Twist by Roni Teson

Roni Teson has written a very enigmatic book in Twist, her second novel; it is part Young Adult fiction, part romance and part mystery. Petite, brunette, sixteen year old Beatrice ‘Bea’ Malcolm has a hypnotic effect on everyone she meets, particularly the males of the species, and her first sexual encounter – with local hotshot, Lucas Drake – is the conduit that sets in motion a chain of events that will change both of their lives irrevocably. Bea finds herself thrown in to the middle of a complex web of love, lust, kidnap, violence and government agency manhunts – but what is the link to her absent father and recently deceased mother; why do the FBI want to question Bea and what is it about her that seems to lead everyone to ‘twist’ to her every whim?

I enjoyed reading Twist, and I’m still not sure I’ve taken it all in! Roni Teson has written a very absorbing story and created two very compelling, if not exactly likeable, characters in its twin narrators, Bea and Lucas. I always enjoy a tale with multiple narrators and this was very effectively accomplished in this case. I was intrigued by the multi-layered story from its first page and Teson has a very easy, clear and readable style which draws you in and keeps you hooked throughout. It is very different to anything I’ve read before and has both an original premise and, aptly, many dizzying plots twists. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys mysteries and something a little bit different! Reviewed by Julia for Readers’ Favorite.