Strictly speaking, the title should be Honey Bunch: Her First Identical Twin Playmates. Her first twin playmates were her cousins, Bobby and Tess Turner, who were introduced in the first book.

The identical twins are May and June Dover. They look enough like Honey Bunch that they could pass for triplets. The girls are staying at the River View Hotel, where the Mortons and their neighbors, the Clarks, are also staying. Mr. and Mrs. Dover are off on a ship. A Miss Ruth Redfern has been hired to be their nurse (babysitter). The twins don't like Miss Redfern. At first it sounds as if they're just spoiled brats, but Miss Redfern is almost as bad as they say she is. The twins carry out their threat to run away. Miss Redfern does, too.

The Mortons call Mrs. Miller to look after the twins after they're found, but Miss Redfern returns. The selfish and vain young woman has no intention of giving up her salary. Her boyfriend, Tony Parr, is worse than she is.

There are plenty of accidents in this book as well as mischief. Norman is culprit most of the time, but the twins aren't blameless. Even Honey Bunch pulls a trick -- but it's only to teach Norman a lesson. The other kids run away in fear of punishment, Honey Bunch faces the music. Sometimes she's accused of their wrongdoings.

I have the same problem with this book as I did with Honey Bunch: Her First Trip to a Big Fair. Honey Bunch is a little too good. One matter I found hard to believe. The Mortons and Mrs. Miller act as gullible as some of the narrators in H.P. Lovecraft stories. Again, Marie Schubert made the children look very, very pretty, and as if they were wearing mascara and lipstick. Messrs. Rogers and Lane's depiction of the children was more realistic.

Those problems aside, this is a decent book.

According to this site, http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mwbhb.html , this is the last of the five Honey Bunch books that were ghostwritten by Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson. ( )