Like murdered homecoming queen Laura Palmer, The Secret History of Twin Peaks is full of seeeecrets.
Flatiron Books' new Twin Peaks novel from co-creator Mark Frost arrived in bookstores yesterday, helping to bridge the continuity gap between the original ABC television from 1990-91 and the upcoming revival airing on Showtime in 2017. The 362-page hardcover contains a fascinating compilation of Twin Peaks Post and Twin Peaks Gazette newspaper clippings and personal letters, gathered in a fictional dossier supposedly recovered on July 17, 2016 from "a crime scene that is still classified as unsolved and may have relevance to a previous crime or crimes in 1991 that is similarly classified" according to Federal Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director Gordon Cole.
The dossier is given to Special Agent Tamara Preston, a new character that will likely be very important in the Showtime revival next year. Agent Preston provides personal annotations throughout the dossier's chronological contents, which were apparently compiled by someone who identifies themselves as "The Archivist" and presented as a historical narrative.
Starting off with excerpts from the expedition journals of William Clark and Meriwether Lewis, dated September 20, 1805, the dossier explores the history of Twin Peaks and the surrounding area until a final entry from The Archivist, dated March 28, 1989 (Two days after the date of events featured in the TV show's final episode.) While the major revelations are presumably being saved for the Showtime revival, there are some notable details revealing what happened to several of the show's characters (SPOILER WARNING):
Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn) -- Audrey survived the explosion at the Twin Peaks Savings and Loan in the show's final episode, although she was found unconscious and placed in the ICU at Calhoun Memorial Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition.
Pete Martell (Jack Nance) -- Pete, sadly, did not survive the explosion, having shielded Audrey from the blast, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Andrew Packard (Dan O'Herlihy) -- Andrew, being the closest to the blast, also did not survive the explosion.
Catherine Martell (Piper Laurie) -- With no living heirs or relations following the explosion, Catherine became a grieving recluse as the only resident of Blue Pine Lodge. Gaining sole possession of the Packard Mill and its properties, Catherine sold the mill and its properties to Ben Horne and his investors in the Ghostwood Development.
Ben Horne (Richard Beymer) -- After receiving Audrey's final note to him that said she was going to call public attention to his plan to close the Packard Mill and turn Ghostwood Forest into "tacky neighborhoods and shopping centers," Ben visited Audrey in the hospital and was described as "a man broken in half with grief" and "personal guilt." Regardless, Ben went ahead with the purchase of the mill and Ghostwood from Catherine Martell.
Hank Jennings (Chris Mulkey) -- After pleading guilty to international drug trafficking, assault and attempted murder, Hank was given a 25-year sentence at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla and "fatally knifed in the prison weight room by a hard-core lifer who turned out to be a distant cousin of the Renault family."
Douglas "Dougie" Milford (Tony Jay) -- Before marrying Lana Budding at the Great Northern Hotel and soon dying of a heart attack, Mayor Milford's brother Dougie served as a United States Air Force colonel in command of Listening Post Alpha, a high-security secret station located in Ghostwood Forest that monitored the area for signs of imminent attack from intelligent nonhuman life in deep space and inside Ghostwood, under the direction of President Richard Nixon.
Major Garland Briggs (Don S. Davis) -- Major Briggs became Dougie's successor at Listening Post Alpha and is eventually revealed as "The Archivist" who compiled the dossier. After convincing himself that Special Agent Dale Cooper was the person he needed to complete his mission, he learns about Cooper being affected by the events at Glastonbury Grove shown in the series finale. Intending to show Cooper the dossier and show him the LPA, Major Briggs meets with Cooper at home, but senses that something is wrong. He claims that the LPA's "Mayday" protocols are in place and that he must act quickly. He then states that he is heading to the LPA alone, which is the end of the dossier.
There are other revelations of considerable interest, notably that Margaret "The Log Lady" Lanterman, Carl Rodd (owner of the Fat Trout Trailer Park shown in the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me), and another boy named Alan Trahearne, vanished in 1947 one night in the woods near Pearl Lake and returned thinking they'd only been gone an hour or so. Rodd also received the mysterious three-triangled symbol on the back of his right knee that The Log Lady mentions in the original TV series.
The Secret History of Twin Peaks is currently available as a hardcover in bookstores and will be available as an ebook on October 18, 2016.
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