Book Review: A Place Both Wonderful and Strange

From its start, when studio executives drafted a plan to recoup costs after what they predicted would be the series' inevitable failure, to the 1992 prequel movie that earned scathing reviews at Cannes, to its unexpected and acclaimed return some twenty-five years later, Twin Peaks garnered millions of devoted fans who refused to let it die.

In A Place Both Wonderful and Strange, entertainment reporter Scott Meslow takes readers behind the curtain of Lynch’s and Frost’s dedication to finishing what they started, with both the prequel film and Showtime’s Twin Peaks: The Return, offering dozens of original and revelatory interviews that cast a whole new light on the extraordinary show. For a series that left as many questions unanswered as answered, Meslow’s deep reporting will give readers a new perspective, detailing scenes left on the cutting–room floor and how Season Two’s finale stunned and infuriated studio execs in what Mark Frost calls “a defiant middle finger to what they [studio executives] thought the show should be.”

A Place Both Wonderful and Strange: The Extraordinary Untold History of Twin Peaks by Scott Meslow will be published February 17, 2026. Running Press provided an early galley for review.

I was a fan of this strange, haunting and unforgettable show from the week it debuted on network TV in April of 1990. Its moody and character-based storytelling left a major impression on me as a viewer, reader and writer.

Therefore, I was very eager to check out this new, behind-the-scenes look at the franchise with insights from those who were involved in bringing it to life. I felt that tingling chill as I read it, the same one that comes from watching the shows and film. Twin Peaks is just one of those things that does not let go once it has taken root. It will always be there for me.

I picked up a lot of new details from Meslow as he took me down the winding paths of decades past. One feature I especially appreciated was the character profiles that accompanied each of the chapters, shining spotlights on some of the pivotal players is this twisting tale.

I very much recommend it for fans.