WRITE LETTER TO BILLY

An unsolved murder pulls together the varied threads of a story that relies heavily on coincidence in reuniting a father with his teenaged daughter, and a brother with his Siamese twin, while also self-consciously exploring memory and identity.

Veteran author Olson (Utah, not reviewed, etc.) creates a varied cast for his tale of a man who finds himself embarking on a journey to self-knowledge when he learns he fathered a daughter 16 years ago. Billy, a Navy underwater repair specialist, is about to retire when he receives a letter from old girlfriend Carol, now living in Wisconsin, telling him that he’s the father of her daughter Jennifer. Carol suggests that Billy get to know Jennifer over the summer, so he heads to Wisconsin, and then, with Jennifer in tow, goes on to California, where he has some family business to take care of. There, he reclaims from storage boxes containing his parents’ papers and household goods, including an old necklace he gives to Jennifer. The two stay in Laguna Beach, where Jennifer starts diving lessons, and Billy, who was adopted, begins sorting out the files. He’s puzzled when he finds a mysterious list made by his father that includes such items as “write to Billy,” “Laguna; check morgue,” “Rennert: why Susan?” and “Go see Blevins,” as well as newspaper cuttings about a Susan Rennert who drowned off Laguna Beach. As Billy, with Jennifer’s help, investigates the list, the two grow closer. But finding out who Susan Rennert was puts them both at risk. On Catalina Island, Billy just happens to meet Mooney, a crook and the twin from whom he was separated at birth by surgery and then adoption. Suddenly Mooney and his murderous girlfriend, who want Jennifer’s apparently valuable necklace, endanger the lives of both Billy and Jennifer.

The bottom line: too much going on, too many coincidences to allow either the mystery or the search for deeper meaning to become credible.