Bad Twin [Hardcover]

Gary Troup (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2006

Sometimes evil has a familiar face . . .

Paul Artisan, P.I. is a new version of an old breed -- a righter of wrongs, someone driven to get to the bottom of things. Too bad his usual cases are of the boring malpractice and fraud variety. Until now.

His new gig turns on the disappearance of one of a pair of twins, adult scions of a rich but tragedy-prone family. The missing twin -- a charismatic poster-boy for irresponsibility -- has spent his life daring people to hate him, punishing himself endlessly for his screw-ups and misdeeds. The other twin -- Artisan's client -- is dutiful and resentful in equal measure, bewildered that his "other half" could have turned out so badly, and wracked by guilt at his inability to reform him. He has a more practical reason, as well, for wanting his brother found: their crazy father, in failing health and with guilty secrets of his own, will not divide the family fortune until both siblings are accounted for.

But it isn't just a fortune that's at stake here. Truth itself is up for grabs, as the detective's discoveries seem to challenge everything we think we know about identity, and human nature, and family. As Artisan journeys across the globe to track down the bad twin, he seems to have moved into a mirror-world where friends and enemies have a way of looking very much alike. The P.I. may have his long-awaited chance to put his courage and ideals to the test, but if he doesn't get to the bottom of this case soon, it could very well cost him his life.

Troup's long-awaited Bad Twin is a suspenseful novel that touches on many powerful themes, including the consequence of vengeance, the power of redemption, and where to turn when all seems lost.

Bad Twin is a work of fiction and all names, characters and incidents are used fictitiously; the author himself is a fictional character.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bad Twin is the highly-anticipated new novel by acclaimed mystery writer Gary Troup. Bad Twin was delivered to Hyperion just days before Troup boarded Oceanic Flight 815, which was lost in flight from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles in September 2004. He remains missing and is presumed dead.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; hardcover edition (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401302769
• ISBN-13: 978-1401302764
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #629,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 122 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great "beach" read, right Sawyer?, May 8, 2006

By 

James Hiller (Beaverton, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bad Twin (Hardcover)

You've crashed on a mysterious island, filled with polar bears, strange people, and mysterious hatches, that apparently all add up to something, but what it is, you just don't know. So, to spend your time, while hiding the island's weaponry, you read what you happen to find in the wreckage. That being, a mystery book, written by one Gary Troup (whose name, mysteriously, anagrams into "purgatory"). Fortunately, prior to his disappearance on that fateful Oceanic flight, he submitted his manuscript for this mystery novel, and thus, we get a chance to read the book, discovered by Hurley and so infatuated Sawyer, "Bad Twin".

"Bad Twin" tells the story of Paul Artisan, a private eye with a penchant for tracking down insurance scammers and cheating spouses. He meets up with one Cliff Widmore, a rich businessman, who hires Artisan to find his long lost identical twin brother Zander. Adventure ensues as Paul island hops from New York to Key West to Cuba, and meets up with the usual suspects; beautiful women, naked gurus, crusty sailors with secrets to hide. As a stand alone mystery, the book is fairly solid if not overly challenging.

Those of us who are Lost fans, however, the book layers in a second meaning. As Paul returns home, and checks in with his own personal guru, a retired professor named Manny, we learn snippets of information that may or may not relate to the show. Discussions of King Lear, redemption, and yes, the philosopher John Locke, pepper the plot between the action scenes. Throw in a trip to Australia on board Oceanic Airlines, and other little surprises (like the twins birthdays), it was enough to whet the whistle of this Lost fan.

So, find some airplane wreckage, curl up on a beach with some borrow glasses, and enjoy this fun little romp through the mysterious world of Paul Artisan and the even more mysterious world of Lost. It's too bad they put Gary Troup on the plane though. It would have been nice to read another mystery by him!

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now I know what POSTMODERN means!, May 4, 2006

By 

Betty Jane Daly - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bad Twin (Hardcover)

For years, in book reviews and stuff about pop culture, I've seen the word "postmodern"--but I never knew exactly what it meant, other than hip, brainy, and strange. After reading--okay, inhaling--Bad Twin, I think I finally get it. This is a book that toys with everything we think we know about fiction, reality, and how storytelling works. It grabs the reader on a lot of different levels, and is...well, hip, brainy, and strange!

On one level, Bad Twin is an old-fashioned, straight-ahead detective story--and a really good one, with vivid characters, snappy dialogue, plenty of twists and turns, and even a sexy little love story thrown in. It's so tidy that I wouldn't be surprised if the real author--just a guess--was an old master like Elmore Leonard.

But wait, that's just the first level. Here's where it gets weird...

The supposed "author", Gary Troup, is himself a fictional character from the fictional universe of LOST. So which world does the story of Bad Twin belong to? Our world or the world of the Island? So now we have a fiction within a fiction, a mystery within a mystery. Is the detective only trying solve a murder?--or is he also--consciously or otherwise--following clues about the Island? And if the fictional Troup perished in the crash, is it just coincidence that the book echoes so many of the themes of the show? All those twins and mirror-images: Truth and fiction; coincidence and fate; suffering and redemption...

This book is a total page-turner the first time through, and probably complex enough to deserve a second reading.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun for "Lostralians", May 8, 2006

By 

D. Bell "Imzadi" (Olney, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bad Twin (Hardcover)

As other reviewers have mentioned, this is a fast and easy read. I admit that I wouldn't have bought it if not for the Lost connections, but I'm glad I did. The protagonist is a likeable man whose surname, Artisan, comes from the Basque word for "shepherd," a Lost connection. The twins were born 23 minutes apart near midnight, so the birthday of one is 8/15 and the other 8/16 (8, 15, 16, and 23 are four of the six Lost numbers). Of course there are the Widmore and Hanso connections found here as well as a character named Shannon, who sounds like the woman that the island's Shannon might have become had she not crashed on the island. Cindy, the flight attendant who was the last "tailie" captured by The Others, is a minor character in the book as well as "Gary Troup's" fiancee. Lost fans, the price is right on Amazon, so go ahead and buy it. You'll enjoy it.