The way I found this book was I was doing an online search to figure out what had just happened in the final episode of Twin Peaks the Return. I found a couple of articles that cited this book as filling in gaps and explaining some things that are suggested on the show but not fully explained. The story is told in the form of FBI case files reported by the FBI agent Tamara Preston. Annie Wersching does a great job with the narration. 

Very specific audience: If you have seen the new series and would like good gloss on what you just saw, definitely read/listen to this book.

The Final Dossier was written to be read only after watching the recent revival of the TV series. If you haven't watched the show there are massive spoilers in the book and the book will not make much sense. Given that the TV series did not make a lot of sense, that is saying a lot. The book is much shorter than the Secret History of Twin Peaks and more focused.

The book fills in details about some characters from the old series that did not appear in the new series, such as Donna Hayward, Harry Truman, and Annie Blackburn. It explains how some characters came to be in the situations they were in, such as Dr. Jacoby and Audrey Horne. It also deals with some of the fallout from the bizarre events of the finale.

There are sections in which Agent Preston, the narrator of the dossier, speculates about characters like Major Briggs and Phillip Jeffries. If these sections don't match up with your interpretations of the plot, you don't have to accept them as canon, they are only Agent Preston's speculations. There are several revelations that did not match up with my head canon at all, but Lynch and Frost have made it very clear that Twin Peaks is about the mysteries, not about the solution. Anyone's interpretation is as valid as anyone else's, even if some interpretations are more coherent than others.

Holy crap.

HOLY CRAP.

Mark Frost's Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier answers so many questions after the revival, yet still leaves plenty of mystery for us. Of course, you have to decide if you want to find out some of these answers, or if you'd like to keep wondering.

For this book will answer a bunch. It's more of a wrap-up than anything. We get to learn the fates of so many characters. And we also have plenty of theories that are either confirmed, or completely destroyed.

Do you want to know the truth about Audrey Horne, or have a better idea of her fate? Want to know who that little girl was that swallowed that weird bug monster way back when in New Mexico? What about those final moments of the revival?

If you don't want any confirmation, then you may want to keep away. But if you're a fan and can't get enough, then I highly recommend it. It's a lot easier to digest than Twin Peaks: The Secret History. This book is presented as a number of FBI reports written by Agent Tammy Preston and has more of a straight-forward narrative than the previous.

The audiobook is less than three hours long, which means the book is most likely a very quick read. This will only appeal to those who are a fan of the show and who have seen Twin Peaks: The Return.

Frost doesn't answer everything, and truth be told I wouldn't want him to. But he does offer a lot more than Lynch does. So it's all about preference. If you're more intrigued by the the mystery of certain things and certain events, then this may not be for you. But if you want to know more... step into the strange and wonderful Twin Peaks just one more time.

Oh. And how's Annie? How's Annie???!!

5 stars

A strange book, befitting a very strange TV show. The book purports to be a dossier of documents relating to the town of Twin Peaks, assembled by "the Archivist" with his commentary and with further annotation by an FBI agent assigned to analyze the dossier after its discovery. The first section of the book concerns the history of the Pacific Northwest, in particular the death of explorer Meriwether Lewis and the pursuit of the Nez Perce Indians, and tying both events into the Twin Peaks mythos. The next section is all about UFO sightings and Men in Black style government cover-ups. The book then moves on to the history of the town of Twin Peaks, filling in details about the Packards, Martels, Hornes, and the Bookhouse Boys. Finally the book returns to UFOs and pulls in characters like L. Ron Hubbard and Richard Nixon.

I suspect some readers will be discouraged by the historical and UFO sections, but it is worth pressing on. The middle section about the town of Twin Peaks fills in lots of backstory about the characters in the TV series. At least one of the major cliffhangers from the series finale is resolved in the book. I suspect some of the details revealed here relate to plots that the creators do not intend to revisit in the new series and want to get out of the way. Interestingly, the main through-put character of the book is a minor character from the second season who only appeared in 3 episodes (I checked IMDB).

Based on the content of the book, I suspect the creators plan to place the weirdness of Twin Peaks in a broader context involving UFO contact. In the best case this might be an exploration of the idea that UFO experiences are just the modern interpretation of what older civilizations would have considered encounters with spirit beings. In the worst case scenario we are about to get David Lynch's version of X-Files, and even that might be pretty cool.

Currently halfway through the first novel in Blake Crouch's series. It's Twin Peaks (and Blue Velvet, a perfect white picket fence with a severed ear at its base) crashing into The Lottery overcome by another wave filled with your every agoraphobic fear fed by that small town out in the middle of nowhere.

Road trip. You are forced to stop in this...town? for gas, the only business for miles seems to be the gas station-combo-momandpop diner. The next exits with any recognizable franchises are either miles ahead or behind. The lady behind the counter seems nice enough, and the now-silent customer-companions are watching you with only curiosity...but it suddenly deeply bothers you that it is only you and them for miles and miles, only you, and them, and the humming fluorescent lamps over the slices of the pie of the day...the humming and the blinking...hum and blink and stare...

Series order:

1. Pines
2. Wayward
3. The Last Town