False Hearts

April 25, 2016
Lam (the Micah Grey series) sets this encompassing, fast-paced murder mystery in a cyberpunk, late 21st-century San Francisco. Conjoined twins Taema and Tila Collins live in the Mana Hearth’s cult in Muir Woods. Under the ruthless thumb of Mana-ma, no technology is allowed and members are subjected to mind-altering Meditation. When the twins’ shared heart fails, they escape to the city for separation and artificial hearts. Ten years later, Tila is charged with murdering Vuk, a gangster with the elusive Ratel crime syndicate. Taema goes undercover as Tila and discovers the underground drug Verve, which sucks users into a virtual reality nightmare of violence. Alternating first-person perspectives from each twin, Lam expertly explores themes of identity, totalitarian governments, cults, mind control, and familial love. However, readers who appreciate the accurate portrayal of San Francisco’s diverse populace—including the twins, who are Samoan and black—will be dismayed that the cover obscures the protagonists’ faces. Agent: Juliet Mushens, Agency Group.

January LaVoy's confident narration takes listeners on a wild ride. This near-future sci-fi story opens with blood-stained Tila stumbling into her twin, Taema's, apartment, closely pursued by the police. Tila faces the threat of cryogenic stasis, a futuristic sentence for criminals, unless Taema can prove her innocence. The plot is jam-packed with action and ideas--body modifications, sinister corporations, hijacked dreams, among others. The action alternates between the twins' stories; Taema goes undercover to solve the murder while Tila reflects on the sisters' early life in a low-tech cult and the escape that allowed the twins to survive to adulthood. Subtle but distinct variations in the twins' voices make the dual points of view easy to follow, and LaVoy's skilled nuances work equally well for the story's secondary characters. E.C. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine