The Third Twin

December 8, 2014
Ava and Lexi are foundling identical twins, left on a restaurateur’s doorstep as infants and raised by their single father as members of the privileged California beach crowd. They have a habit of slumming with lower-class dates, alternately pretending to be “Alicia,” an invented “third twin.” When one of those dates turns up dead, Alicia is implicated. Like Omololu’s Transcendence, this contemporary thriller takes a long time to get going. A hundred pages in, Ava and Lexi are still hanging out, worrying about their outfits, about not getting into Stanford, and about who’s wearing the diamond-encrusted pendant tonight. A murder has happened, and the cops are involved, but more verbiage is devoted to the joys of eating at a food truck than to concern about the law. The narrative is from Lexi’s point of view, and she claims to know nothing, as does Ava. Is Lexi unreliable? Is Ava lying? Or is the truth more convoluted? Some readers may not make it far enough to find out, between sluggish pacing and the sisters’ sympathy-numbing self-absorption. Ages 12–up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary Agency.

November 15, 2014
Could an identical twin be a killer without her sister knowing it?It all began as a joke when Lexi and Ava were little: The identical sisters would imagine they had a "third twin" named Alicia. Now in their senior year of high school, the girls have reincarnated Alicia, using this persona to dress up and date boys they normally wouldn't. They've even gone to the trouble of creating a fake ID and social media site to build a back story for this fictitious sister. The fun ends when Lexi, out as Alicia, is the last known person to have seen Casey, her date and would-be rapist, alive. Told from Lexi's point of view, the mystery continues as more of "Alicia's" dates turn up murdered. When the evidence and unusual coincidences all point to Ava, Lexi feels like the person she's always known best is suddenly a stranger. And because they share DNA, Lexi also becomes a person of interest. As she races to find the real killer, she must also contend with moving on from high school to college, finding her own identity and trying to save the boy she really loves from meeting a deadly fate. Although the resolution may be more out of Hollywood than reality, the dramatic suspense will keep mystery fans entertained. A classic whodunit for the teenage set. (Mystery. 13-18)

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January 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-Twins Lexi and Ava have been playing a game since they were little girls: they have created an imaginary third twin, Alicia. As young girls, the sisters would blame naughty behavior on their imaginary sibling. Now as teenagers, the sisters vicariously imagine the free-spirited Alicia indulging in the wilder side of life: dressing provocatively, and with a cadre of attractive boyfriends. Then the game begins to have dangerous consequences-people are turning up dead. Is one of the sisters to blame or is Alicia real? This compelling story filled with serpentine twists and turns will leave readers guessing at every step, and breathless at the climactic conclusion. Hand to readers who crave suspenseful, plot-driven thrillers.-Melanie Okadigwe, Greene Hill School, Brooklyn, NY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Adopted identical twins Lexi and Ava used to joke about an imaginary trouble-making third sibling, Alicia. As teens, they both use the "Alicia" persona for dating the wrong sort of guys. When the guys start being murdered and DNA evidence points to one of the twins, Lexi investigates if Alicia could be real. Thriller enthusiasts may forgive the slow start and implausible premise.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)