Paul Artisan is a private detective in California, where the cases he receives are mostly petty disputes and insurance fraud. But when Cliff Widmore appears and asks him to find his twin, Artisan knows this case won't be like the others he's had before. He's not sure who to trust or which is really the "bad" twin. The book itself is the "manuscript" that Hurley and Sawyer read in Season 2 of Lost, written by author "Gary Troup" who died in the plane crash. Other connections include the Hanso Foundation (located on floor 42 of the Widmore Building), repetition of the numbers, and a comment about the Paik's business.

This is one of those rare books that I finished thinking, "I could've written better than that." Granted, it had a compelling story and characters, but the writing was full of misplaced adjectives and jarring similes. For example: "The sloop--a good size, maybe forty feet, a third of a million dollars' worth of fiberglass and teak with the name Escape Hatch etched into the transom--was lifted in a giant wooden cradle in the hanger-like shed of Hap's Marina; there was something rude and almost obscene about the sight of the boat's raised, bare bottom, its stiff keel stabbing downward like the penis of an excited whale" (53). After that, I didn't read the descriptions to closely, but even then the story structure was somewhat unbelievable to the end. Not recommended. ( )

A fairly average detective novel only mildly connected to the TV show Lost. ( )

"Bad Twin" is an extension to "The Lost Experience," an alternate-reality game intended to keep the rabid viewers of "Lost" busy during the long summer when there are no new episodes. It was supposedly written by Gary Troup, who was one of the "victims" of Oceanic Flight 815. About the only thing I could glean from the book that related to Lost was a bit of background on the Widmores. While the book is "metafiction," that is, fiction within fiction, the book is supposedly based on some real things, like the Hanso Foundation (to the fictional Lost people, are you confused yet?).
At any rate, I sped through the short 250 pages of "Bad Twin" in less than a week. It's an entertaining read, a classic mystery tale of greed and deception. I enjoyed it, regardless of any tie to the TV show, though fans will probably enjoy it more than non-fans.
Oh, and allow me to put to rest any inklings that Stephen King is the ghost writer of this book. In my opinion, he most definitely is not. The writing style just wasn't consistent to me. In addition, the settings of the book are completely unfamiliar to Mr. King. In an interview about his recent release, Cell, he admitted that he wanted to set the beginning of that book in New York City, but decided on Boston because he didn't know enough about New York's geography, etc, for it to be realistic. With "Bad Twin" being primarily set in New York City, Long Island, Florida, and Australia, with some good details about each place (even if they were fictional hotels, etc), I highly doubt King wrote this, even with him being a fan of the show. More likely is James Patterson, who seems to have a stronger link. ( )

This book was okay. I was hoping for more actual tie-in to 'Lost', but there was mainly just hints and passing mentions. ( )

How very strange. Fiction, by a fictional writer. Too bad it's a gimmick - I actually liked the characters. ( )