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Bad Twin (Hyperion) Hardcover – Bargain Price, May 2, 2006

by Gary Troup (Author)

104 customer reviews

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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.

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Product Details

Series: Hyperion
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (May 2, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1401302769
ASIN: B000LP64N6
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (104 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,270,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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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.

Customer Reviews

(104)

3.5 out of 5 stars

5 star		31
4 star		28
3 star		17
2 star		19
1 star		9

See all 104 customer reviews

I recommend this book for anyone looking for a fun and breezy read.

Marrw

I'll be honest, I found nothing outstanding about this book aside from the fact that it would have made me feel outstandingly bad had I actually spent money on it.

Cecilia Chen

I liked the book in and of itself, however, I was disappointed by the weak LOST tie in.

L. Brady

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

113 of 124 people found the following review helpful

A great "beach" read, right Sawyer?

By James Hiller VINE VOICE on May 8, 2006

Format: 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!

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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

Now I know what POSTMODERN means!

By Betty Jane Daly on May 4, 2006

Format: 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.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

Fun for "Lostralians"

By D. Bell on May 8, 2006

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

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.

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32 of 38 people found the following review helpful

Jack Did Sawyer a Favor when He Threw this One into the Fire

By D. R. Jeanclerc VINE VOICE on May 23, 2006

Format: Hardcover

"Bad Twin" is billed as the final work of author Gary Troup, who is missing and feared dead after the disappearance of Oceanic flight 815. Of course, anyone familiar with the magnificent TV drama "Lost" will recognize that this setup itself is part of the storyline. So the real question is whether the book is an important piece in that show's intriguing mythology or just a shameless cash grab aimed at the show's cult following?

Unfortunately, the book quickly reveals itself to be the latter. The "Lost" connection (such as it is - more on that later) notwithstanding, "Bad Twin" is simply an awful piece of crime fiction. The story packs in every pulp cliche imaginable: the down-on-his-luck private eye, the seductive femme fatale who could be ally or assassin, the conflicted client with secrets to keep. All of them bumble into each other's lives solely for the purpose of spouting ridiculous dialogue (just wait until you get to the "seduction" scenes - it's comedy at its finest).

The plot feels completely linear, i.e. throughout the entire book you pretty much know how the story is going to play out, right up until the very end. This is accomplished through the most ham-handed of exposition from the protagonist's mentor, a character who shows up from time to time to completely explain everything and offer "a vs. b" options for what will happen until his next appearance. After a while, this becomes annoying because the author is obviously condescending to the reader with this overdone explanation. "Don't read much, TV viewer? Here - let me help you." The book wraps up with the crown jewel of lazy writing: the chapter where all surviving good guys get together to just say out loud the means and motives of all of the story's mysteries.Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Great!

Product in excellent condition! Happy with it!

Published 5 months ago by Nilda Marrero

Fun book

I was watching the entire series of Lost and I came across the name of the "author" of bad twin! It ties in with the Darma Initiative and other Lost companies and theories!

Published on September 25, 2012 by gabriela king

A great intro to mystery novels

I am a Lostie, and when I saw this book, I had to read it! It re-introduced me to the world of True Crime novels. It read great and kept me turning page after page! Read more

Published on December 25, 2010 by otter372

With very little connections to the show lost

Note: This is not a tie in book with characters featured on the show of "Lost".

The idea of the book is, the author was on Oceanic Flight 815 which was the plane on the... Read more

Published on September 22, 2010 by Thomas A. Zulli

Yes, it's Laurence Shames, all right, and in good form.

I confess I'd never heard of 'Lost' and picked up a copy of Bad Twin that was left at our Bed and Breakfast. Read more

Published on March 15, 2010 by K.T. Reid

Good for a quick read

Bad Twin is like a modern day version of "Clue" except that half way thru the book you find out who the killer is, yet, that is not one of the many exciting twists that this book... Read more

Published on December 10, 2009 by J. Cruz

Great book, but don't read for Lost information

I bought this book because I'm a rabid Lost fan and wanted to read this so I could say I've seen/played/read everything concerning the show. Read more

Published on April 5, 2009 by Moonwalker

What does this have to do with LOST?

I am a huge fan of LOST and I know the place of the Gary Troup manuscript in the series and his relationship with Cindy and all.... Read more

Published on September 10, 2008 by T. Hayes

Bad Twin

***spoilers*below***

Alright, so it starts off interestingly enough, albeit kind of slowly. Gets better, mystery, mystery, travel, whoo-hoo. Read more

Published on June 13, 2008 by Runa

Don't bother

Although competently written, this book is not a very good stand-alone, nor does it offer any clue or value for the fans of LOST.

Published on July 19, 2007 by Yvonne Eve Walus