Book Review: "The Divide" by Morgan Richter

When she was 18, Sheila moved from Iowa to Los Angeles, changed her name to Jenny St. John, and landed the lead role in an independent movie called The Divide. She had a very brief relationship with Serge, the film’s director, and her performance was quite good. But the film never saw the light of day for some time, and while Serge’s career soared, Jenny’s went nowhere.

Over the next 20 years, Jenny drifted from opportunity to opportunity but never really succeeded. She wound up working as an “intuitive counselor” (aka psychic), trying to convince her customers that she could see their future. It hasn’t been too lucrative; in fact, she’s been illegally squatting in her “clinic” for a number of years.

Jenny learns that Serge was murdered and his ex-wife Gena, an actress turned artist, is missing. Apparently Jenny and Gena look almost identical; in fact, Gena has been telling people for years that she starred in The Divide, essentially appropriating Jenny’s life. And the strangest thing is, people that knew Jenny back then actually believed that she and Gena were the same person.

Boots, an Oscar-winning actress turned skin care guru, hires Jenny to figure out what happened to Gena and who killed Serge. She doesn’t need a detective; she just wants Jenny to use her psychic skills to formulate a guess as to whom the guilty party is.

The more Jenny mingles with Gena and Serge’s friends and significant others (past and present), the more confused she gets about Gena’s pretending to be her. And the closer she gets to figuring out the truth, the more danger she finds herself in.

This was an interesting and entertaining read. I guessed correctly as to the identity of the killer (I guess it made sense), but there are parts of the story that I wasn’t completely sure were either memories, imaginings, or hallucinations. Still, I liked the complexity of Jenny’s character and was hooked on the story.