When thirteen-year-old Orville Switzer discovers twin sisters lying frozen beneath the snow of a south St. Paul, Minnesota train yard in sub-zero temperatures in February 1938, Al and Tillie Freitag are suddenly pulled into a web of mystery, intrigue, mob violence, the German American Bund and pro-Nazi spies. Who murdered the twins and why?
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By Rebecca Henderson (Johnson City, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Twins (Paperback)
Alvin H. Franzmeier's mystery novel, TheTwins, has its beginnings in Minnesota during the late 1930's, in the days leading up to World War II. The main character, Al Freitag, has a promising career in law enforcement. His wife, Tillie, is a social worker attending graduate school.
The Twins is a riveting mystery. It's a follow-up to Mr. Franzmeier's first book, The Spiral Bridge; several of the characters, especially Al and Tillie Freitag, are in both books. Orville Switzer, a young teenager who's a slow learner, again faces tragedy in The Twins. Orville endears himself to nearly everyone with his sweet personality.
In order to try to figure out who murdered two young women (who are The Twins), Al goes undercover as a truck driver. Al's suspicions that the transportation company owner is involved in the murders prove correct. As we read further in the book, we find that the businessman, Teddy Banks, is involved in much, much more.
A bit of romance occurs in the book as Tillie's mother, Iva, and Teddy become romantically involved, much to everyone's consternation. As he did in The Spiral Bridge, writer Franzmeier skillfully combines the good versus evil theme in The Twins. Complex questions regarding searching and finding God's peace permeate the book.
Make sure you read the books in the order in which they're written. Although they could be enjoyed when read in the reverse order, I think they would offer more entertainment when read in the order written.
The book has 224 pages that are divided into 31 chapters. Several of the chapters are further divided into smaller sections. As with The Spiral Bridge, after you begin reading The Twins, your attention will be riveted until you're finished. I read The Twins in one evening.
Just as in The Spiral Bridge, Mr. Franzmeier has done a fantastic job of developing the main and supporting characters. Many of the characters speak with a German accent; Mr. Franzmeier did another wonderful job of writing in the dialect when appropriate. When I've read some books that lapse into dialects, I find myself having difficulty in being able to figure out what's being said. That's definitely not the case here!
The Twins is an enjoyable mystery; your thinking is challenged. I'd love to see this book made into a movie!
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