Sandra Brown’s thriller “The Switch” is one of her most complicated plots. It begins with Gillian and Melina, identical twin sisters who meet for lunch. Gillian tells Melina she has been trying to conceive a child by artificial insemination at the Waters Clinic. The talk is light and later in the meal Melina proposes an idea that the two sisters switch like they did when they were children. At first Gillian is not interested but later decides to do it just for the fun of it. She impersonates Melina while Melina is Gillian. Simple enough all Melina has to do is escort a Colonel Christopher Hart also known as “Chief,” a former astronaut, to a NASA. Banquet. Everything is fine until Hart and his escort go to a Taco Bell where the two encounter Dale Gordon who calls her Gillian. Gillian as Melina plays along and tells Hart that Gordon has her confused for her twin sister Gillian. It happens that Gordon works for the Waters Center and knows Gillian is one of the patients. He follows them and realizes that Gillian is going to Hart’s hotel room. Gordon is obsessed with Gillian. After the sisters have switched back Gordon breaks into Gillian’s home and ends up killing her. Melina is called by police and told her sister is dead. With the help of Colonel Hart they track down information. As they piece the data together they find that other women who have gone to the Waters Center have had children kidnapped or turned up dead. They are also able to track down Gordon because he had introduced himself when they had encountered him at the taco restaurant. Gordon, a disciple of Brother Gabriel a religious spiritual leader, asks for forgiveness for killing Gillian. Later Gordon is found dead. The police conclude their investigation but Melina and Hart have just begun theirs. Brother Gabriel at first is a backdrop character until later in the book when Brown ties all of her puzzles together in a nice neat package. Gillian and Hart are attacked several times while they piece together the pieces of the mystery. Brown has written a tight plot with believable characters. The story unfolds in waves until the final shocking revelation of Brother Gabriel’s real purpose. “The Switch is an evil tale at its best.
The Switch
Sandra Brown
Grand Central Publishing
Hachette Book Group USA237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
www.HachetteBookGroupUSA.com, 9780446609944, $7.99, www.amazon.com
