What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

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SOLVED: Adult Fiction > SOLVED. Old mystery kidnapping that turns into murder. Two twins and half sister. [s]

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message 1: by Nicola (new)

Nicola | 43 comments I have two books which have driven me nuts for years trying to remember them. One I think has been found via this group so I'm going to try for book #2.

This is a murder mystery and it's a little bit complicated, so even though I remember a fair amount it's a little bit hard to remember all of the twists and turns.

I read this when I was quite young and it wasn't a new book then so I'm expecting it to be at least 30 years old. The feel of the book seemed to be 70ish from what I remember.

The book is set in the States I think, in a beach town; during the summer they get a lot of people coming in from outside.

The plot of the story is that two twins (brother and sister) and their younger (half?) sister are currently living in the town and causing a bit of a stir. The two older ones are anyway. They are attractive and pleasure loving and come from a rich background and it's a bit of a surprise that they are spending their time in a hick little town. At some point the other sister goes missing and the twins get ransom demands. The chief of police investigates her disappearance.

I remember the opening scene very well - one of the town cops comes into the police station very upset and complaining about the indecency of the tourists and saying that he had issued a woman a ticket(?) for public indecency, that she had been walking down the main street wearing tiny shorts and a skimpy top which didn't cover her midriff. His colleague and his boss seemed quite amused and wanted to know if she was attractive. Then the woman in question comes in and wants to know what she is meant to do with the ticket. The police chief says she has to pay $1 and as she doesn't have any money on her one of the police officers loans her the money.

The book itself was a hardback and I seem to remember it had a white dust cover. I obviously can't remember the name but when I tried to find it I kept thinking it was something like 'The Third Twin' even though I didn't think it could possibly be because the other sibling wasn't a twin.


Spoilers



What has actually happened is that the twins are broke and are wanting to get more money out of their trust by pretending that their sister has been kidnapped. Their sister was previously living in Switzerland I think and she was really angry when she was approached by them with the scam because up till then they had completely ignored her existence. She wants revenge on her two siblings.

I can't remember exactly who dies but I'm fairly sure that at least the brother does because I seem to recall his twin sister crying over his body and calling him Cal(?)

I'm not sure exactly what happens but I know that there is a switch of identity between the 3rd sibling and some other girl (whose name I seem to recall being something like Hazel or some other name beginning with H. I could be completely mistaken). I can't remember why these two do this but I do know that two major clues come from the fact that one of them is really short sighted and is as blind as a bat without glasses and also the sister is really quiet and a bird lover(?) and the girl who replaces her isn't. When Hazel (?) is meant to be in the forest/swamp? bird watching she actually goes and posses nude for a painter who lives alone.


message 2: by Kris (new)

Kris | 55013 comments Mod
A guess - "Lakeside Encounter" (1979-80) by Constance Milburn?

Subjects: Twin brothers -- Fiction. Sisters -- Fiction. Women teachers -- Fiction. Missing persons -- Fiction. Kidnapping -- Fiction. Man-woman relationships -- Fiction.

www.worldcat.org/title/lakeside-encou...


message 3: by Nicola (last edited Aug 09, 2016 06:54AM) (new)

Nicola | 43 comments No that won't be it unfortunately Kris. The twins are brother and sister not brothers.

I'm also not sure but if I had to put money on it I would say that the author was likely to be a man rather than a woman.


message 4: by Kris (new)

Kris | 55013 comments Mod
How far into the book do you learn the kidnapping is a scam?

Would you call this book an adult mystery or murder mystery?

How old are the siblings?

Who are the parents and do they play a prominent role?


message 5: by Nicola (new)

Nicola | 43 comments Kris wrote: "How far into the book do you learn the kidnapping is a scam?

Would you call this book an adult mystery or murder mystery?

How old are the siblings?

Who are the parents and do they play a promin..."


1. How far into the book do you learn the kidnapping is a scam?
Hmm, it was 30 years or so ago since I read it so I'm obviously hazy on precise details but I would say it was around the mid-point, once the police chief was starting to wise up to the sort of people the twins were.

2. Would you call this book an adult mystery or murder mystery?
I don't know what you mean by this?

3. How old are the siblings?
Probably early 20s for the twins. I'm pretty sure the other girl is younger. I think she was in some sort of school in Switzerland and they had taken her away to be with them either for the holidays or at the end of her time there.

4. Who are the parents and do they play a prominent role?
I think they are dead and that is why they have a trust.


message 6: by Nicola (new)

Nicola | 43 comments One added point concerning your question about the kidnapping. I think I remember now that the twins go through all of the performance thinking that it is all part of the plan and then at some point something happens which isn't supposed to and they freak out and start to think that something really has happened to their little sister and that she genuinely has been taken.


message 7: by Holly (new)

Holly (hollylovesbooks) | 759 comments Maybe it will be on this list? https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...


message 8: by Nicola (new)

Nicola | 43 comments It's not one of those unfortunately.


message 9: by Ayshe (new)

Ayshe | 4721 comments There is 1966 book "The third twin" by Clayton Henry: http://www.worldcat.org/title/third-t...

I can't find anything about it online, except that it's a "Bloodhound mystery". Maybe it's still worth checking?


message 10: by Nicola (last edited Sep 19, 2016 01:29PM) (new)

Nicola | 43 comments Ayshe wrote: "There is 1966 book "The third twin" by Clayton Henry: http://www.worldcat.org/title/third-t...

I can't find anything about it online, except that it's a "Bloodhound mystery". Maybe i..."


Well that is it, I recognise the cover :-) I'll see if I can get hold of it through the library system somehow... I can't believe I managed to remember the title correctly! I was sure it couldn't be it because I just can't remember her being a twin, just a sibling. I guess I'll need to re-read the book to find out the meaning behind the title.

Bravo for your sleuthing Ayshe! I'm not familar with WorldCat, that's a much better way for searching for book titles than Goodreads which I found useless. Still, I wasn't expecting my remembered title to actually be the correct one :-)

https://www.amazon.com/third-twin-Blo...


message 11: by Ayshe (new)

Ayshe | 4721 comments Yay! :) Goodreads didn't have data about it at all, but, yes, WorldCat is very helpful when you have the title.
I created record for it: The 3rd Twin now. If it's not too much trouble, when you get hold of the book, can you add description and author details (I'm assuming they will be available in it)? I see that you're librarian yourself, but you can also request this in the Librarians group, if you don't feel like adding them.


message 12: by Nicola (new)

Nicola | 43 comments Ayshe wrote: "Yay! :) Goodreads didn't have data about it at all, but, yes, WorldCat is very helpful when you have the title.
I created record for it: The 3rd Twin now. If it's not too much trou..."


Yes I will do so. I was going to set this up when I got hold of the book but you've saved me half of the job :-)


message 13: by Nicola (new)

Nicola | 43 comments Ayshe wrote: "Yay! :) Goodreads didn't have data about it at all, but, yes, WorldCat is very helpful when you have the title.
I created record for it: The 3rd Twin now. If it's not too much trou..."


That's done. I've just finished the book and I'm stunned at how much I remembered accurately. For a book I read 30 years ago everything I thought I recalled about it was true down to the names and the plot twists - but there was still enough I couldn't recall to make it an enjoyable read.


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