek, I’ll explain what I mean. During an episode of Star Trek you would have the crew in some kind of dilemma. Within the last few moments of the show the issue would be resolved and the crew of the starship could go happily on their way. Bad Twin did the same. With in the last few pages the story everything was wrapped up for the reader. I won’t say what happened but everything was explained in only a few pages before the story ended. This may not annoy everyone but it bothered me.
Despite those three things I did enjoy the book and would recommend it with a warning. Now, if you don’t want to know what the title of my review means don’t read any more. The rest gives some minor spoilers about the author, and the connection to a television show. You will find the spoilers after the list of Characters.
Thank you for reading
Brett
Characters:
Paul Artisan: The hero of the story who must solve the mystery of the missing Zander Widmore
Manny Weissman: An old college professor of Paul’s. Manny and Paul remained friends after Paul graduated. Paul Shares in all his cases with Manny.
Cliff Widmore: The identical, mirror image, twin brother of the missing Zander. Cliff hires Paul to find Zander
Moth (Keith Baker): Friend of Zander who lives on Peconiquot Island and works on boats. He is one of the last people to see Zander.
Arthur Widmore: A Donald Trump like character. He built an empire of in the businesses real estate. He is very wealthy and is the father of Cliff and Zander
Vivian Widmore: The third woman to be named Mrs. Arthur Widmore. A fishy character who seems to be married for the money. May also not be totally faithful to Arthur.
Sky: An Yoga Instructor who lives in Florida. She is a good friend of Zander
Prudence: A Private Detective assigned to another case when she and Paul meet.
Argos: A shared dog between Paul and Manny. The dog seems to be the excuse for Paul and Manny to meat and discusses cases.
Zander Widmore: He is the Waldo or Carman San Diego character. Where in the world can he be?
SPOILER ALLERT
About the Author:
This is the last book Gary Troup wrote before he presumably died. On September 22, 2004 the plane he was traveling on disappeared form radar in the Pacific Ocean after leaving Australia. To this day no one really know what happened to Oceanic Flight 815. If you aren’t familiar with the disappearance of Flight 815 then go rent LOST season one and two. That’s right, Gary Troup is not a real person. He is a fictional character. The person who really penned Bad Twin is unknown. Gary has not been seen on the show and may never be on the show. Only LOST’s creators know. If you do know about the show then think of this. Gary Troup is an anagram for Purgatory. Perhaps Gary Troup is the island on the show. Who really knows?
4 8 15 16 23 42 More connections to LOST
Besides our fictional author the Hanso Foundation is also mentioned. In one part of the story Paul accidentally gets off and elevator on the wrong floor and ends up in the NY headquarters of the Hanso Foundation. There are many people walking around in white lab cotes. On the wall is a plaque that explains that the Foundations is dedicated to the betterment of all human kind. The only other mention of Hanso Foundation is Arthur extreme dislike of one of the Board members of his organization, the one who came form Hanso.
The only other connections are part of the numbers are use in an entry codes and Paul travels to Australia. Besides these few things there are no clues to give anyone any inklings about Lost. This book was probably connected to generate more buzz about a popular show. Besides Bad Twin may be what Sawyer and Hurley may have been reading on the beach. Remember that they were reading some kind of manuscript throughout the show.
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