Regina's Song: A Novel - Softcover

Eddings, David; Eddings, Leigh

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345448995 ISBN 13: 9780345448996

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 2003

Synopsis

“A story of murder and revenge . . . Outstandingly well paced and tightly plotted, the novel also stands out in its handling of various psychological themes.”—Booklist

Eerily attuned to one another, twins Regina and Renata are so identical that even their mother can’t tell them apart. Then tragedy strikes: a vicious attack leaves one twin dead and the other so traumatized that she turns totally inward, incapable of telling anyone what happened or even who she is. She remains lost to the world, until the day Mark, a family friend, comes to visit—and the young woman utters her first intelligible word.

As she recovers, still with no memory of the past, her nightmares grow steadily more frightful, followed by wild fits of hysteria and dark mood swings. Her strange outbursts seem to coincide with the grisly serial murders that have begun plaguing Seattle. Could she be the killer? Determined to dispel his suspicion, Mark stakes out her home. The unholy sight he witnesses one night will haunt his soul for the rest of his life. . . .

About this title

Review:

Regina and Renata are truly identical twins. They are so strikingly alike, even their mother can't tell them apart. Since their DNA is identical and their infant footprint records were lost by the hospital, no one can be sure which is which. This doesn't bother the twins. In fact, they're inseparable--until one of the young women is murdered. The other has no memory of the event, no idea who she is. In her near-total amnesia, she can remember only family friend Mark, who has always been a surrogate big brother to the twins. And Mark finds himself fearing that the effects of the trauma don't end with amnesia, for now a series of vicious murders terrorizes Seattle, accompanied by the howl of wolves....

A perhaps-supernatural thriller, Regina's Song is also a novella-length idea padded to 400 pages of novel. It may please young-adult readers, but it won't satisfy many experienced thriller fans. The plot twists aren't all that numerous or complex, and the cutesy dialogue in this turn-of-the-millennium novel seems more suited to the 1950s. --Cynthia Ward

About the Author:

David Eddings published his first novel, High Hunt, in 1973, before turning to the field of fantasy and The Belgariad, soon followed by The Malloreon. Born in Spokane, Washington, in 1931, and raised in the Puget Sound area north of Seattle, he received his bachelor of arts degree from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, in 1954, and a master of arts degree from the University of Washington in 1961. He has served in the United States Army, has worked as a buyer for the Boeing Company, and has also been a grocery clerk and a college English teacher.

Leigh Eddings has collaborated with her husband for more than a dozen years.

David and Leigh Eddings live in the Southwest.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0345448995
• ISBN 13: 9780345448996
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 448