A Twin Set

Janet Westmore, J to her friends, lived the perfect life in the Eastern Sierra ski resort town of Mammoth Lakes, Calif. She had a solid reputation as a management consultant; an ideal relationship with the man of her heart, Ross; and, a beloved twin, Mary, happily married to Bob, whom she frequently visited at their home in the San Francisco Bay area or in Mammoth.

It was on one of those trips that J's world shattered into pieces. Bob and Mary's plane crashed as they were flying J back to Mammoth. J woke up in a hospital room, broken, frightened, and unsure of what had happened, but comforted when she saw Mary sleeping in a chair next to her bed. Every time she regained consciousness, Mary was there. But on the first day J was fully awake, Mary had disappeared, and a doctor told her she was the only survivor. J knew that was a lie, even when Ross tried to tell her of Mary and Bob's deaths. But time and news stories, finally convinced her, and she resigned herself to a twin-less life.

Depression and anger at God consumed her, until one day a simple piece of Godiva chocolate told her Mary and Bob were still with her.

Life changed after the reappearance of Mary and Bob in her life. J's daily life, including consulting assignments, frequently turned into encounters with kidnappings, extortion, bombings, and attempted murders. At times Mary and Bob sent those with troubles to J without warning, knowing she would take care of them. Although out of her depth, she tackled these challenges head on, because Mary and Bob had her back, even if sometimes it was at the very last minute.

J learned that when she was patient, the same observation, logic, and objectivity skills required of a consultant were also good tools to pursue solutions to the problems she faced. Unfortunately, she sometimes found it challenging to keep her feelings out of the way, placing her in some precarious situations.

In A Twin Set, book 4 of Gooch Ross's High Sierra mystery series, a ro