The Divide

An actor turned psychic stumbles into the center of an LAPD murder investigation in Richter’s winningly offbeat debut. Twenty-five years ago, Jenny St. John starred in The Divide, a never-released movie directed by first-timer Serge Grumet. Despite the film’s failure, Serge went on to become a major Hollywood player. In the meantime, Jenny’s star faded, and she rebranded as an “intuitive counselor” who uses her talent for reading people to provide life advice. When Serge turns up dead, the prime suspect is his ex-wife, painter Genevieve Santos, who flees Los Angeles. The problem? Genevieve and Jenny look exactly alike, and authorities come to believe they’re the same person. To clear her name, Jenny interviews friends, family, and associates of Serge and Genevieve, applying tricks she’s learned in the psychic trade to ferret out the truth, only to unwittingly make herself a target for Serge’s killer. Though the case of mistaken identity that jump-starts the plot feels far-fetched, Richter comes through with sparkling prose, a consistently surprising mystery, and an engrossing portrait of contemporary Los Angeles. Fans of Hollywood neo-noir will relish this fresh update on an old formula. Agent: Kerry Sparks, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (Aug.)