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Deadly Double

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A thrilling romantic suspense from Adrianne Byrd, the nationally bestselling author of African American romance. Josephine Ferrell's life has been stolen. Raised in luxury, Josie has only been accustomed to the best. Her privileged and sheltered world, however, comes crashing down when she attends the funeral of her parents and comes face–to–face with an identical twin sister she never knew she had. Josephine and Michelle are twins that were somehow separated at birth. Unlike Josie though, Michelle was not fortunate enough to be placed in a stable household –– instead she knew only poverty, abuse and envy. Now Michelle wants Josie's life. More than happy to get acquainted with her sister, Josie welcomes Michelle into her home...then one day Josie wakes up in a mental hospital...and everyone addresses her as Michelle. Only with the help of a man from Josie's past can she have any hope of regaining her life –– before it's ended permanently. o Adrianne Byrd has a wonderful imagination that translates into well crafted stories with true–to–life passionate heroes and heroines. She has an engaging writing style that is entertaining and sexy. This is an author to watch.

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2005

4 people are currently reading
115 people want to read

About the author

Adrianne Byrd

60 books280 followers
National Best-selling author Adrianne Byrd has always preferred to live within the realms of her imagination where all the men are gorgeous and the women are worth whatever trouble they manage to get into. As an army brat, she traveled throughout Europe and learned to appreciate and value different cultures. Now she calls Georgia home.

Looking back, Adrianne believes her passion for writing began at the ripe old age of thirteen. It was also the age when she was introduced to romance novels by a most unlikely source: her fifteen-year old brother. The book was probably given to keep her out her brother’s hair, but it was a gift that changed her life.

In books, Adrianne found a way out of her awkward teenage years and into a world of fictional friends that would stay with her for a lifetime. It wasn’t long before her imagination took flight and she was writing her own love stories. Within a year, she completed her first book, which she vowed would never see the light of day.

Writing remained a hobby until 1994 when a co-worker approached her with an article on Romance Writers of America. Who knew there was an organization of women just like her? By 1996 she sold her first novel, Defenseless, to Kensington Publishing.

Her first release received rave reviews by Romantic Times and fans. Her other novels were consistently selected as the Magazine’s Top Pick. In 2001 Slam Jam nominated, Say You Love Me, for best romance. Her 2003 release Comfort of a Man won Romantic Times Best Multicultural Romance, Romance in Color’s Readers Choice Awards for Favorite Book, Favorite Hero, and Favorite Heroine; Shades of Romance’s Best/Arabesque Romance Book; Slam Jams Emma Award for Favorite Traditional Romance; Romance in Color’s Reviewer’s Choice Award for Author of the Year, Book of the Year and Best BET/Arabesque Book. And lastly Comfort of a Man was a 2003 Georgia Romance Writers Maggie finalist for best Contemporary. In 2004 she released her first romantic suspense novel, If You Dare, with HarperCollins. In 2006 her novel Measure of a Man was nominated for Best Multicultural Romance while her Harper Torch novel Deadly Double was nominated for an Emma. In 2007 she won an eharlequin.com Joey Award.

In 2006 Adrianne along with fellow writer Niobia Bryant penned her first Urban Novel, DESPERATE HOODWIVES, writing as De'nesha Diamond. The book is set for release February 2008 from Simon and Schuster. For more information, visit http://www.deneshadiamond.com.

Ms. Byrd has been featured in many national publications, including Today’s Black Woman, Upscale, and Heart and Soul. She has also won local awards for screenwriting. For the future, she looks forward to continue creating characters that make people smile, laugh, and fall in love.

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5 stars
46 (37%)
4 stars
48 (39%)
3 stars
14 (11%)
2 stars
12 (9%)
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3 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for SassyMama.
1,016 reviews4 followers
July 19, 2007
Great Combo of Mystery & Romance

Josephine (Josie) Ferrell grew up with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth. Her adoptive parents saw to her every need and comfort. When her mother passed away during her childhood, her father simply doted on her even more. When he dies, her whole world is turned upside down. While grieving over the loss of her dear father, Josephine finds out she has a twin sister and meets her during the funeral. What a wonderful thing to happen during such a tragic time, right? Wrong!~~~~~~Michelle Andrews was anything but the loving twin in search of her biological sister. Michelle grew up surrounded by poverty and abuse. Everyday was a struggle for her. She has been on the wrong side of the law for a long time, and now she sees her sister as the answer to her prayers. She wants her sister's life. After insinuating herself into Josie's life and home, Michelle begins to maliciously plot to switch identities with her sibling. One day Josie wakes up in a mental institution in a heavily drug-induced state, wondering why everyone keeps calling her 'Michelle.'~~~~~The blue-eyed Dr. William Hayes sees the bed-prone ebony beauty and is immediately transported back in time when he met Josie Ferrell while she was singing at a jazz club. He realizes instantly that the woman whose eyes he now stares into is the same one he fell in love with all those years ago, and she is definitely not Michelle Andrews. And what's more, no one believes him either. Realizing that something unpleasant has happened to Josie, William decides to risk his job and a possible jail sentence to rescue the love of his life, and just in the nick of time. As bodies begin turning up left and right, the two try to stay alive and out of prison. But, their close proximity to one another gradually rekindles the love they once shared.~~~~~Adrianne Byrd once again gives us a thrilling mystery/romance in 'Deadly Double', with a great plot of the good twin/bad twin scenario. With this intriguing plot she is able to touch on many social issues, identity theft, mental disorders and of course let's not forget the interracial dating. Will is caught up in saving his long lost love and trying to get Josie to trust him as she attempts to take her life back from her sister, Michelle. Not only are we swept in the thrilling ride of a mystery and suspense, but we are also witness to romantic flashbacks, as well as, hot and steamy new love scenes between the hero and heroine. I was hooked from the first page of this action-packed thriller and did not dare put it down until finished. And at the very end even I wasn't sure everything was as it should be...talk about THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM! You will not be disappointed!
205 reviews
May 4, 2018
Great Read

I will always enjoy your novels,they are well written words of suspense.I dropped the range to a four star only because of the many chapters that was too descriptive and not enough one on one interpersonal verbal exchange.
Profile Image for Brandi.
621 reviews31 followers
October 28, 2011
Finished with my re-read of Deadly Double. That bitch was crazy...Yeah I said it.

Josephine Farrell has a twin. An evil twin with some very calculated ideas about how she plans to take over her sister's life. Michelle Andrews was the child that was left to chance and she wants to have her chance at the good life and is willing to kill Josephine to get it. I love reading Adrianne Byrd's books and re-reading this book was a treat. I actually purchased it for my Kindle before I realized that I had already read the book. Of course, I requested a refund and then found my copy. With this book, Byrd combines a good mystery with a timeless love story of Josephine and William's youthful summer love affair.
This time around though, I found a few gaps in the story (or maybe I skipped over some parts). But I would have loved to have learned more about what happened to Michelle to make her into a deranged killer and her mental similarities to her twin. This was one of the first books that I read by Adriane Byrd and, in hindsight; I liked the book better this time than the last. Worth a second glance.
Profile Image for SassafrasfromAmazon.
1,167 reviews74 followers
August 9, 2018

This is a story of love lost and love rekindled, of romance and intrigue, of good vs. evil. The author got it right--the story struck the perfect balance between suspense/intrigue and sexual tension, sprinkled with just the right amount of delicious lovemaking. The suspense elements of the novel did not overshadow the romantic aspect as some romantic suspense novels are often inclined to do. He's white, she's black--but race did not play a significant role in the story--it just wasn't an issue. Some of the secondary characters, namely Ming, the Asian homicide detective, and her husband Conan were rather interesting characters, and I would have liked to have seen a more in-depth view into their lives and personalities. Nevertheless, the book was well-written and a very satisfying IR read! I highly recommend it.

NB: There is a new cover, but from what I can ascertain the content is the same.
Profile Image for Kim.
740 reviews80 followers
August 28, 2011
It took me 5 days on and off to get through this book. The storyline seemed promising, but I just couldn't get into it. Will and Josephine just had zero chemistry to me, which is a shocker coming from Ms. Byrd. There was also so many characters introduced throughout the book that it got frustrating keeping track of who was whom. There were a ton of grammatical errors which were really distracting. The author needs to read this book in full and fix all the errors. I know this book is a 2nd edition so that may explain why it doesn't pack as strong a punch as Ms. Byrd's newer books so I will definitely continue to support her efforts.
Profile Image for Tameka.
48 reviews
January 1, 2012
I really enjoyed this book, the only negative thing I have to say about it was it had an EXTREME amount of errors. I mean I've come across plenty and I'm not usually bothered by it because I'm no saint when it comes to writing, but this book by far had the most typos I've ever seen some sentences were typed two and three times in a row. I'm not sure if its just because I have it in nook format or not, if not the editor did a terrible job.
1 review
September 11, 2015
First off, let me just say the book was good. But it got a sistah confuse at the end. So please somebody help me out!! Which sister got kill!? I readed the book almost four to five time still not making sense to me. If you haven't readed this book, read it. I just got it and finish it and still contemplating wish sister won?! Maybe I'm reading to much in it and it's only a book, but come on!!!! Don't confuse me like that!! Lol!!
Profile Image for Karen.
250 reviews
October 13, 2013
This story provided mystery and suspense throughout from start to finish. Josie's twin Michelle was one crazy "SOB"!!!!! Josephine better be glad that her former lover William knew exactly who she was and stepped in to save her life. True love will drive some people to risk their lives to save their loved one. Awesome adventure and storyline!
Profile Image for Hasien.
294 reviews10 followers
October 17, 2012
great psychological thriller. I loved how conniving Michelle was and how sweet William was. I enjoyed the partner & husband/wife dynamic of Ming/Tyrese & Ming/Conan. Very fun!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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