Twice

Albom (The Little Liar) delivers a clever tale of second chances and their limits. At age eight, Alfie Logan discovers an ability passed down through select members of his mother’s family: by uttering the word twice, he gets an instant do-over, such as the opportunity to be present when his mother dies from a pulmonary embolism, rather than playing soccer in the yard. The novel opens in the present-day Bahamas, where middle-aged Alfie has been arrested on suspicion of cheating a casino with a suspicious run of roulette wins. From there, his life story unfolds in sections that alternate between an interrogation by Det. Vincent LaPorta and pages from the journal Alfie provides LaPorta by way of explaining his extraordinary performance at the casino. Before his arrest, Alfie wired his millions of dollars in earnings to a mysterious woman named Gianna Rule, who turns out to have been the love of Alfie’s life. As the interrogation wears on, Alfie reveals the touching story of what happened with Gianna and what he failed to learn about love before it was too late. Along the way, Albom shrewdly uses Alfie’s efforts to convince LaPorta he’s telling the truth to encourage readers to suspend disbelief. The author’s storytelling powers are on full display. Agent: David Black, David Black Literary. (Oct.)