Think Twice-Lisa Scottoline

Think Twice
Lisa Scottoline
St. Martin’s, Mar 16 2010, $26.99
ISBN: 9780312380755

They are identical twins separated at birth as their mom could not afford even one of them, but kept Bennie Rosato and gave up Alice Connolly for adoption. They met as adults (see dead Ringer) and now Bennie is at Alice’s new rental home having dinner. Alice tells Bennie she quit her job as a paralegal at the Public Law Group in Philadelphia and asks her twin for a job at Rosato & Associates. Suddenly Bennie complains about a headache while hearing her sister mumble “Give it up. It’s over.”

Bennie awakens to find herself inside a box with a bleeding knee and no food, water, or air hole. Unbeknownst to Bennie, Alice had not rented the house, but instead knew the owner Ms. Sally Cavanaugh was in the Pocono’s so she took it over to serve her sister wine with Rophynol. Alice had to vanish because she cheated on her drug dealing boyfriend Q who will kill her so she became Bennie but could not murder her sister as the thought of looking at her own face on a corpse was nauseating so she buried her alive. Now she acts as Bennie to access her sister’s wealth and Bennie’s former boyfriend Grady. However, Bennie is coming with vengeance in her heart.

In spite of wondering why Bennie failed to learn her lesson re Alice after Dead Ringer, fans will enjoy her latest adventures from the moment she realizes where she is trapped as Lisa Scottoline explores nurturing vs. naturing with the separated at birth twins. This fast-paced thriller has the audience wondering what will happen when benevolent Bennie catches up to malevolent Alice. Although the premise of a twin killing and taking over the identity of her sibling has been used before (see Bette Davis’ movie Dead Ringer) and the escape from the coffin is exhilarating over the top of the Pocono’s, Think Twice is a terrific character driven tale.

Harriet Klausner