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.

Starred review from June 1, 2016
Lam's riveting near-future crime thriller contains an impressive array of concepts: lucid dreaming, bio-hacking, organized crime, religious cults, drug trafficking, and identity swapping. Conjoined twins Taema and Tila grew up in Mana's Hearth, a cult that eschews modern technology. When their shared heart fails, they escape to San Francisco for medical treatment and are surgically separated. Ten years later, the twins lead dramatically different livesTila is a nightclub hostess; Taema is a scientistbut they are still symbiotic. Or so Taema thinks, until her twin is arrested for murder. Taema believes Tila is innocent, but the police claim Tila is involved with the Ratel, a criminal organization peddling a drug that allows specially trained dreamers to hack a person's mind. To clear her sister's name, Taema must assume Tila's identity and gather intel on the Ratel, aided by another undercover operative. Lam's futuristic city, in which people learn by brainloading, enjoy virtual-reality fantasies, and achieve physical perfection via implants, isn't all that different from most near-future sf, but it is vivid and bursting with small, clever details. Taema and Tila are fascinating and flawed, and their relationship is the story's emotional center. Lam's adult genre-blending debut is suspenseful, thought-provoking, and refreshingly diverse.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)