Reviewed by Keith Mbuya for Readers' Favorite

Fate has its way of bringing people together, or perhaps it’s destiny. Whichever it is, Lieutenant Jane Sparks of the San Francisco PD found it quite peculiar. Who wouldn’t, when you are informed about a shoot-out at the garage of your workplace and the casualty injured in the shoot-out − who is a senior FBI agent − is said to look exactly like you? Knowing that she never had a sister or brother and had been raised alone, Lieutenant Sparks is startled by the results of a DNA test which showed that her look-alike (who had been raised in New York) is her twin sister as they shared the same biological parents. Why had they never known about each other before? The two sisters set out to investigate the shoot-out incident which leads them down a dangerous path that puts their lives on the line as they uncover a crime syndicate with deep roots in the SFPD and the city’s horse racing fraternity. Find out what happens to Lieutenant Sparks and her sister in Xiomara Rodriguez’s How Could it Be?

Xiomara Rodriguez forges an intriguing plot for her story, which she accompanies with enthralling twists. Enthusiasts of mystery sleuth novels entwined with an unraveling tale of drug lords, murder, money laundering, dirty cops, and so much more will love How Could it Be? Rodriguez exhibits a great style of writing. She gives the narration a subtle tone, building enough suspense yet at the same time slowly giving clues to unfold the storyline. She then released me from the suspense by plunging me into her world of imagination filled with thrills, tension, and action, which felt satisfying. Rodriguez’s depictions of scenes and characters are vivid; this added color to my imagination and made the reading experience fun. The conversations were insightful and engaging. The characters are well-developed. The author highlights their emotions and thoughts impressively, making it easy to connect with them.