Mistaken Identity

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I found out about my sister. Technically she’s a half-sister, but when we first met she struck me instantly as a twin-close in age and very much alike in looks, temperament, and manner. I am only now starting to know her and come to admire the journey she took to make her way to me. She is obviously not the twin depicted in Mistaken Identity-that much must be crystal clear-but it should come as no surprise that authors often cannibalize their own lives for the truth that makes fiction. My meeting her suggested the gravamen of this novel. For her bravery and heart, as well as her openness and honesty, Mistaken Identity is dedicated to her, J.

Special thanks, as always, to my agent Molly Friedrich for her on-the-mark improvements to this manuscript, as well as her expertise, support, and kindness. Thanks to Carolyn Marino, my editor at HarperCollins, who has steered me through six books with this one, yet her support and grace never flags. Thanks also to A. Paul Cirone, for his help, Robin Stamm, for hers, and a bear hug to Laura Leonard at HarperCollins, friend and publicist, who is always cheering for me.

As usual, I got lots of help on the technical aspects of this book, and any mistakes in that regard are my own. Heartfelt thanks to the detectives of the Two Squad of the Philadelphia Police Department, who remain helpful and supportive and serve my hometown in every way. Thanks again to criminal lawyers Susan Burt and especially Glenn Gilman, for superb legal advice in the clutch. Thanks to Nina Segre and Karen Senser, for their insights into women-owned law firms, and their kindness. Thanks to Bob Eskind of the Philadelphia prison system, whose information and access helped me create the fictional prison herein.

Thanks for her time and help to Dr. Jeanne Paulus-Thomas, Ph.D., and her colleagues at the Center for Medical Genetics, Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation. Thanks to Doug and Cindy Claffey, who are great friends and who helped with the twin research, firsthand.

There are also great and informative books about twins, reared together and apart, which informed my novel, and for those who want to read more, see Torrey, Bowler, Taylor, and Gottesman, Schizophrenia and Manic-Depressive Disorder, HarperCollins (1994); Farber, Identical Twins Reared Apart, Basic Books (1981); Loehlin and Nichols, Heredity, Environment and Personality, University of Texas Press (1976); and Juel-Nielsen, Individual and Environment: Monozygotic Twins Reared Apart, International Universities Press (1965); Schwartz, The Culture of the Copy, Zone Books (1996).

Thanks to the folks at a certain gym in Philadelphia, who helped so much with the boxing details and gave me boxing lessons, which I’m sure will come in handy in an alley. Thanks to my anonymous boxer, who gave me insight into the men (and women) who box.

Thanks to the leadership and the librarians of the Free Library of Philadelphia, who let me run wild through the stacks and who have been so supportive of my books over the years. And to Dr. Paul Bookman.

Thanks to my readers, who have been so kind and whom I always remember when I write, and to my many “online editors” who participated in a wonderful experiment to improve the first chapter.

Final thanks and all my love to my family, my parents, and my husband and daughter.